Firmin Viry (born 11 March 1935) is a

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

from

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

known for

maloya Maloya is one of the two major music genres of Réunion, usually sung in Réunion Creole, and traditionally accompanied by percussion and a musical bow. Maloya is a new form that has origins in the music of African and Malagasy slaves and Indian ...

music. He was born in the Ligne Paradis neighborhood of Saint-Pierre. Viry developed his musical talents while working in the

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

fields and fighting for the rights of fellow sugar-cane cutters.

Early life and music

Firmin Viry worked as a sugar-cane cutter all his life between Saint-Pierre and

Le Tampon Le Tampon () is the fourth-largest commune in the French overseas department and region of Réunion. It is located on the south-central part of the island of Reunion, adjacent to Saint Pierre. History In the early twentieth century, the tow ...

. At 23, he made the instruments necessary for maloya, the bob, the roulèr, the kayamb, and the piker, thanks to Gustin Miza (a Mozambican).

Activism

Close to the Réunion Communist Party at its foundation, Viry then proposed, according to Françoise Vergès, the first

sung and danced in public in 1959, at the Rio cinema in Saint-Denis. Firmin Viry led another relentless fight for the abolition of the ban on Maloya. When President

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

assumed power, he quickly lifted the ban.

Controversy

In October 2009, Firmin Viry canceled the invitation for

Dieudonné M'bala M'bala Dieudonné M'bala M'bala (; born 11 February 1966), known professionally as Dieudo, is a French comedian, actor, and political activist. He has been convicted for hate speech, advocating terrorism, and slander in Belgium, France, and Switzerlan ...

, a French comedian, to appear at the 20 December to celebrate , during which Dieudonné was to present a preview of his film . A Paris screening of the film had also been canceled after the mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, objected, following repeated complaints against the comedian that his shows and media comments displayed antisemitism. At the time Viry withdrew his invitation, penalties of a fine and compensation payable to community groups were imposed on Dieudonné for "public insult of people of Jewish origin or faith"; similar incidents occurred in 2004 and 2005 for which Dieudonné also had judgements against him in 2007 and 2008.

Discography

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

: ''A nous même danser Maloya'', Disques Jackman, 45 RPM. *

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

: ''Le maloya'', Ediroi (PCR), 33 RPM. *

: ''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. *

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

: ''Le Maloya de la Réunion'', Disques Jackman, 45 RPM. *

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

: ''Ti crie a moin anin / Dimanche grand matin'', Disques Issa'', 45 RPM. *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

: ''Cent An Boner'', SEDM Oasis Studio, Cassette. *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

: ''Ti Mardé'', Indigo. *

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

: ''Ile de la Réunion: maloya'', Ocora. *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: ''Memwar in pep'', Best Maloya. *

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

: ''Maloya'', Ocora.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viry, Firmin 1935 births People from Saint-Pierre, Réunion