During the 17th edition of the Ouagadougou International Crafts Fair (SIAO), artistic and cultural performances began this Saturday on the site, to introduce festival-goers from various backgrounds to a part of Burkinabe culture.
“We cannot organize a major event like the Ouagadougou International Crafts Fair (SIAO) without music, dance and theater to entertain festival-goers and the public,” said the president of the entertainment and ceremony committee, Abraham Ouesséna Abassagué.
According to him, the artistic and cultural performances aim to introduce a part of Burkina Faso’s culture to the various festival-goers present at this biennial celebration of African crafts.
Mr. Abassagué, also Director General (DG) of the National Center for Arts, Entertainment and Audiovisual (CENASA), spoke on Saturday during an evening of artistic and cultural events on the SIAO site.
According to him, these events, organized from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., bring together nearly 60 renowned artists from the country such as Smart
y, Nabalm, Miss Tanya, with the participation of troupes such as Relwendé, PINAL Afrique, etc.
The CEO of CENASA specified that the selection of artists took into account all the ethnic, ethnological and cultural sensitivities of the country.
“We have troops from the Sahel, the East, the West, the South, the Central Plateau, the Boucle du Mouhoun, etc.”, he said.
Abraham Ouesséna Abassagué also specified that people living with disabilities as well as former glories were taken into account in the selection of artists for the 17th edition of the SIAO.
“Our country has a diversity of religious practices – traditional religions, Catholic, Muslim. We try to find artists who are active in these fields in order to show this plurality that exists in the country,” he added.
The chairman of the entertainment and ceremony committee also invited the people of Ouagadougou to come out in large numbers to visit the various SIAO stands, in order to make the event a success and show the world that Burkina Faso remains w
elcoming despite the security context.
Source: Burkina Information Agency