São Paulo – From April 27 to May 2, in a bid to increase tourist numbers to Brazil, the Moroccan National Tourist Office will host the Moroccan Week, a free cultural event at the Conjunto Nacional building on São Paulo’s Avenida Paulista.
The six-day event will feature a number of folk cultural attractions: music and dance performances, a handicraft exhibit, art demonstrations and henna body paint, Arabic calligraphy, a mint tea ceremony and a parade showcasing the emblematic pieces of garment known as kaftans.
The Office’s director general for Portugal and Brazil, Abdellatif Achachi, will be in attendance. “Morocco is strategically located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and this warrants it a peculiar geography, comprising valleys and mountains that come together to take tourists breaths away,” a press release quoted him as saying.
The hallways of the building set in the iconic São Paulo avenue will welcome Orquestra de Música Marroquina (the Moroccan Music Orchestra), which will perform Andalusian rhythms. Attendees can sample the traditional mint tea, get henna tattoos and check out Moroccan handicraft items.
Kaftan parades will happen on Saturday (28) and Sunday (29), at 2 pm, 5 pm and 7 pm. This traditional piece of garment symbolizes local culture. It’s currently worn at major celebrations, like weddings and religious celebrations.
The Moroccan Week opens on Friday (27). Admission is free.
Quick facts
Moroccan Week
April 27 to May 2
10 am to 8 pm
Conjunto Nacional (Avenida Paulista, 2073 – Consolação, São Paulo)
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
