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Firmin Viry

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Firmin Viry

Firmin Viry is a singer from Réunion known for maloya music, born on (1935-03-11)March 11, 1935 in the Ligne Paradis neighborhood of Saint-Pierre.[1]

Biography

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He developed his musical talents in the sugar cane fields while fighting for the rights of sugar cane cutters, a job he himself held all his life between Saint-Pierre and Le Tampon. At 23, he made the instruments necessary for maloya, the bob, the roulèr, the kayamb, and the piker, thanks to Gustin Miza (a Mozambican).[2]

Close to the Réunion Communist Party at its foundation, he then proposed, according to Françoise Vergès, the first maloya sung and danced in public[3] in 1959, at the Rio cinema in Saint-Denis.[2] Firmin Viry led another relentless fight for the abolition of the ban on Maloya. It was upon his arrival in power that President François Mitterrand lifted the ban.

Discography

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  • 1972: A nous même danser Maloya, Disques Jackman, 45 RPM.[4]
  • 1976: Le maloya, Ediroi (PCR), 33 RPM.
  • 1976: Peuple de la Réunion, peuple du maloya, Ediroi (PCR), 33 RPM. Participation of Firmin Viry with the troupe Résistance, the troupe Gaston Hoareau, and the troupe René Viry.[5]
  • 1977: Le Maloya de la Réunion, Disques Jackman, 45 RPM.
  • 1983: Ti crie a moin anin / Dimanche grand matin, Disques Issa, 45 RPM.
  • 1989: Cent An Boner, SEDM Oasis Studio, Cassette.[6]
  • 1998: Ti Mardé, Indigo.
  • 1999: Ile de la Réunion: maloya, Ocora.
  • 2006: Memwar in pep, Best Maloya.
  • 2017: Maloya, Ocora.

Controversy

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In October 2009, Firmin Viry canceled an invitation to Dieudonné[disambiguation needed] for the Kabar on December 20,[7] during which he was supposed to present his film Sans forme de politesse: regard sur la mouvance Dieudonné in a preview. The screening of this film in Paris had also been canceled following the disagreement of the mayor, Bertrand Delanoë.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Firmin Viry celebrates his 80th birthday at the Téat plein air de Saint-Gilles: VIDEOS - Oté rwa Firmin, larg out maloya" (in French). Imaz Press Réunion: the news of Réunion in photos. 2015-12-12. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  2. ^ a b "Île de la Réunion - Firmin Viry - Maloya". Radio France Edition. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  3. ^ Monsters and Revolutionaries: Colonial Family Romance and Métissage, Françoise Vergès, Duke University Press, 1999ISBN 978-0822322948.
  4. ^ "VIRY Firmin. |". www.reunionnaisdumonde.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  5. ^ Croisier, Brigitte (2 October 2013). "La longue marche du maloya". inforeunion: Un regard info politique - Ile de La Réunion - Océan Indien (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  6. ^ Firmin Viry discography at Discogs Edit this at Wikidata
  7. ^ Journal de l'ile et Quotidien de la Réunion du 16 octobre 2009
  8. ^ During his show J'ai fait le con, Dieudonné had brought Robert Faurisson, a promoter of Holocaust denial, on stage to award him "the prize of unacceptability and insolence," presented by a comedian dressed as a Jewish deportee, all in front of Jean-Marie Le Pen and his wife.