Mauritania Music Legend Passes Away

Dimi Mint Abba is having health issues now, but she has been the voice of Mauritania for ages. She has a bleeding brain right now and in Morocco receiving medical attention. According to news reports she has fallen to the ground during one of her concerts at a private party, breaking her jaw and teeth. Due to her critical condition, she was transported by plane and her fans gathered in front of the hospital. She was declared dead yesterday in her Morocco hospital after a worsening condition.

In her native Mauritania, Dimi Mint Abba is revered as the Diva of the Desert, the small republic's best-loved female griot, who comes from a talented musical family (her father, Sidaty Ould Abba, wrote the Mauritanian national anthem).

The griot represents much more to Mauritanians than a singer or musician, as their songs convey history, social commentary, poetry, prophecy and tales about the beauty of love. a grandiose story taller of folks nature. After winning a prize at the Festival d'Oum Kelthoum in Tunisia in 1976, Dimi represented Mauritania at the Festival of Arabic Youth in Iraq (1977), Festival of Timgad in Algeria (1978) and the Festival of Agadir in Morocco in 1986.

In 1989, she embarked on a European tour, giving audiences a first taste of music from Mauritania, followed by the album Moorish Music from Mauritania, with her haunting vocals supported by ardin (similar to the kora), tidnit (a type of lute), tabal and electric guitar.

Although the music of neighboring Mali, Senegal, Algeria and Morocco are better known outside of Africa, the modern and traditional music of Mauritania boasts a unique fusion of African and Arabic cultures to produce a passionate, expressive singing style over complex rhythms - a powerful influence on other forms of music, including flamenco.

While she has made a name for herself in an Arabic country, the dialect spoken in Mauritania is different than most Arabic ones, so her stardom has not translated outside of her little country, but she was part of the Arabic musical landscape as you see from her active participation in Arabic music festivals.

Hope she feels better
YouTube - Mondomix présente _ Dimi Mint Abba