Next Friday, July 7 at 10 p.m., the gardens of the
Casa Museu Llorenç Villalonga, in Binissalem, will be the scene of the show "La besada de
la terra" (The kiss of the land), Arab music and poetry presented and
recited by Joan Manresa. The programme, premiered on May 8, 1999 at
the Felanitx Cultural Centre, Joan Manresa'a home town, includes a
selection of works by different Arabic authors from the east of
al-Andalus as far as Iraq. These are works that have been translated or
adapted by different Catalan authors or the very reciter.
Joan Manresa knows the Maghribian people and culture well, via his trips to
Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Egypt... His experiences in these lands have
inspired books, conferences, photographic exhibitions and articles, in
According to Manresa himself, "Now, when we must live peacefully with
people who have crossed frontiers, it would not be bad to know a little
of the music and poetry that has seen them grow. "La besada de la
terra" (Arab music and poetry) is only a window, perhaps afterwards it
would be good to see the whole panorama....."
Photo: Joan Manresa taken by Joan Ramon Bonet. Image that illustrates
the biographic note of the author of the book "Runes i la gent. Viatge
per Jordània, Síria i Líban",
Editorial Moll, 1997."