São Paulo – Brasília’s National Library will host the 2nd Arab Week from September 26 to 29, featuring photographs, film screenings, lectures and artistic performances. The free admission event is held by Instituto de Cultura Árabe-Brasileira (Icab, the Institute of Brazilian-Arab Culture) and Federação das Entidades Árabes no Brasil (Fearab Brasil, the Federation of Arab Organizations in Brazil).
The Arab Week had its first edition in 2014. The event is designed to highlight Arab history and culture by featuring cultural and artistic expressions by individuals and organizations, and showcasing the contributions made by Arabs to society and culture in Brazil.
Activities will be held at the library, starting at 2 pm on Wednesday (26), including music and dance, conversations, lectures, film screenings, storytelling for children, and the photo exhibit From Cordoba to Granada: details of Arab presence in Andalusia, by Nick Elmoor (photo at the top of this story). Also featured will be the Khalil Gibran Space, an homage to the Lebanese writer’s 135th anniversary. Visitors will be able to read some of his books, drink tea and listen to Arab music while learning more about his life story.
The Institute of Arab-Brazilian Culture will also host the Fair of Arab Culinary Diversity, on September 22 (Saturday). The event will take place at the Institute’s headquarters from noon to 5 pm. The Arab Week will wrap up with a dinner featuring Arab dance and music performances. Tickets cost BRL 150 and seats are limited.
Exhibition
From Cordoba to Granada: details of Arab presence in Andalusia traces back the history of Arab presence in the Iberian Peninsula, which lasted about eight centuries, through the work of photographer Nick Elmoor, a Brazilian of Lebanese background, with curation from Patrícia Elmoor. The exhibition will open at the library during the Arab Week. It will continue until October 12, from Wednesday to Friday, 2 from pm to 8 pm, and on Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm.
Music
Musical events will include a concert by Mahur Trio. They will play a multicultural repertoire from the Mediterranean and Middle East, featuring various musical traditions sung in five languages: Arabic, Greek, Turkish, Ladino (which derives from Spanish) and Farsi (the Persian language). The group comprises Pedro Rebello, Natalia Trigo and Arash Azadeh, who play folk instruments like the lavta (Turkish lute), nay (Oriental flute), kamancheh (a Persian bowed instrument), setar (Persian sitar) and bendir (a percussion instrument).
The event will also feature the Abu Hassan Opera, a piece with strong Arab references whose plot is based on an episode of the One Thousand and One Nights, directed by Irene Bentley and written by composer Carl Maria Von Weber. The opera will be performed at 6:30 pm and Mahur Trio will play at 7 pm on Friday, September 28.
Film
The Arab Week’s Arab Film Festival will feature two sessions a day during the four-day event. The Last Stop (115 min), the story of a young Lebanese man who travelled to Brazil in 1950 looking for a better life, will show at 3 pm and 5 pm on the 26th.
The Prophet, an animated film based on the eponymous best-selling novel written by Lebanon’s Gibran Khalil Gibran in the 1920s, tells the story of a political prisoner who shares his wisdom and poems with an eight-year old girl. The movie comprises nine stories, with messages of peace, love, friendship and fraternity.
Documentary film The Brazilian Palestine, shot in Southern Brazil and the Middle East, will show at 2:30 pm and 4 pm on the 28th. It portrays the roots, integration and the feeling of belonging of six Palestinian families living in Brazil. All three movies will be shown on Saturday (29) from 9 am to 2 pm.
Other activities
From Wednesday (26) to Friday (28), from 2 pm to 3 pm, and on Saturday (29) at 10 pm, kids will be able to hear stories of classic tales from the Book of One Thousand and One Nights, like Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, etc.
The Khalil Gibran Space, in honor of the Lebanese writer’s 135th anniversary, will be open from Wednesday (26) to Friday (28), from 2 pm to 8 pm, and on Saturday (29) from 9 am to 2 pm.
Conversations and lectures will feature specialists discussing topics including Arab cuisine, the Palestinian issue, the contribution of Arabs to history, etc, from Wednesday (26) to Friday (28), from 5 pm to 7 pm.
The Arab Week will also feature folk dance performances and belly dancing; workshops with guest groups and artists. Visitors will be able to learn more about Arab make-up, percussion, and “snujs” – metal cymbals played by dancers. The performances and workshops will take place from Wednesday (26) to Friday (28), from 6 pm to 8 pm.
For the full program, check out the event’s website.
Quick facts
2nd Arab Week
September 26-29
Biblioteca Nacional de Brasília
Setor Cultural Sul Esplanada dos Ministérios 2 – Brasília
Free admission
semanaarabe.fearab.org
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
