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Ziryab and the Arab mark left in Spain
April 25, 20247:00 p.m.
MADRID
Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62).
7:00 p.m.
Free entry until the event’s capacity is reached.
In Spanish.
At its Madrid headquarters on Thursday, April 25, Casa Árabe will be
screening the trailer for the documentary “Ziryab and the Arab Mark Left
in Spain,” by Alan Cantos, devoted to those personages who, like
Ziryab, influenced music and culture from Moorish Cordoba to the present
day. There will also be a colloquium with Eduardo Manzano and an Arabic
oud recital by Hames Bitar.
Abu l-Hasan Ali ibn Nafi` was a Muslim poet, food lover, musician and singer. Better known by his sobriquet Ziryab (“blackbird” in Arabic), thus emulating the probable color of his skin and the melodious voice of this bird, he received a solid literary and scientific education, especially in geography and astronomy. He also learned music in Baghdad with under celebrated vocalist Ishaq Ibn Ibrahim al-Mawsilī (767-850) during the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid (786-808).
Born in Mosul, Iraq, he died in Cordoba. His life story is very much like that of the origins of our culture. During the ninth century, this unmatchable character arrived in the Cordoba Caliphate and revolutionized the existing music, singing, percussion, customs and cuisine. Alan Cantos’ documentary aims to accompany Ziryab’s journey from Baghdad to Cordoba in space and time, with the help of musicians, artists and chefs.
Through this audiovisual exploration, Alan Cantos suggests that knowledge of his fascinating story can serve as an antidote to xenophobia and become a motor for tolerance. After the presentation of the documentary trailer, the event will be attended by Eduardo Manzano, who will contextualize Ziryab’s contribution to the history of both Spain and the world. Arabic oud player Hames Bitar will be providing musical accompaniment for the event. Presenting the event is Karim Hauser, coordinator of Casa Árabe’s Cultural Programs.
Alan Cantos
Alan Cantos has a multidisciplinary background: he is a physicist (University of Southampton in the UK, and University of the Balearic Islands) and a physical oceanographer (University of Washington, Seattle, USA). He is a scientist and the director of the Tibet Support Committee (CAT) in Spain. He is passionate about music and film. He has worked as an ocean researcher, and for over 20 years for Tibet, a cause for which he raises funds and organizes cultural and human rights events. As a researcher, he has taken part in numerous private and public scientific oceanography campaigns and projects funded by the United States,the European Commission and the Spanish Ministry of Environment. He has recently worked on a documentary and two films in Africa with director Gerardo Olivares: one on immigration (14 Kilometers, in 2007, in Niger and Mali), another on the salt caravans in Niger and Tibet (Caravan, in 2005), also coordinating its soundtrack, and yet another on the unifying force of soccer (The Grand Finale, in 2006).
Eduardo Manzano Moreno
Researching Professor at the CSIC Center for Human and Social Sciences. He has taught at the Universities of Oxford, Chicago and St. Andrew’s. His work has focused on the history of Al-Andalus and on the social implications of History as a field of study and the profession of historians. He has led numerous research projects which revolve around these two topics, about which he has also had a large number of articles and book chapters published both inside and outside of our country. His works include The Caliph’s Court: Four years in Umayyad Cordoba, (published by Crítica, 2019), translated into English and German; Conquerors, Emirs and Caliphs: The Umayyads and the formation of Al-Andalus, (Crítica, 2007); “The Iberian Peninsula and North Africa,” in The New Cambridge History of Islam, Ch. Robinson, vol. II, 2009 and Managing Memory: The history of Spain in the service of power, along with Sisinio Pérez. His new book, Diverse Spain: Keys to pluralistic history, will be published in April.
Hames Bitar
Born in Masyaf, Syria to a family steeped in musical tradition, from a very early age he began learning with the help of his father. Since he was ten years old, he has been participating in many different concerts and festivals and has formed part of classical Arab music ensembles and dance and theater companies, alongside prominent performers. He has been living in Spain since 1998, playing an important role in Madrid’s culture and music scene.
