From the consistently excellent WSJ Photo Journal, I found this photograph by Rafael Marchante of a dancer who, according to the caption, is shooting his rifle during the festival of Moulay Abdessalam near Tetouan, Morocco, a few days ago. Thousands of pilgrims from all over Morocco take a pilgrimage each year to a saint’s tomb from Tetouan.
Having just returned from Morocco, and with this kind of religious festivals being high-powered catnip for me, I researched it on the web and found absolutely nothing. Googled it, Bing'ed it and Yahoo'ed it...and nothing about the festival emerged, except for references to Moulay Abdessalam Ben Mashish al-Idrissi al-Hassani, a Sufi saint who died in 1207.
All I found on Rafaele Marchante is that he's a Spanish photographer who lives and specializes in Morocco.
If any of my readers know of further details on this festival, please let me know! Rafaele Marchante's details are also sparse.
