El embajador de España en Marruecos ensalza el legado del Festival Mata
The Spanish Ambassador to Morocco, Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner, took part in the closing ceremony of the tenth edition of the Mata Festival, organised annually by the Baraka family. Unmounted riders from all the villages in the regions near Larache take part, and it is one of the major events that promotes cultural dialogue with the environment, agri-food, ecology and the good treatment of animals, in this case horses.
After the festival was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was special interest in participating, both on the part of the riders who consider it a great pride to be present at this event, as well as the traders of various food products from the area, textiles and perfumery, and the many inhabitants in general from the area and from countries such as Spain and Mauritania who came to enjoy a great show in nature, horses, music and take advantage of the cultural exchange between peoples that the Mata Festival represents.
The Spanish ambassador, in his speech, was particularly moved and happy to participate in Mata, which is held under the patronage of His Majesty Mohammed VI, praised the legacy that this event represents and recalled the work of Abdeladi Baraka, who recently passed away "in the inescapable memory of a fabulous man, spiritual father of this event that preserves an ancient tradition anchored as he did all his life, in a feeling of friendship between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Spain".
"Today I am fortunate to be at the closing ceremony, at the heart of a cultural and sporting event of the Mata Festival which is a symbol of generosity and products worked by wonderful women of the Beni Arous region," Diaz-Hochleitner said, "and although we do not have Mata in our hands, we have it in our hearts, and that is what matters, the fact of participating in a cultural event in which we share the enhancement of this magnificent landscape and of the handicraft and food products," he said.
The ambassador congratulated all the participants after visiting the stands and said he was very honoured to have been received by the son of Abdeladi Baraka and very happy because Nabil Baraka is continuing the glorious work undertaken by his father "and feels the same affection that his father had for Spain". "Personally and as ambassador, I can assure you that Abdeladi Baraka was a great friend of Spain and also his son and his family," he remarked.
Nabil Baraka, currently in charge of the Mata Festival, replied that it was an honour to receive the ambassador "and to have Spain here among us in this village to celebrate the equestrian festival". He also thanked Patrick Hermes for his presence, as a great connoisseur and lover of the horse world from whom we have a lot to learn. "Mata is a cultural space for dialogue, a Spanish-Moroccan-African space. We are honoured to receive many Spanish friends from Morocco at a difficult time after the death of my father, who for many years has preserved this legacy", he said, and also stressed that his father "was the first defender of Spanish-Moroccan relations and we are convinced that Morocco and Spain have a secure and common future".
In addition to the Spanish Ambassador to Morocco, Ricardo Díaz-Hochleitner, and Patrick Hermes, this ancestral festival, which combines rural tradition with sustainable development, brought together the Moroccan authorities led by the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, the Wali of the Tangiers-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, Mohamed Mahdia, the governor of the Larache region, the head of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al-Hoceima region, the head of the commune of Aicha, and the heads of security and regional interests, along with various personalities from Spain, Mauritania and other African countries. Mata has been nominated as Cultural and World Heritage by UNESCO.