Moroccan singer Ragaa Belmaleeh dies at 45

Succumbed to cancer after 20-year career

DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)

Moroccan singer Ragaa Belmaleeh passed away in her birthplace in the afternoon of September 2, 2007 after a prolific career that spanned 20 years, her husband, Mohamed Sharaf El-Deen told Al-Arabiya.net.

The singer, who was 45-years-old at the time of her death, suffered from cancer and underwent treatment for a year and four months, after which she recovered even though doctors initially told her she only had 48 hours to live.

Three months after her recovery, Belmaleeh released a new album -- "Haseb" (Be Careful) -- produced by the company owned by her Egyptian husband, who also works as a real estate consultant in the U.A.E.

Longtime residents of the U.A.E., Belmaleeh, her husband, and her only son, Omar, were granted Emirati citizenship.

She started her career in the early eighties when she took part in a singing contest called "City Lights," under the auspices of the Moroccan producer Hamid El-Alawi.

Belmaleeh took first place, after which she worked with some of the greatest Moroccan musicians such as El-Mofadal El-Azrawy, Ahmed El-Baidawy, Abdel-Qader El-Rashedi, Abdullah El-Essami, and Hassan El-Qadmiri, as well as poets like Mohamed Hayy, and Abdel-Rafee Gawahry.

In 1987, Belmaleeh presented her first album, "Ya Gaar Wadeena" (Our Valley Neighbor), and included a number of songs like "Madinet El-Asheqeen" (The City of Lovers), "El-Horreya" (Freedom), and "Atfal El-Hejara" (Stone Children). She then released another album called "Hakaza El-Donia Tasamoh" (Life is about Forgiveness).

In the early nineties, she moved to Egypt, where she achieved another success with her album "Sabri Aleek Taal" (I'm Running out of Patience with you), in which she worked with composer Hameed El-Shaaeri. This was followed by the albums "Ya Ghayeb" (You, the Absentee) and "Eateraf" (Confession). She worked with many Egyptian composers, including Gamal Salama, Mohamed Diaa, Helmi Bakr, and Salah El-Sharnoubi.

Belmaleeh was awarded many prizes and certificates. In 1999, she got a certificate of appreciation from the Song Festival in Libya and similar ones from the Cairo International Song Festival, The Arab Music Festival in the Cairo Opera House, and the Tunisian Song Festival in 1995 and 1996, respectively.

In 1997, she won the Third Cairo International Song Festival Award, and in 1999, she was made a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.


(Translated from the original Arabic by Sonia Farid)