Saloua

Fitouma Lemitti known as Saloua's art name is an Algerian singer born in 1941 in Blida, one of the largest cities in Algeria, located 45 kilometers south-west of the Algiers capital. She began her artistic career in 1952 as animator at Radio Algiers under the direction of Réda Falaki, conducting a program dedicated to children. While the War for Independence in Algeria is in full swing, she decides to move to Paris to work with the French radio station for which she will lead a program aimed at the female audience of the Arab community. In Paris, in 1960, Saloua became acquainted with Al Missoum (name of the art of Algerian composer Khaled Amraoui). Missoum was working on a decisive renewal of the classic Algerian song and was looking for valid interpreters; he decided to propose to Saloua the song "Ellah youwlik sabr bi". The results will be more than satisfactory and from that moment on, the newborn singer abandoned the radio to devote herself entirely to music and singing. Al Missoum will sign her greatest hits, the songs "Kif Rayi Hamelni", "Ma tahleflich" and "Lalla Amina" are milestones of the modern Algerian song. The track "Lalla Amina" will be in 1962 one of the three best-selling albums released by the record label Pathé Marconi. In 1963, with a full-fledged career, the singer will participate in various radio shows, including "Hadi Darna" and "Warda el bi Chawk", and in 1964 she embarked on a long tour of the Arab countries that will consecrate her as the official ambassador of algerian song. The death of Al Missoum in 1969 will hit her a lot and she will make a decisive change in her musical style by attempting in 1970 a raid in the Andalusian Arab style under the direction of Merzak Boudjemia, a young composer and director of the modern orchestra at the conservatory Algiers, who she will marry later. With this operation Saloua will continue bravely a tradition inaugurated by Cheikha Yamna and Fadéla Dziria, undisputed queen of the musical genre called hawzi, moving on to an unexplored field, which contributes greatly to her musical growth and will make her one of the most esteemed performers of the song algerian. Her musical career will be full of success and satisfaction and will be of interest to various fields. In 1982, she will perform in the company of actor Ahmed Ayadb (known as Rouiched's art name) in the movie "Hassen Taxi" by director Mohamed Slim Riadi, this will be her only film experience. In 1990 she will be elected as a member of the National Council of Culture directed by the writer Abdelhamid ben Hadouga. Left out of the music scene for almost fifteen years in 2005, she will be honored with the honors and she will be awarded by the title of queen of the song by Algerian Minister of Culture Khalida Toumi at the Timgad International Festival. Reference point for various generations of artists Saloua will say on a tribute evening in recent years : "I've been in the arts world for 60 years, from the age of fourteen, it's great to see I'm not forgotten. I sang during a time when it was very difficult for a woman to do the singer because of the traditions. I broke all the taboos of time. I fought a fight with my parents. It was very difficult for me, but I never gave up and I ended up imposing myself. I would like to tell our youth to be serious, to work well, to be careful and to follow the right path to succeed. "