Travel document problems keep Moroccan musician Asmaâ Hamzaoui from Venice Biennale
Moroccan singer Asmaâ Hamzaoui was due to perform on October 17 at the prestigious Venice Biennale. Problems with her travel documents prevented her from reaching Italy. Organizers had to replace her concert with another performance.
Everything was in place to welcome Asmaâ Hamzaoui and her all-female group Bnat Timbouktou to Teatro alle Tese on Saturday, October 17, at 6 p.m. The musician from Casablanca was on the program for the 70th edition of Biennale Musica, with a performance devoted to the Moroccan gnaoua tradition.
But the artist was unable to make the trip. In an official statement published on October 17, the Venice Biennale announced that she had been replaced because of “problems with her travel documents.” The cultural institution gave no further explanation for the singer’s absence.
Organizers then changed the second part of the concert. American singer Alif Hilal was asked to perform “Hymnal,” a work from her latest album, following the world premiere of “In the Threshold of Your Love,” scheduled to open the evening.
A pioneer of gnaoua music kept off the stage
For Asmaâ Hamzaoui, the Venice engagement marked another step in an international career built around Morocco’s musical heritage. Born into a family of gnaoua musicians in Casablanca, she learned to play the guembri, a traditional three-string instrument long reserved for men, at a very young age.
The daughter of gnaoua master Rachid Hamzaoui, she founded Bnat Timbouktou in 2012. Five years later, her appearance at the Gnaoua Festival in Essaouira opened the door to major international stages. According to the professional platform WOMEX, the group went on to perform at several festivals in Europe and the United States.
The Biennale’s original program featured a performance by five musicians: Asmaâ Hamzaoui, Aïcha Hamzaoui, Mouna Guidiri, Diana Baretto and Narjis Chakir. With the deep tones of the guembri, metallic percussion and traditional songs, they were set to introduce Venetian audiences to a repertoire inspired by Moroccan gnaoua ceremonies.
The Biennale, which runs from October 10 to 24, had presented Asmaâ Hamzaoui as one of the leading women in this musical tradition, which has been on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2019.
