On the beach of the Shandrani, I find the artist in deep discussion with an Italian couple whom he will embark three days later on a trip aboard his boat the Princess.
We settle down on the grass, facing the sea. Wild and solitary, this child of the south is nevertheless affable and funny. “I love the contact with people on the beach! The more difficult it is, the more interesting it is,” he confesses, laughing. For years, Zulu has been pacing the beach daily, inviting visitors to follow him on his boat, alongside his son Mathieu. And it works!
To evoke his childhood, Zulu cites Mississippi Burning. “As the son of the camp’s janitor, I wasn’t allowed to look at the boss’s pretty daughter! Today, I’m invited by the owners’ sons, right where my father used to work. A nice revenge on life! The musical trigger occurred when he was thirteen and the Air France pilots, installed in the bungalows, listened to Leonard Cohen. “It was magnificent! Late in life, his first real stage performance followed an improvised jam session on the beach, where a guitar-vocal composition revealed his talent. Then came the musical alchemy of Blackmen Bluz and dazzling success! “I was forty and didn’t have the time or inclination to be a star! I wanted to stay there!” He points to the lagoon.
He tells me about his performance at the Sakifo festival in Reunion… behind Kassav’, Stromae and many others. The sad and beautiful story of Betty Bluesinspired by a daring woman in a sari and bare feet, who danced on stage to the boos of the audience on the night of the band’s last concert in Mahébourg. Surprisingly, Zulu listens to Beethoven, Quincy Jones, Capdevielle… and would have loved to sing with Piaf or Aznavour! As for the title Mahébourghe confides that he “simply put the author’s beautiful letter in a beautiful envelope”. As far as he’s concerned, the village hasn’t changed… it’s still Rodrigues! “Here, people are barefoot, authentic, generous, laugh and speak loudly. You can be a magistrate, have money… when you get off the landing stage, go play cards and drink rum, you’re the same as everyone else!”
The man tells me about his fears for a country that has become inaccessible: “When I see €500,000 plots of land, I think of my children! Of the inequality between those at the bottom and those at the top!” His fears linked to the ravages of drugs, the influence of social networks on kids, ecological issues, bad decisions coming from above… ” Before, fishermen looked at the stars, the seaweed… today, the weather forecast says ‘rain’ and they close the schools!”
