The Arabic Music Festival features a performance by Tunisian singer Monia Abdelali this evening.

Arabic music is back at Teatro Mascarenhas Gregório, in Silves, for the 23rd edition of the Al-Mutamid Music Festival. Tunisian singer Monia Abdelali will take the stage this evening at 21:30.

Monia Abdelali will perform with Amine Tailassane (Arabic lute and vocals) and Jaouad El Jadli (percussions and vocals), revisiting various Arab styles such as Maluf, Tarab and Modern Oriental, among others.

The Al-Mutadid Music Festival is a pioneering event in Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula, created to disseminate music and dances from the Middle East, Maghreb and Eastern Mediterranean.

It is also a tribute to Al-Mutamid, the poet king (son and successor of the King of Seville Al-Mutadid), appointed governor of Silves at just 12 years old, an iconic figure of the Al-Andalus era.

Tickets for the show cost €10 and can be purchased on the BOL platform and other locations (Fnac, Worten, El Corte Inglés, CTT Correios, Youth Hostels and Serveasy Kiosks).

For further information, contact Silves’s culture department via email ([email protected]) or telephone (282 440 856).

Artist biography

Monia Abdelali was born in Southern Tunisia (Kettana, Gabes), where traditional songs formed part of her childhood and adolescence.

The percussion instrument (darbouka) that marks her rhythm, and the chants and melodies based on Tunisian and Eastern world styles, make Monia Abdelali the bearer of extensive cultural interconnections in the Arab world.

From a very young age, she explored Tunisian geography with different local musical groups, giving her a broader perspective as a singer.

She graduated in French Philology and later developed and deepened her studies in Maluf, Tarab and Modern Oriental chants, among other Arabic styles, at the Higher Institute of Arts in Gabes.

Since then, she has performed in countries such as Libya and Egypt, boosting her popularity in her home country, culminating in 2020 with a performance at the Carthage Festival, Tunisia’s most important music festival.