Jean-Louis Duzert is considered today as a reference of flamenco in France.
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A photo that almost never existed
For this 1990 edition, Javier Puga, a Spanish language and literature teacher in Seville, convinced El Camarón de la Isla to come to Mont-de-Marsan. The latter, the little “prince of the marginalized”, a very famous gypsy singer, accepted and was expected on this July day in the Landes capital.
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But, he is not there at the scheduled time, the wait is long and the spectators begin to leave. Finally, at half past midnight, the artist finally arrives: the singer and his troupe had gotten lost on the way in Nahuques, a district of Mont-de-Marsan. Camarón finally arrived safely, and an evening would follow that will remain in the annals of the Montois festival.
Behind the lens, my eyes are filled with tears […].That famous night in Camerón left its imprimatur on the rest of my work (3)
And it is during this timeless moment in Andalusian culture that Jean-Louis Duzert captures this black and white photo, a true work of art, from the hands of El Camarón de la Isla.
Jean-Louis Duzert/South West Archives
The Shrimp of the Island in Mont-de-Marsan.
A world-famous cliché
Throughout his photographic quest, Jean-Louis Duzert’s career will be punctuated by numerous exhibitions – from 1990 in Mont-de-Marsan, then Nîmes, Seville (1994 biennale), Jerez, Lebrija, Biarritz, Béziers… and more recently (2019) at the Geneva International Flamenco Festival.
Consecration and tribute in 2022, when the photo is chosen by the organizers as the official image of the Mont-de-Marsan festival for its 33rd edition, the year of the thirtieth anniversary of the disappearance of El Camarón de la Isla…
(1), (2) “Sud Ouest” of May 6, 2013
