Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cultural activities on the island, keep an eye on the local press and visit local tourist of-
fices, where you can pick up flyers, theatre programs and a number of free events guides
such as the monthly
Azenda
(
www.azenda.re
)
.
LITERATURE
Few Réunionnais novelists are known outside the island and none are translated into Eng-
lish. One of the most widely recognised and prolific contemporary authors is the journalist
and historian Daniel Vaxelaire. His
Chasseurs des Noires,
an easily accessible tale of a
slave-hunter's life-changing encounter with an escaped slave, is probably the best to start
with.
Jean-François Sam-Long, a novelist and poet who helped relaunch Creole literature in
the 1970s, also takes slavery as his theme.
Madame Desbassyns
was inspired by the re-
markable life story of a sugar baroness.
Other well-established novelists to look out for are Axel Gau
v
in, Jules Bénard, Jean
Lods and Monique Agénor.
MUSIC & DANCE
Réunion's music mixes the African rhythms of reggae,
séga
(traditional slave music) and
maloya
with French, British and American rock and folk sounds. Like
séga, maloya
is de-
rived from the music of the slaves, but it is slower and more reflective, its rhythms and
words heavy with history, somewhat like New Orleans blues; fans say it carries the true
spirit of Réunion.
Maloya
songs often carry a political message and up until the 1970s the
music was banned for being too subversive.
Instruments used to accompany
séga
and the
maloya
range from traditional homemade
percussion pieces, such as the hide-covered
rouleur
drum and the maraca-like
kayamb
, to
the accordion and modern band instruments.
The giants of the local music scene, and increasingly well known in mainland France,
are Daniel Waro, Firmin Viry, Gramoun Lélé, Davy Sicard, Kaf Malbar and the group
Ziskakan. More recently, women have also emerged on the musical scene, including
Christine Salem and Nathalie Nathiembé. All are superb practitioners of
maloya
. Favour-
ite subjects for them are slavery, poverty and the search for cultural identity.
As for Creole-flavoured modern grooves, the Réunionnais leave those to their tropical
cousins in Martinique and Guadeloupe, although they make popular listening in Réunion.
It's all catchy stuff, and you'll hear it in bars, discos and vehicles throughout the islands of
the Indian Ocean.
