Who was Haja El Hamdaouia? Google Doodle celebrates Moroccan singer

On Friday, the search homepage opens with an illustration of the chaabi musician

Friday's Google Doodle is celebrating the life of Moroccan singer Haja El Hamdaouia. Photo: Google

Google is celebrating the life of Moroccan singer Haja El Hamdaouia with a special Doodle.

El Hamdaouia influenced several generations of artists with her innovative style of Moroccan chaabi music.

People in the Middle East and North Africa region using the search engine on Friday will see a colourful illustration of the singer on the homepage.

Here’s what you need to know about her.

Who was Haja El Hamdaouia?

El Hamdaouia was born in 1930 in Casablanca and grew up in a musical household. Her father often hosted performances at their home, which inspired a young El Hamdaouia to take theatre classes. It was there she first learnt to perform chaabi music, a fusion of urban and rural Moroccan folk song.

By the early 1950s, her style of performance shifted to el aita al marsaouiya, a sub-genre of chaabi music that includes poetic lyrics and blues-like melodies, which suited her powerful voice.

El Hamdaouia performed for more than six decades, and headlined festivals around Morocco until the late 2000s. Her influence is still felt widely across the chaabi music genre.

She died in Rabat on April 5, 2021 at the age of 91.

What are Google Doodles?

Google Doodles feature sporadically throughout the year, transforming Google's traditional logo into an animation to pay tribute to an important figure or moment in history.

The doodles can also mark seasonal or celebratory events, such as International Women's Day, for example.

Scroll through our gallery below to see other regional Google Doodles from the past