In these pages you will hopefully find interesting tips on how to take advantage of Cairo's many cultural opportunities, with particular attention to live events. Cairo Live Events Guide does not pretend to be exhaustive but will try to cover main events open to the public.

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

EL TANBURA concert and new album presentation


El Mastaba Center for Egyptian Folk Music invites you to attend El Tanbura Band concert on Thursday April 11, 2013 at 9:00 PM at El Dammah Theater (formerly El Tanbura Hall).
On this occasion El Tanbura, just back from their concert tour in Tunisia, will release their new album, "January 26th", featuring resistance songs from Port Said from 1956 to the present.

About El Tanbura: A quarter of a century ago, a group of Damma and Simismia artists in the city of Port Said undertook the responsibility to collect, revive and preserve this musical legacy which was threatened with extinction. El Tanbura band was born out of their response to Zakaria Ibrahim's call for establishing a band to achieve those goal.
In its first five years, the band successfully managed to collect 20 hours of that precious legacy which was orally transmitted through successive generations but which had never before been documented. This material is now preserved in writing, recording, video, and photographic form. However, it is the live performances which have continued over 24 years and through which the band presents regular, weekly shows on the beach of Port Said that ensures the continuing vitality of this heritage and its relevance to audiences. These shows are presented free to the people of the city as it was their forefathers who contributed to the creation of this special heritage.
The band also presents two annual festivals held in the city streets: one is held in the Spring and the other on Victory Day, the 23rd of December. This latter event commemorates the peoples' victory over the tri-partite attack of France, Britain and Israel in 1956. The resistance songs which the people composed during the attack and after have become an important part of the band's repertoire. The band has continued to compose new patriotic songs for subsequent situations and events, such as the on-going Israeli occupation of Palestine, the American invasion of Iraq, the 50th anniversary of the nationalization of the Suez Canal, the war of 1956, the revolution of the 25th January (during which the band often performed in Tahrir square) and, most recently, the first anniversary of this same revolution for which they composed the song, "Addi El Dalma" ("The Darkness has Passed").
In 2003, under the direction and encouragement of El Mastaba Center for Egyptian folk Music, the members of El Tanbura established a school in Port Said to transfer their skills and heritage to a new generation. Students between the ages of 6 and 16 learn the art of singing, percussion, instruments and dancing, becoming active players in their shared heritage. Young Tanbura, is managed by Mohsen El Ashry, one of El Tanbura's star simsimia players, and this band of youngsters has developed a high level of professionalism to the point where they perform for audiences in Port Said, Cairo, Alexandria and other places.

Biography by El Mastaba Center For Egyptian Folk Music

Tickets at the counter 30 EGP, tickets by reservation 20 EGP. For reservations write to info@el-mastaba.org or call 011 50 99 5354/0223926768/011 243 66 241. Note: The reservation will be cancelled at 9:00 PM. Door opens at 8:30 PM
For more information please visit www.el-mastaba.org

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