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La Fête de la Musique
by Joseph E. Romero
PARIS, 19 June 1998 -
Every year at the summer solstice, amateur and professional musicians
of every imaginable persuasion take to the streets, parks and public
squares to celebrate France's Fête de la Musique. Hospitals,
museums, bars, restaurants also serve as venues for jazz, global
techno, salsa, classical and world music.
Launched in 1982
by then socialist Minister of Culture Jack Lang, the French fête
is by far, the most sympbolic manifestation of the inextricable link
between the arts and politics in France. Furthermore, the French
population expects the state to provide and fund culture as they
expect the state to provide and fund adequate health care. Since its
inception in the French Republic, National Music Day has spread to and
is celebrated in ninety-five countries.
With France hosting
the 1998 World Cup, this year's cru includes an open-air
concert on the Place de la République in Paris by reggae star
Jimmy Cliff in honor of the Jamaica vs Argentina match scheduled for
21 June.
Other notable events include the excellent Cuban
Dance Band Charinga Habanera at the Bataclan in Paris the night before
and a twelve-hour techno marathon featuring Busta Flex, Cut Killer, DJ
Warrio, Superdiscount among others on the esplanade of the Château
de Vincennes.
Classical and jazz offerings were better in
past years. Still, a multitude of concerts in both genres can be heard
throughout the country with the exception of the city of Toulouse
where the bars and restaurants have had to observe an 11 pm curfew
from Thursday, 18 June, through Sunday evening. And this because the
British are present for England's match against Roumania Monday
evening.
Violent confrontations between British football
fans and Tunisians in Marseilles last weekend have inspired these
drastic measures, including postponement of the annual event to
mid-July when things will have quieted down. |
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