Arts, Crafts and Music
NMAC: Contemporary Art in Nature
Located in the natural park just outside of Vejer, this is one of the most original outdoor arts projects in Europe. Full moon visits take place each month along with a wide range of different workshops for budding artists. A must for lovers of contemporary art and sculpture.
www.fundacionnmac.org
Traditional weaving, baskets and mats
Juani Marchan - C/ Trafalgar 7, Vejer
Tel: 956 450 983
Music and Dance
Jookoo Horia
Jookoo was born in what is now known as Basra in Iraq into the tribe of Jillu Hakari, one of the largest tribes of ancient Mesopotamia and one of the few remaining to still speak the ancient language of Aramaic. At 12 years old he went to Beirut, Lebanon, as a refugee where he lived for four years before joining an Ashuri community in Athens. Eventually he and his family settled in Chicago where they found a place to keep their culture, language and music alive.
One day when listening to a cassette tape of “Canto Jondo”, traditional flamenco singing, his grandmother said, “This is our folk tribal singing, but they sing in a foreign language”. Jookoo was very excited and left almost immediately for Jerez to investigate the links between the “Canto Jondo” and the types of Flamenco singing like Seguiria, Martinete, Solear and Tonal, which sounded the same as the traditional folk singing of the Ashuri tribes.
Here he met the Gypsy scholar Rafael Fernandez Suarez known as “El Nene”, who 40 years ago had written about the roots of flamenco singing and the Gypsies as being from ancient Mesopotamia. Jookoo felt that he had found his people and a singing tradition going back thousands of years, sung without accompaniment of guitars or any other instruments. The subject of the songs is nearly always for protest, persecution, love and the beauty of women.
Interview with Jookoo about his people by Dan Uneken
Jookoo with Jose “Caraoscura”, son of El Parilla de Jerez, at Café Levante, Caños de Meca
Assyrian Folk music “Shara” played by Jookoo
Jookoo playing live Zigane and Manoush styles of music at Hotel Madreselva, Caños de Meca
Caraoscura
Son of El Parilla de Jerez - Flamenco y Fusion
Click here
Mhijea Danza Oriental
Ezequiel Reina
