“There were some organizational problems, but the overall outcome was positive and the festival was a success and managed to achieve the required goals,” he told Al Arabiya.

Suleiman explained that the success of the festival was demonstrated in the audience that followed its different activities throughout its duration of nine nights.

“This shows that the Sudanese people have a taste for the arts. They are also open to other cultures as was exemplified by their response to performances by foreign groups.”

The festival, Suleiman added, is going to continue on an annual basis like it used to before.

“We want this festival to give the voice of Sudan a chance to reach all parts of the world.”

Several of the groups that attended the festival performances not only liked the fusion of several cultures, but also identified with Sudanese music which they found similar to their national music. This was especially true for Mauritanians.

“Sudanese music is very similar to Mauritanian music and that is why we enjoyed the festival a lot,” one of the Mauritanian attendees told Al Arabiya in Khartoum.

He commended the performance of Sudanese singer Nada al-Qalaa when he saw her at the festival and pointed out that Mauritanians are fans of the late Sudanese singer Sayed Khalifa.

Khartoum was the capital of Arab and African culture in 2005 owing to its strategic location as well as the richness of its music scene. And while the outside world was busy with the separation of North and South Sudan, music came to prove that all of Sudan can dance to the same tunes and that is the secret of this special art being called “the international language.”

(This article was translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)