Midwest Mahjar: The Recorded Sounds of the Arabic-Speaking Diaspora in the United States at 78 RPM

  The Remarkable but Little-known Musical Career of Boston’s Helen Salem Rizk Philbrook Helen Salem Rizk, The Caravan , 03 November 1960. Courtesy of Newspapers.com Here at Midwest Mahjar, we have come to reflect on the amount of time we’ve spent in Boston, Massachusetts - actually and metaphorically. In our undergraduate days, the trek from Hanover, New Hampshire, to Boston provided two hours of excitement and entertainment.  In Boston, there was the historic Old North Church, Faneuil Hall, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial, and the monument dedicated to Crispus Attucks and the victims of the Boston Massacre. More recently, our connection to Boston has been through its Historic Syriantown community and the musical scene that emerged from it. We’ve written about G.S. Maloof , Anton Abdelahad , Ronnie Kirby , Tony Tawa , Lila Stephen , Najeeba Morad , Ramza Abdelahad, Yvonne Maalouf Rahwan, and Mathilda Dada Stephens . All lived most of their lives in and around Boston metro. Th