The wonder of gnaoua

In Essaouira, the musical tradition of gnaoua is at its strongest (and indeed the city is home to the world’s largest festival of gnaoua). The streets of Essaouira are noticeably filled with many musical performers, giving the city a distinctly relaxed feel, and gnaoua is the prime musical form on display. Essaouira shows the strength of a strong musical and cultural identity being allowed to live and breathe on every street corner. This is a great example of a soundscape that shows something culturally-specific and therefore highly valuable and to be protected.

Recorded by Cities and Memory.

Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cities and Memory and C40, a global network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading cities collaborating to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis. The project was originally presented at the C40 Cities conference in Buenos Aires in 2022. Explore Well-Being Cities in full at https://citiesandmemory.com/wellbeing-cities/