About
Since 1999, I’m traveling to Sahara, to do documentary films and radio programs. In 2002, I’ve met for the first time some tuareg guitars players. A musical revolution for me, and a different understanding of this region. This book, Sahara Rocks ! will be a unique testimony on how the saharan society is changing fast.
Still a beautiful desert but not only.
Most populated cities such as Tamanrasset are microcosms revealing all the problem of this touristic region: threats of terrorism, traffics, illegal migration, pressures on cultural and natural heritages.
The only ways to escape this harsh reality for Tuareg’s youth are cybercafé and festivals celebrating their guitar heroes, the “Ishumar”, such as Tinariwen bands.
In Europe, the Saharan diaspora intents to offer a positive image of their native land. They organize events and promote bands from Kidal, Djanet, Agadez or Timbuktu. In the United States, bands such as Tinariwen or Bombino find a new public and new ways to talk about their identity and desert.
For years, I follow them in their concert, festivals, trying to keep alive, by music, the human link between Sahara and the Western World, with their rock, blues and poetry in my ears.
Arnaud Contreras
http://www.arnaudcontreras.com
arnocontreras@gmail.com
