Mariem Hassan
Encyclopedia
Mariem Hassan is a singer and writer of lyrics from Western Sahara
.
(Western Sahara). She was the third of a total of 10 siblings of a nomadic family. Although they weren't a Igaouen family, music and poetry was important in the family, as various relatives were singers, poets or dancers. In 1975, following the Green March
and the Madrid Accords
which ceded the territory to Morocco
and Mauritania
she went with her family, first to Meharrize
and finally to the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria
. She lived there for 27 years, until 2002, when for work and health reasons she moved to Spain
, first to Barcelona
and finally to Sabadell
, where she lives with her husband and sons.
, first president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
turned to "Shahid El Uali". She travelled with the band to many countries, playing on cultural events, and recorded a few albums on different countries (Holland in 1980 [unreleased], France in 1989...), with the help of local solidarity committees. The most known of that albums was Polisario vencerá, recorded in Spain in 1982.
Mariem started her solo career with a pair of songs in the 1998 (the year that "Shahid El Uali" disbanded) v.v.a.a. album A pesar de las heridas, released by the Spanish label Nubenegra. For the following concerts in Europe, she was accompanied with the group "Leyoad" (in which Nayim Alal
plays the guitar). Following the success of their live performances, they recorded in 2000 a collaboration album, Mariem Hassan con Leyoad (in 2002).
In 2004, she contributed to the v.v.a.a. album Medej, followed by a extensive touring in Europe (Barcelona, Madrid, Leipzig, Helsinki, Brussels, Zurich, Antwerp...). One week before leaving Belgium she received a diagnosis of breast cancer and was operated on right after returning to Spain.
In 2005, her real first solo album was released. Deseos was an "ardent album, full of rhythm". It doesn't reveal the tragedies happening during its recording: the death from leukemia of Baba Salama (producer of the album and guitarist) before the album was published and Hassan's struggle with breast cancer.
song "Tus ojos lloran" (Translation: 'Your eyes weep'), dealing with the experience of woman coping with the sufferings of life and bereavement.
in her lyrics relates to the former status of Western Sahara
as a Spanish
colony, and where the Spanish language
continues to act as a lingua franca.
Her work has been added to the World Music National Geographic database.
She has collaborated with the singer and lyricist Nayim Alal
, also from Western Sahara
.
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
.
Life
She was born in 1958 in the Ued Tazua, 20 km. away from SmaraSmara
Smara, also Semara , is a city in the Moroccan-Administered Western Sahara, with a population estimated at 42,056.-History:The largest city in its province, Smara was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. It is the only major city in Western Sahara that was not founded...
(Western Sahara). She was the third of a total of 10 siblings of a nomadic family. Although they weren't a Igaouen family, music and poetry was important in the family, as various relatives were singers, poets or dancers. In 1975, following the Green March
Green March
The Green March was a strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government, to force Spain to hand over the disputed, autonomous semi-metropolitan Spanish Province of Sahara to Morocco.-Background:...
and the Madrid Accords
Madrid Accords
The Madrid Accords, also called Madrid Agreement or Madrid Pact, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania to end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara, which was until the Madrid Accords' inception a Spanish province and former colony. It was signed in Madrid on...
which ceded the territory to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
she went with her family, first to Meharrize
Meharrize
Meharrize is an oasis in Western Sahara. It is situated between Tifariti and Amgala, to the east of the Moroccan Wall, in the POLISARIO-held part of Western Sahara close to the Mauritanian border. It has a dispensary...
and finally to the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria
Refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria
The Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, are a collection of refugee camps, set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975-76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Western Sahara during the Western Sahara War...
. She lived there for 27 years, until 2002, when for work and health reasons she moved to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, first to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and finally to Sabadell
Sabadell
Sabadell is the second largest city in the comarca of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the comarca, on the River Ripoll, 20 km north-west of Barcelona...
, where she lives with her husband and sons.
Career
In early 1976, she joined the musical group "Shahid El Hafed Buyema", which following the death in combat of El-Ouali Mustapha SayedEl-Ouali Mustapha Sayed
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed was a Sahrawi nationalist leader, co-founder and second Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, & also the first President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic....
, first president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about...
turned to "Shahid El Uali". She travelled with the band to many countries, playing on cultural events, and recorded a few albums on different countries (Holland in 1980 [unreleased], France in 1989...), with the help of local solidarity committees. The most known of that albums was Polisario vencerá, recorded in Spain in 1982.
Mariem started her solo career with a pair of songs in the 1998 (the year that "Shahid El Uali" disbanded) v.v.a.a. album A pesar de las heridas, released by the Spanish label Nubenegra. For the following concerts in Europe, she was accompanied with the group "Leyoad" (in which Nayim Alal
Nayim Alal
Nayim Alal is a singer, guitarist and writer of lyrics in Spanish from Western Sahara.-Life:He was born in a nomadic family at the Ued Hawa, near Smara in 1966. All his brothers and sisters do poetry, and his brother Mohamed Lamin and Nayim were musicians...
plays the guitar). Following the success of their live performances, they recorded in 2000 a collaboration album, Mariem Hassan con Leyoad (in 2002).
In 2004, she contributed to the v.v.a.a. album Medej, followed by a extensive touring in Europe (Barcelona, Madrid, Leipzig, Helsinki, Brussels, Zurich, Antwerp...). One week before leaving Belgium she received a diagnosis of breast cancer and was operated on right after returning to Spain.
In 2005, her real first solo album was released. Deseos was an "ardent album, full of rhythm". It doesn't reveal the tragedies happening during its recording: the death from leukemia of Baba Salama (producer of the album and guitarist) before the album was published and Hassan's struggle with breast cancer.
Featured in
- 1998 A pesar de las heridas - Cantos de las Mujeres Saharauis
- 2004 Medej - Cantos antiguos Saharauis
- 2007 Hugo Westerdahl - Western Sahara
Noted lyrics
Among her works is the Spanish languageSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
song "Tus ojos lloran" (Translation: 'Your eyes weep'), dealing with the experience of woman coping with the sufferings of life and bereavement.
Use of Spanish in lyrics
Hassan's use of the Spanish languageSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in her lyrics relates to the former status of Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
as a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
colony, and where the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
continues to act as a lingua franca.
Background and reputation
Owing to political uncertainties, Hassan has not lived in Western Sahara in recent years.Her work has been added to the World Music National Geographic database.
She has collaborated with the singer and lyricist Nayim Alal
Nayim Alal
Nayim Alal is a singer, guitarist and writer of lyrics in Spanish from Western Sahara.-Life:He was born in a nomadic family at the Ued Hawa, near Smara in 1966. All his brothers and sisters do poetry, and his brother Mohamed Lamin and Nayim were musicians...
, also from Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
.
See also
- Music of Western SaharaMusic of Western SaharaSahrawi music shares much in common with neighbouring musical traditions such as those of Mauritanian and southern Moroccan. The Tbal is the basic instrument of percussion, though the traditional string instrument called Tidinit, has largely been replaced by electric guitar.The first Sahrawi music...
- Nayim AlalNayim AlalNayim Alal is a singer, guitarist and writer of lyrics in Spanish from Western Sahara.-Life:He was born in a nomadic family at the Ued Hawa, near Smara in 1966. All his brothers and sisters do poetry, and his brother Mohamed Lamin and Nayim were musicians...
- Aziza BrahimAziza Brahim-Life:She was born in 1976 in the Sahrawi refugee camps, where her mother had settled in late 1975, fleeing from the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. Her father remained in El Aaiun, where he died, and due to the conflict, she had never seen him....
- Spanish language#Africa