The Teatro Municipal San Francisco in Vejer will host the premiere of The Legend of Ben Rachid and Lalla Zhora: A Love Story between Vejer and Chaouen on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 July. Produced by La Aurora Teatro, the show combines acting, live music and dance.
Supported by Califa, the production forms part of the celebrations marking the 26th anniversary of the twinning of Vejer de la Frontera and Chefchaouen. Two towns separated by the Strait, yet united by a shared history. Vejer, white and Andalusian. Chaouen, blue and Riffian. Two places that seem to gaze at one another like reflections of the same landscape on opposite shores of the Mediterranean.
Six days celebrating the twinning
The six-day commemorative programme will feature a series of institutional and cultural events recalling the twinning established in 2000, symbolising the union between Catalina Fernández and Ali Ben Rachid. The programme will begin on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 July from 8.00 pm, with the recreation of an Andalusian souk along Calle Ramón y Cajal, leading towards Vejer Castle, with craft stalls, traditional products and demonstrations of ancestral techniques.
On Sunday 19 July at 11.00 pm, the Murallas de la Segur will host the concert Music without Borders, featuring Tito Alcedo and Ricardo Piñero. The commemorative events will culminate on Tuesday 21 July with the official ceremony marking the 26th anniversary in the foyer of the Teatro Municipal San Francisco. Later that evening, the first performance of The Legend of Ben Rachid and Lalla Zhora will take place, followed by a second performance on Wednesday 22 July.
A love story between two shores
The story takes us back to the 15th century. During a siege of Vejer by Muslim troops, Catalina Fernández, a young noblewoman from Vejer de la Frontera, is taken captive and meets Sidi Ali Ben Rachid, a Berber emir. They fall in love and marry. Catalina converts to Islam and takes the name Lalla Zhora.
As the Reconquista advances, the couple flee to Morocco and settle in the Rif. There, however, Lalla Zhora becomes deeply nostalgic for her home town, its whitewashed streets and the land she left behind on the opposite side of the Strait.
Desperate to ease his wife’s sadness, Ben Rachid calls upon the Madrazas, two wise sorceresses who embody memory and the invisible thread connecting the two shores. Through their voices and spells, they gradually reveal the events of the story, turning time into a mirror between Vejer and Chaouen.
The Madrazas warn the emir of the dangers involved in their magic. Even so, Ben Rachid accepts their conditions and risks his life and his love in an attempt to cure Lalla Zhora’s melancholy. From that moment onwards, the fate of the couple and of the two towns hangs by a thread, blue as the sky and white as the soul.
Theatre, live music and dance
The Legend of Ben Rachid and Lalla Zhora is a classical-style production combining historical events with fictional elements. Its writer and director, Sergio Román, describes it as a historical novel brought to the stage, following two years of research into figures about whom very few documentary references survive.
Live music will play a central role, performed by Nono García on guitar, Aysu Çöğür on vocals and Middle Eastern percussion, and Pablo Hernández on saxophone. A score inspired by Andalusian, Spanish and North African sounds will accompany the characters’ emotional journey.
The dance performance will be led by Saida Ben Lakhan, who embodies Lalla Zhora’s nostalgia and her passage between the white of Vejer and the blue of Chaouen.
The cast includes María Giménez, Sergio Román, Ana Forero and José Versaci, with a special appearance by the young actress Frida Román.
Califa’s commitment to culture in Vejer
The project is supported by Califa, continuing its commitment to cultural initiatives created in Vejer and to projects that help preserve and share the town’s identity, history and connections with other places.
For James Stuart, CEO of Califa, supporting local culture means playing an active role in the life and future of the town:
“Vejer has an extraordinary cultural identity, and we believe that those of us who work here also have a responsibility to help preserve it and give it greater visibility. Supporting projects such as this production is a way of championing local talent, introducing our history to new generations and keeping Vejer’s connection with Morocco and the opposite shore of the Strait alive.”
This collaboration holds particular significance for Califa because of the close relationship that its history, architecture, culture and gastronomy maintain with the Andalusian legacy and North Africa.
Practical information
Dates: Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 July 2026
Time: 9.00 pm
Venue: Teatro Municipal San Francisco, Vejer de la Frontera
Tickets: €12 in advance / €15 at the box office
Bookings: WhatsApp 691 303 429
