Closing in apotheosis of the 16th edition of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival. Sunday 23 June current, the Moulay Hassan square in Essaouira had been set on fire by the talented and great maâlem Mustapha Baqbou, who knew how to give joy and pleasure to a crowd in a trance thanks to his authentic Gnaoua “trouhas”.

A concert of high quality enhanced by a magnificent fusion with the American drummer Will Calhoun. An exercise of sharing and marriage of cultures and musical references that confirms the very successful trend of fusions during this edition.

After the joyful opening evening which invited three musical schools as distant as they were different, but which knew how to compose together to offer the general public a wonderful canvas of rhythms and colours guided by the hajhouj of the Gnaoua maâlem Said Kouyou, the Emirati rhythms of Annadi Al Bahri came to marry the Moroccan musical mosaic also represented by the Soussi folklore of the Howara troupe.

The third and magical fusion exercise of the 2013 edition was the fruit of the long-awaited and appreciated meeting of the great Gnaoua Maâlem Mahmoud Guinea and the talented Cuban pianist and composer Omar Sosa. As is customary, the hajhouj and the public melted in the hands of Mahmoud, who was equal to himself. Before being joined by Sosa in a magnificent fusion where the common and universal aspect of Gnaoua music worked its magic. The rhythms and instruments cohabited without great effort, Guinea was master of the stage while Sosa majestically followed the madness of the rhythms and colours.

The most striking aspect of the 16th edition is the reconciliation of the Souiri public with the festival. The enthusiasm was noted since the day of 20 June, a human flow resumed the paths of the stages, sure of the artistic product and the security device. Minors and troublemakers were no longer visible as before. Families, couples were the category most present in the squares and in the intimate concerts.

The night of 22 June, leaving the Bab El Marsa stage, the image offered pleasure and confidence: couples were still walking along the corniche with their babies in strollers, the general public of Hamid El Kasri was leaving the Moulay El Hassan square gently; one was no longer jostling as before, and the repulsive images of harassment and aggression had disappeared forever.