I've spent the last few days relaxing, walking on the beach, sitting in cafes in the sunshine, and spending the evenings going to Ma'alem Seddik's house and catching up with the usual characters here. I keep running into Amin, who is one of my favorite of the guys who I met at Ma'alem Seddik's, for his gentle personality and striking eyes, and it tickled me that he told me in French, “Hey! You speak Arabic now!” During the 6 months I lived in Essaouira, Amin was always one of the guys who acted like a brother to me and who looked out for me. I always thought he should be on that old Beverly Hills 90210 TV show because of his preppy charm.
During the last few days, Hassan helped me get a custom-made sack for my guimbri that cost me all of ten dollars. Then yesterday, after we picked it up, and were walking in the streets of Essaouira, we ran into Hamid El Kasri, one of the most famous Gnawa ma'alems of Morocco. We stopped and he introduced me and the whole thing was a bit surreal.
Ma'alem has a new kitty named Mimis and I am enjoying cuddling her when the guys break off into a subject I can't follow. It's been fun to see them all again and feel like my being there is "old news" so I can do my own thing. Then two nights ago, after spending time at Ma'alem Seddik's, there was news of a lila going on. It was a “lila” sponsored by a German group of journalists so not the most traditional lila, but still quite good and enjoyable to watch.
I'm looking forward to the festival which starts this afternoon, although as usual, Essaouira is packed with tourists. I bought tickets to see Omar El Hiyat tonight; he's a well-known ma'alem whom I got to know back in 2008 and 2009 and whom I had an interview with. It will be a delight to see him play.
