She was always happy to come to Constantine, her hometown, to recharge her batteries, feel the air of Souika, hear the sound of the Rhumel and admire the Old Rock.
She experienced this happiness every time she set foot on this land where she had spent her childhood and youth. Thouraya, whose first name in Arabic means star, in reference to the Pleiades constellation, very well known in astronomy, is the example of the woman who overcame the trials of life to realize her lifelong dream, that of singing. Her eyes expressed this joy of being among her people which was outlined in a broad smile immortalized in a photo that was taken of her on June 8, 2015, when we met her at the Ahmed Bey Hall (Zénith) in Constantine during of the tribute evening organized in memory of the late Warda El Djazaïria. It was on the occasion of the “Constantine, capital of Arab culture” demonstration. That day Thouraya was affable and very modest.
Qualities that have made his personality throughout his artistic career. “You have unfortunately forgotten me,” she told us as a reproach addressed to the press, but also to the population of Constantine. Regrets for this great lady who was one of the guests of honor at this unprecedented event. Unfortunately for her, after a very long absence, she had gone completely unnoticed.
A bitter observation, because after years spent in Tunisia and Egypt, she had suffered greatly from this distance for decades. Although the generations of the 1960s and 1970s, especially the fairer sex, remember his famous songs played on radio and television in the black and white era, when there was not yet an invasion in in the 1990s, foreign channels through satellite dishes, it remains unknown to young people.
Aside from the broadcasts of yesteryear which focused on the singers of her generation born in the 1930s and 1940s, such as Seloua, Nora, Warda El Djazaïria and others, a work of memory for the promotion of Algerian culture was carried out. hugely lacking in Algerian television for two decades. Remember that Thouraya was in her time and remains to this day one of the rare Algerian singers to have touched several musical genres, including oriental, modern, malouf, religious and patriotic song.
In fact, and despite a rich career, Thouraya was not entitled to a tribute worthy of what she had given to Algerian culture for nearly 50 years, even if she had been welcomed with honors in 2009 in Constantine. during the International Malouf Festival. A tribute was paid to her in 2018 by the Ministry of Culture and the cultural association El Hachemi Guerouabi, chaired by Chahira Guerouabi, on the occasion of the Djawhara festival of women creators. Very little for a great lady who marked her era from her beginnings in the 1950s to the peak of her artistic career in the 1970s and 1980s. It was Algerian Television that finally dedicated a special program to her presented by Assia Talbi, in which she looked back on her life and her journey from her hometown, Constantine.
A great passion for singing
Her real name Thouraya Bendriss, she was born on January 15, 1931 in a house in the old town of Constantine, located on Baba Hnini Street, in the Souika district, at the entrance on the right side of the main street Mellah Slimane , just near the Sidi Rached bridge. She had grown up with her sister and brother in a conservative family, and had been raised in the pure Constantine tradition. After attending the Koranic school of Zaouia Taïbia, in the Sidi Bouannaba district, where she spent the day with her aunt, she followed classes at the Essalem association school until the age of 10. years old, when his father decided to end his schooling.
“Like young girls of the time, I loved doing embroidery with my mother, a tradition well anchored within Constantine families, but the thing that fascinated me the most was singing; I listened to a lot of oriental songs, but I really liked those of Oum Keltoum and Asmahane which I always sang at home,” she confided during this television show. Everyone who knew her in her youth testified that she had a beautiful voice. Always eager to learn, in 1944, when she was barely 13 years old, she joined the Toulouaâ El Fedjr (Dawn Rise) association, founded in 1937 by Mohamed Derdour (1909-1979). The same association included in its ranks the late master of malouf, Sheikh Mohamed Tahar Fergani.
Thouraya was so ambitious that she tried her luck by performing for the first time in 1947 on the radio in Constantine, performing the famous song Ala baladi El Mahboub, by Mohamed Abdelwahab. This passion for song was not to the taste of a conservative father very attached to traditions, who had forbidden him any artistic activity. She did not want to give up, preferring a hard sacrifice to pursue her career. With death in her soul, she left the family home to join her sister in Tunisia in 1951. It was in this country that she found the favorable conditions to develop her promising talent which would open the doors to fame for her.
The start of a long career
During a year spent at the famous Errachidia association, led by Khemais Ternane, Thouraya rubbed shoulders with the big names of song in Tunisia, like Salah El Mahdi, Redha El Kolai, Oulaya, Saliha, Naâma and others. Under these favorable conditions, she landed a contract with a Tunisian troupe for an artistic tour in Paris and Marseille. This event will be beneficial in his artistic life. She made her dream come true by recording, thanks to Mohamed El Djamoussi, her first 78 rpm album in July 1952 in Paris at Barclay. She was barely 21 years old. It will be the start of a rich career. Successes will follow with his famous song Ya lalla goulou loummi, a work by Abdelkrim Lahbib performed for the first time in 1953. His meeting in Paris in 1959 with the talented and brilliant composer Amraoui Missoum will mark a decisive turning point in his career, with numerous songs who will make him famous.
The same year, she took an important step in history by joining the FLN artistic troupe in Tunis led by the late Mustapha Kateb. “I have unforgettable memories of our tour in Moscow where the Algerian flag flew in the sky of this city; it was a great pride for me to be among the members of the FLN troupe, with great artists like Ahmed Wahby,” she revealed. Thouraya will experience the peak of his art after independence. She will headline tours in several countries, including France, Italy, Sweden, Holland, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. She will sing for Mustapha Sahnoune Ouyouni ma chafet, while Lahbib Hachelaf will compose his famous song Mdinet Qcentina for her in 1963. She will also work with Mahboub Bati, Cherif Kortebi and Tayssir Aqla. She will sing among others Ma andi zella, Ya chari dala, Ala ould el khala, Aleche ya nari, Ala khadou chama, Yalli guelbek, Ma nekder nesber, Ana aleti fi guelbi and dozens of other titles, but her greatest success remains undoubtedly his song Narek ya bounarayne, which crossed borders, when Thouraya will perform it in Cairo with the famous Egyptian orchestra El Massia. Thouraya always wanted to wear the Constantine gandoura in her various concerts on stage and on television.
A beautiful story with Malouf
Thouraya’s beautiful story with Malouf began in the 1970s. “Due to my origins from Constantine, I was often asked why I didn’t sing Malouf; This is how I decided to live this great adventure which had been successful thanks to undisputed masters of malouf who taught me a lot, I will cite Sheikh Kaddour Darsouni, Sheikh Abdelkader Toumi, Sheikh Brahim Amouchi, without forgetting Sheikh Mohamed-Tahar Fergani who supported me a lot,” she testified in gratitude. She will give her best performances with Ya bahi El jamal, Acheq memhoune, Ghouzali waynou, Kayfa el aamel, Farakouni, Djadaka el ghaïtou and many other famous titles drawn from this musical heritage and which will remain like pearls in her rich repertoire. Thouraya had also shown real acting talent, although she made her only appearance in the film El Ihmal (Neglect), directed in 1972 by Mohamed Houidek, in which she starred alongside the late Fatiha Berber. During her long career, she has had many experiences, singing both in classical Arabic in patriotic titles like Nachid essadaka, Chaâbou El Djazaïr, 5 Juillet, or in Tunisian dialects in Hlili ouay, and Egyptian in Rah minek, Bardou fikra and Sabrine sabrine. She even sang chaâbi by performing the title Ghab alia hbib qalbi by the late Dahmene El Harrachi.
Since the 1980s, Thouraya had chosen to withdraw from the artistic scene although she could give even more to Algerian song, despite her age. She will be the victim of an amnesia that she will feel harshly for years, although she retains a special place in the hearts of all those who listened to her during a certain period and appreciated her songs. A large part of the latter is available today on YouTube for young people who want to discover it. A tribute was paid to her last December during the International Malouf Festival in Constantine, where she sent a message of thanks to the public and the organizers of this event from the city of Paris where she lives among her children.
At the age of 94, which she will complete on January 15, the oldest Algerian singer, who had been the ambassador of Algerian culture, still deserves the honors worthy of a great lady who was the star of a beautiful era.
Par S.Arslan
