Mustapha Toumi (July 14, 1937 – April 3, 2013) was an Algerian songwriter, lyricist, composer, poet and painter.

Biography

Coming from a family of

Bordj Menaïel Bordj Menaïel (from the Arabic برج - bordj, "tower" and Berber ''imnayen'' "cavaliers") is a town in the Boumerdès Province in Algeria. It is located in the western Kabylie region at and is 30 km away from the city of Boumerdès. As ...

, he was born on July 14, 1937, in the Casbah of Algiers. Long before the outbreak of the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, Mustapha Sahnoune created at the end of the 40s, an ensemble with his friends, he called, ''La Rose blanche''. In 1958, the political leadership of the revolution based in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

decides to create two artistic and athletic troops that will be the spokesman of a people fighting for its liberation. A great appeal is launched, following this decision, from Radio Tunis, "Sawt El Djazaïr" for all Algerians who are in the country or abroad to join the FLN in Tunis. This band presents songs of different themes, much more popular, until 1954 when all cultural activity is prohibited. Just after the strike of eight days of January 28, 1957, these artists which were forbidden to perform in their country regain Tunisia, and others among them, joined the

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

. Among the members of the troupe are Mustapha Sahnoun, Mustapha Kateb, Boualem Raïs, Sid Ali Kouiret He was active in the ranks of the FLN and participated in 1958 for "La voix de l'Algérie libre et combattante" (clandestine radio). After 1962, he was responsible for Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Information and party leader of the FLN, while working at several newspapers and magazines. Mustapha Toumi is the initiator of several major international cultural events held in Algeria. In 1990, he created the National Alliance of Independent Democrats (Andi), a political party that would not last long. He died on April 3, 2013, at the Mustapha-Pacha hospital in Algiers. He is buried at the

El Kettar Cemetery El Kettar Cemetery ( ar, مقبرة القطار) is one of the most famous cemeteries in Algeria. It is situated in a suburb of the city of Algiers in the Communes of Algeria, commune of Oued Koriche. It opened in 1838 replacing the cemetery of S ...

Compositions

*''Sbhan Allah ya Ltif'' played by El Hadj El Anka *''Africa'' sung by the South African

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...

. *Lyrics to ''Kalbi ya Bladi la nensek'' a patriotic song Mustapha Sahnoune composed, performed by El Hadi Radjeb at the age of 13 *Lyrics to ''Che Guevara'' for Mohamed Lamari *Lyrics to ''Ya dellal'' for Nadia Kerbache *Lyrics to ''Ki lioum ki zmane'' for Zerouali

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toumi, Mustapha 1937 births People from Bordj Menaïel People from Bordj Menaïel District People from Boumerdès Province Kabyle people 2013 deaths Algerian male poets Algerian songwriters Algerian composers Algerian revolutionaries People from Casbah 21st-century Algerian people