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| An early Edmond Nathan Yafil comic monologue at 90 rpm. |
Guetta, like his Moroccan and Algerian Jewish contemporaries
who embraced the style, pushed the boundaries of the acceptable in public. On many
of his records, he ridiculed those in power, poked fun at his compatriots, and drew
attention to emerging social problems. But, as his successors would soon do, he sang
about the more banal.
In some cases, the banal, or the light song, took the form
of translated ditties, like Guetta’s Arabic version of La Petite Tonkinoise,
while in other instances it meant connecting the latest international music
trend - often Latin - to the local palate. Perhaps nothing exemplifies this
better than the array of songs released toward the middle of the century on the
subject of chakchouka, the North African tomato and egg delicacy that many of
us have come to know and love. Imar Maghy, for instance, a Tunisian Jewish
comic of the 1950s and 1960s, would set “chakchouka” to cha cha cha, pepper it with Arabic, and serve up wildly
popular results. Even if the tune has little to do with cuisine itself, one can
surely appreciate the identitarian aspect of it. You will find a taste below.
Not to be outdone was the Algerian Blond Blond, who sang about both the merguez sausage and chakchouka, and his Sétif-born colleague Alberto Darmon aka Staïffi (and his group: ses Mustaphas), who made his version of “chakchouka” into a dance number while also putting the culinary delights of the Belkacem restaurant - rhyming the Arabic word for “beans” with the French for “unforgettable” - to a foot-tapping harmony.
Of course, there is much more to be said on the subject of Jews and comedy in North Africa in the first half of the twentieth century but an outline will have to suffice for now. Comic monologues and songs can be counted as among the earliest pieces to be recorded on wax cylinder across the Maghreb. In Algeria, the impresario Edmond Nathan Yafil would bring the scène comique to large audiences, impressing none other than Mahieddine Bachetarzi, who himself would take Algerian comedy and theater to the next level.
I would also be remiss in not mentioning that a number of
these pioneers of comic song, along with their stand-up counterparts, made their
way to France and Israel around mid-century, including the Moroccan Maurice
Lusky, who can be heard below doing his classic “drunkard” sketch with Raymonde
El Bidaouia.
Publié le : 05.11.2009 | 14h59