Was court singer for Muhammad the Fifth in Rabat in Maroc.
They say of her that when she sang,
Soldiers would fight with knives
To make their way through the crowd
To reach the hem of her dress
To kiss the tips of her fingers
To give thanks with a silver real
Zohra Elfassia
Today can be found
In Ashkelon, in the ruins of the Third, near the Aid Office,
Scent of sardine cans remains on a rickety three-legged table,
Astonishing royalty rugs all disheveled on an Agency bed, [2]
In a dressing gown stared
For hours in the mirror
In cheap maquillage colors
And when she says:
Muhammad the Fifth, apple of our eye
You do not at first understand.
Zohra Elfassia has a throaty voice,
A crystalline heart and eyes sated with love.
Zohra Elfassia.
(From the book Moroccan Gift)
Shira Ohayon's essay about Jewish divas Zohra Elfassia and Laila Mourad at Cafe Gibraltar website
Shira Ohayon / A SONG OF WOMEN, WELLING UP:
https://cafegibraltardotendotcom.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/womensong/
