Osama Kamal celebrates the musical diversity of a city where East meets West Port Said is a city with a chequered past, an unusual history and forgotten tales waiting to be told. Since it was built a century and half ago to connect East and West, the city has had its good days and sad ones, moments of ecstatic glory and painful moments of truth. Yet despite its ups and downs, its aspirations and its despair, Port Said -- although many might say it is just a shadow of what it once was �ê" still knows how to throw a party. Its pleasing architecture, typical of a port city of its time but unique in Egypt, is still undiminished, and its musical legacy is as enchanting as ever. One of the men who make Port Said a great place to visit is singer . Born in Port Said, Alfi studied engineering at Suez Canal University, where he was nicknamed "First Crooner" by his colleagues. After graduating in 2005, Alfi decided to pursue a singing career and joined the Step By Step band before leaving it for Ayyamna Al-Helwa (Our Good Days). He ended up forming his own band, which he called Ghona Rayeq (Pure Singing). His is a special brand of singing, too westernised for those used to oriental singing and too oriental for lovers of western music. His style often mirrors that of the pop star Angham. His recent concert, which he called Ayyam Al-Turath (Heritage Days), began with a poetry reading by the Port Said-born poet Ahmad Shalabi, who spoke about festival times, horse-drawn carts and folkloric themes. Shalabi brought the audience to their feet with his description of Port Said's streets and customs. One of the poems, "Karamat" ("Divine Gifts"), was written especially for this year's festival by the Society Française of Port Said. Then Alfi came to stage, and soon the audience were clapping to the beat of "Nasiyat Al-Alam" ("Corner of the World"), a song that Shalabi wrote and recited at last year's event. The song is about Port Said and how it is situated at the meeting point of Asia and Africa. The lyrics of the next song were by the Alexandria-born poet Mohammad El-Sayyed. The song, "Khalauka Faqalu" ("They Deposed You and Said..."), was about the 25 January Revolution and the new spirit it brought. Having come from a politically active family of which several members served in parliament, Alfi seems to go often for lyrics with a political content. His next song, "Mesru Al-Lati Fi Khatiri" ("Egypt on My Mind") spoke of the aspirations of the young generation. This song and the next, "Tayeh Fi Ardek al-Wasaa" ("Lost in Your Extensive Land:, which speaks of an outsider feeling lost in the bustle and noise of Cairo, were written by the poet Tareq El-Zorba. The latter song reminded me somewhat of the poem "Madina Bela Qalb" ("City without a Heart"), written 40 years ago by Ahmed Abdel-Moati Hegazi. Zorba and Alfi started collaborating six years ago, right after winning the Gold Medal Award in the popular television show Estodio Al-Fann (Art Studio). Another song, "Amm Selim" ("Uncle Selim"), written by Ahmed Shalabi, had a folk flavour that added warmth to Alfi's repertoire of patriotic, love and community songs. After the well-known Port Said song "Ah Ya Lalali", Alfi performed his own song "Mesh Lazem" ("Not Necessary"). "Sometimes one goes through a very special experience, and you cannot ask someone to write you a song about it. You have to write it yourself," Alfi told Al-Ahram Weekly. Gamal Bekhit wrote the lyrics and Khaled Bakri wrote the music for "Ahasis" ("Feelings"), another song written by Alfi which was the main sound track for the 2010 film by the same name. Alfi enjoys singing oldies, such as "Talat Salamat" ("Three Greetings") by Mohamed Qandil. He told the Weekly that he chose this song because it was the first that brought him fame in his university days. "This song was written and performed by three of the towering figures of Egyptian music: singer Mohamed Qandi, composer Mahmoud El-Sharif and poet Morsi Gamil Aziz." Then came "Tayer Ya Hawa" ("Flying on Air"), another classic song, this time by Mohamed Rushdi. An outstanding rendition of "Al-Bahr Beyedhak Leh" ("Why is the Sea Laughing") followed. This song, written by Naguib Surour and Ahmed Fouad Negm, is one of Alfi's favourites. "Naguib Surour managed to bring forth the vocabulary and the traits of Egyptian society, addressing a complex issue in a simple and smooth manner," Alfi said. Alfi is a fan of Mohamed Mounir, Fayrouz, and Angham. He says that their singing is so natural that "you feel that they reach out and touch your soul." In this concert he performed one song by each of those three singers: "Younes" by Mounir, "Omri Maak" ("My Life with You") by Angham and "Nassam Alayna al-Hawa" ("Lovely Breeze") by Fayrouz. After wrapping up the evening with an encore of "Nasiyat Al-Alam", Alfi thanked the Alliance Française of Port Said for organising the 21-day event focusing on Port Said's cultural heritage. The festival, now in its second year, involved singing, literature, films, photography and discussion panels. To mark the event the government announced that it was listing local 505 buildings as heritage monuments.
