Lone Tuareg and his camel... Festival in the DesertI don't know where to begin with Festival in the Desert- it was dream-like and surreal and completely stunning: Tuaregs wandering around on their camels all day long, spontaneous music jam sessions happening in tents all around the camp (I got to sit in on Haira Arby and a few other semi-famous groups), and mind-blowing night performances on the main stage including Salif Keita, Bassekou Kouyate, Habib Koite, Vieux Farka Toure, Afel Boucoum.
Probably the most amazing part was being able to interact, speak with and get to know some Tuaregs. These are the nomadic people of northern Mali and the Sahara Desert, related to the Berbers of Morocco. Their music is striking and their amazing clothing is like something out of a dream.
One of the best memories of the Festival was dancing with some Tuareg teenage boys during one of the evening concerts. These boys were dressed in their flowing robes with turbans and all the beautiful, decorative Tuareg get-up; you could often only see their eyes with the rest of their faces hidden behind their veils/turbans. However, they were breaking out with dance moves like any teenager out of New York. A couple times when I started dancing with one of them, I was struck again by the amazing power of music to bring such strangers together: me, a privileged Western woman on the search for something profound; him, a teenage boy whose life has been spent in the harsh climate of the desert, closely tied to his camel which is the center of life for Tuaregs- yet here we were. both going nuts to Salif Keita.
Crazy good stuff.
