Posts under People

French Music - Francis Cabrel

Posted by Chanda
Oct
23
2008

As I’ve mentioned before, I love French music.  So, in this article I will present another of my favorite French singers - Francis Cabrel.  This singer/songwriter was born on November 23, 1953 in Agen, France and grew up in a small village near Toulouse.  He started learning guitar as a shy teenager and later said that he thought his guitar helped him appear more interesting to others.  He is known to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and is said to know all of Dylan’s work by heart.  He learned English by translating the lyrics to these and other songs.  His music has a folk and sometimes country or blues feel.  I particularly like him because he has written about Spanish-related topics like bullfighting and has written and sung some very beautiful songs in Spanish like La corrida and La quiero a morir.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrRau-wRiZQ

 Some of his most famous songs among French-speaking people are Petite Marie, which was dedicated to his wife Mariette, and L’encre de tes yeux.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW7VqGn_Nhg

  

The song he wrote about a young girl’s suicide called C’était l’hiver has been widely successful and also recorded by other singers such as Canada’s Isabelle Boulay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOqzoPVlsjA

 

Cabrel’s first album Les murs de poussière was recorded in 1977.  He is currently on tour as he released his most recent album Des roses et des orties this year.  I find that it fits right in with his repertoire as all of his songs in general are really in touch with nature and humanity and his native Southwest France.

You can read more about him in French and listen to clips of all of his songs at his official website by clicking here.

Finally, here is my very favorite by Cabrel:
Un samedi soir sur la terre
The sound quality of this video isn’t particularly great, but you can read the lyrics in the video. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0HQ8EPNcCI

 
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Guillaume Depardieu Died Today

Posted by Chanda
Oct
13
2008

After being hospitalized for a few days, French actor Gérard Depardieu’s son Guillaume, also a famous French actor, died suddenly today in Paris at the age of 37 from a bout with pneumonia.  His mother is the actress Elisabeth Guignot and his sister Julie is also an actress.  

Although he was often present on movie sets from the beginning of his childhood and appeared in some of his father’s films, Guillaume’s acting career took off with Alain Corneau’s film “Tous les matins du monde”.  In 1996, he was awarded a most-promising male actor César for his role in “Les Apprentis” as well as the Jean-Gabin Prize.  Throughout his career, he starred in some twenty movies, including the made-for-TV “Le Comte de Montecristo”, “Les Misérables” and “Napoleón” as well as “Versailles” which was released in theaters in August and “Stella” which is scheduled to be on the big screen in November.

Often in legal trouble, he led a chaotic life which he described in a 2003 book entitled “Tout donner”.  He was involved in a very serious motorcycle accident and eventually had his right knee amputated after contracting two hospital-acquired diseases.  He later created a foundation for people who suffer from these types of diseases called the “Fondation Guillaume Depardieu”.  He is also a singer and has written an opera and songs for other famous artists.  

On salue sa mémoire.

 
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Frenchman Le Clezio Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted by Chanda
Oct
9
2008

It was announced today that a Frenchman will be awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature.  Born in Nice, France on April 13, 1940, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio started writing when he was only 7 years old, has traveled extensively, grew up bilingual in French and English as he lived in various countries and has written more than 30 books.  He and his wife currently have homes in Nice, New Mexico and Mauritius.

He has written about crises such as fever and floods, ecological issues, war, North African culture, Indian culture, Europe as viewed by unwanted immigrants, Central America, refugees, cultural conflicts, youth and exile.  In 1994, he was chosen by the readers of Lire magazine as the best living French author.  He has been awarded other literary prizes including the Prix Théophraste Renaudot in 1963, Prix Larbaud in 1972, Grand Prix Paul Morand de l’Académie française in 1980, Grand Prix Jean Giono in 1997 and the Prix Prince de Monaco in 1998.

Although actually written for a pre-teen French public, I would recommend Le Clezio’s children’s books to anyone learning French.  The topics are interesting and the language easier to grasp for those just starting out with the language than his other novels. Celui qui n’avait jamais vu la mer is about a boy named Daniel who barely talks and doesn’t really have any friends.  He seems to come from somewhere else and only gets excited when someone talks of their travels and the sea although he has never seen the sea…until one day, without telling anyone, he sets off to never return.  Lullaby is about a girl of the same name who is rebellious, impulsive and a dreamer who one day decides to never again return to school.  She leaves her house and takes off to the sea, meeting all sorts of interesting characters along the way.  Voyage au pays des arbres is about a young boy who, bored, decides to take off to the ‘country of trees’.  He feels that trees are not all alike, can talk, think, listen and have personalities and so decides to become friends with all of them.  Balaabilou is about an African fisherman who tells children about Balaabilou who saved a beautiful princess named Leila from a horrible death and her entire kingdom from drought.  La grande vie peuple du ciel is about the power of the imagination and the frailty of dreams.

Le Clezio’s style is very Roald Dahl-like.  The Swedish Academy, in bestowing this internationally renowned award upon Le Clezio, said that he is the “author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, the explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization”.  For more detailed information on his biography and bibliography of works, click here.

Bonne lecture!

 
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Chez Maïté

Posted by Chanda
Sep
24
2008

When I was living in France for the second time in 2003 there was a Big Brother type show on television (Nice People) which I avidly watched and one of the guest housemates was a French cook named Maïté.  Since I wasn’t eating there, I obviously fell in love with her personality as she’s bubbly, fun, quick-witted and she loves to cook and really gets you into it too.  It was the only time I can think of where I ran out to a bookstore to specifically buy a cookbook.  And I still have her cookbook La cuisine de Maïté.  It’s a favorite of mine as it’s quite easy to follow and makes French cuisine seem so simple.  You’ll be producing excellent four-course meals in no time!  She has two other great books as well - Les desserts de Maïté and Les soupes de Maïté.  She has a cooking show on French television called A table avec Maïté and has appeared on TV, in the movies, in films, on radio and just about everywhere. Read about her in French in Wikipedia. She’s quite a character!

Here’s her French Onion Soup recipe:

Ingredients
5 large onions
3 tablespoons of oil
1 knob of butter (basically a walnut-size clump of butter)
1 garlic clove
1 bouquet garni (a bundle of herbs)
1 glass of white wine
9 cups of vegetable broth
1/2 glass of Porto
2 cups of Gruyère cheese
5 slices of hard bread
Salt
Pepper

Instructions
1) Wash and finely slice the onions.
2) Place on a pot over medium heat and put in the oil and butter.
3) Throw in the onions and stir constantly as they brown.
4) Deglaze the onions with the white wine and the Porto.  Add some salt and pepper.
5) Gradually add the hot vegetable broth.
6) Add the garlic and the bouquet garni and let boil for 15 minutes.
7)  Cut the slices of bread into four pieces each to make the croutons.
8) Brown them a bit in a little oil over low heat.  Add more oil if necessary as you brown them so they don’t burn.
9) Place the croutons, then the cheese, the soup, then croutons and cheese again in individual au gratin bowls.
10) Place the bowls under the grill for 5 minutes and serve.

Here is an interview with Maïté en Le Journal des Femmes.

And you can read the menu and get recipes from her restaurant at www.chezmaite.com.

Bon appétit!

 
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The First Lady of France Sings to the President in the Middle of the Night

Posted by Chanda
Sep
19
2008

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was born on December 23, 1967 in Turin, Italy.  She moved to France with her family in 1973 and attended boarding school in Switzerland.  She soon returned to Paris to study art and architecture, but left school at age 19 to become a model.  One of her first major campaigns was for Guess jeans.  In the 90’s, she was one of the 20-highest paid models in the world.   In 1997, she basically quit modeling in order to pursue her music and before recording an album of her own, she sold the lyrics she wrote.  In 2002, she released her debut album called Quelqu’un m’a dit which was very well-received by both the public and critics and in 2007, she released an English-language album called No Promises.

She has dated many well-known people such as Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger and Donald Trump and even a French philosopher with whom she had a son, Aurélien, in 2001; but what really got everyone talking was her whirlwind romance with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whom she met in November 2007 at a dinner party.  Their first public appearance was at Disneyland Paris the next month and after that time, they were followed everywhere by the press and their romance even ended up on the front pages of major newspapers and on the evening news throughout the world.    They married on February 2, 2008, at the Elysée Palace and ‘honeymooned’ at Versailles Palace. 

A month later, she accompanied President Sarkozy on a state visit to the United Kingdom where she met the Queen and made headlines with her Jackie Kennedy style.  That same year, she released a third album called Comme si de rien n’était, the proceeds from which are going to charity.  She juggles her official duties as First Lady of France with singing at various events and on TV.

Here is an article from Hello Magazine on her recent appearance on British TV: http://www.hellomagazine.com/music/2008/09/17/carla-bruni-metalica/

You can read more about her in French or in English at www.carlabruni.com and you can even sample her music.

Or if you are even more courageous, here is an interview with her that was published in L’Express where she said she would do her best as First Lady.
http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/politique/carla-bruni-sarkozy-je-ferai-de-mon-mieux_470158.html

 
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