Fadhéla Dziria, officially Fadhéla Madani Bent el-Mahdi (25 June 1917 – 6 October 1970) was an Algerian singer in the Hawzi style of Andalusian classical music. Her first name is also seen as Fadila, Fadhila, or Fadela, and her chosen last name as Dziriya. Dziria means Algerian—so she was, professionally, "Fadhéla the Algerian".
Career Fadhéla Dziria was born in Algiers,"The Diva of Algiers Song, Fadhela Dziria" Mediterranean Memory (1991). the daughter of Mehdi Ben Abderrahmane and Fettouma Khelfaoui. She was first heard singing on the radio in Algeria. In the 1930s, she was a young cabaret singer in Paris. She returned to Algeria, and sang at the Cafe des Sports. She began making recordings in the 1940s, mostly of traditional folk songs. She toured to sing in other cities, and appeared in films. Later in her career, she was also seen on television."Meriem Fekkai et Fadila Dziria" Chouf-Chouf (4 September 2014).
She raised funds for political causes with her more militant sister, Goucem Madani (1918-1983), and served time in prison for her activism.Djamila Amrane, Des femmes dans la guerre d'Algérie: entretiens (Karthala Editions 1994): 152. The sisters had a band with Sultana Daoud.S. L. "Bientôt un feuilleton sur la vie de Fadila Dziria" InfoSoir (6 November 2013).
Fadhéla Dziria is said to have been an important influence on Saloua, another Algerian traditional singer.Phillip C. Naylor, Historical Dictionary of Algeria (Rowman & Littlefield 2015): 400. She also provided early opportunities for singer-songwriter Biyouna, who played the tambourine in Dziria's all-female orchestra as a young woman."Biography of Baya Bouzar" African Success (2010).
Personal life Fadhéla Madani was married for a short time at age 13. She died in 1970, aged 53 years. Her gravesite is in El Kettar Cemetery.
Legacy In 2009, an amphitheater at the National Institute of Music in Algiers was named for Dziria. An annual national music festival is held there."Algeria's Chaabi Music Festival Wraps Up" Xinhua Net (12 August 2012). In 2010 there was a gathering of musicians in Algiers to mark the fortieth anniversary of her death, and to open a photography exhibition based on her music."Music: Fadhila Dziria, The Everlasting Nightingale" El Moudjahid (28 November 2010).
In 1999, the song "Dziria" by the Algerian hip-hop band MBS sampled Fadila Dziria's 1951 recording of "Ana Touiri".MBS, WhoSampled: Exploring the DNA of Music.
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