Alabina
Alabina is a French-based group that performs a mix of world music: Middle Eastern, Arabic, French, Hebrew, and Spanish Gypsy music. Alabina consists of lead singer Ishtar, who does the female vocals, and the band Los Niños de Sara, who provide male vocals and music. According to Alabina.org, the word is Arabic and Alabina has two meanings: "let's go" and "God is between us." The name comes from the title of Alabina's first song. It is also the name of the group's first album. Alabina consists of lead singer Ishtar, who does the female vocals, and the band Los Niños de Sara, who provide male vocals and music.
Ishtar- www.ishtaralabina.net
Ishtar is a pop singer who performs in Arabic, Hebrew, Bulgarian, French, Spanish, and English. She is best known for her work as the front vocalist of the French-based band ‘Alabina’, and her solo pop hits such as ‘C'est La Vie’, ‘Last Kiss’, and ‘Habibi’ (Sawah). She sold millions album around the world and was named the ‘Queen of the world music’ . Ishtar was born to an Egyptian mother and a Moroccan father. She speaks and sings in Arabic, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Russian, and English. Ishtar began performing in clubs at age 14 and continued even while enrolled in the IDF. Though she was born Ester , she chose the name 'Ishtar', a Mesopotamian Goddess, because her grandmother called her Ester, which "with her Egyptian accent it sounded like Ishtar", she said.
Los Ninos de Sara
Los Niños de Sara (in Spanish, "Sara's children") is a Spanish-speaking Gypsies musical group from Montpellier, France. They perform on their own, but they are best known for the involvement in the musical group Alabina. They are cousins from Nîmes, France, who have been playing together since they were 14 years old. Described as a cross between the Gipsy Kings and Buena Vista Social Club, the group blends Cuban music, rumba catalana and flamenco (primarily rumba flamenca) and features a touch of North African influence.