Who says sports don’t inspire the arts?
I know, it’s a lame connection, but come ON! This is history! After securing a place in the national soccer finals, MAT Tetouan shot to the top and today, May 28th, beat Rabat 1-0 on Rabat’s home turf to the thunderous cheers of Tetouanis overflowing from every cafe in Morocco. And art has definitely been inspired! More than just painting too. The dancing in the streets is expected to go for days here and new forms of music and poetry are on the rise from enthusiastic voices, young and old, some of whom have never sung before! New forms of fashion and spontaneous forms of printmaking abound in these crowds and hearts are glad on every street. Few will sleep tonight as the returning buses from Rabat arrive and unload reinforcements into the fray. THIS is a celebration.
As I walked back from the cafe I was passed by hundreds of cars piled with extra riders waving banners, flags and t-shirts. Upon arriving at Plaza Primu, one of Tetouan’s most well known round points I knew it was going to take me longer to get home than I thought. It was wall-to-wall people cheering and over in front of the old Catholic church I could see the vans and lights of a major TV station where they were interviewing fans and breaking the news.