This was a South American Arab Dance contest which took place is Porto Alegre, in Southern Brazil, in 2008. I think team from Argentina won.
The point is: This is a major cultural phenomenom in South America.
Author: Latin Arabia
Dabke – Club Palestino
This is from the Club Palestino (Palestinian Club) in Santiago, Chile.
The club was founded in 1938 – apparently receiving some acknowledgement from the then British Mandatory – by way of the British Embassy in Chile – at the time. It is one of the more prestigious clubs in Chile
This is called Dabke de Beit Sahour. Beit Sahour is one of the 4 Christian towns (Bethlehem, Beit Shahour, Beit Jala, and Beit Safafa (now annexed into Jerusalem)) from which many of the Christian Palestinian in Chile are descended.
24 November, 2017 – Edited: Corrected a linl; added some info.
Nayma Jesik in Uruguay
Actually, Ms Jesik is from Argentina, but apparently, she performs as well in Uruguay.
Uruguay and Argentina have relatively easy and open borders.
What is clear is that in South America this is considered a popular art form. Even kids takes lessons.
According to her website, her birth name is: Jesica Loreno Sabina.
It is not even clear if she is of Arab descent, but that is the point. This has gone mainstream.
Restaurant Al Shark
This is an Arab Restaurant in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, one of Buenos Aires’ better neighbordhoods.
The restaurant’s name Al-Shark comes from Al Sharq which is Arabic for “the East.” It does not mean the man eating fish, shark, which in Spanish is tiburón.