Congo-Brazzaville: guitarist Passy Mermans of the Bantous de la Capitale is dead
Passy Mermans, guitarist of the Bantous de la Capitale, died on December 28, 2022 at the age of 80.
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Les Bantous de la Capitale, the first Congolese orchestra created in 1959, have lost their last monument.
Guitarist Passy Mermans, alias Mermans 1er, died on Wednesday December 28 in Brazzaville.
He was 80 years old.
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With our correspondent in Brazzaville,
Loïcia Martial
It was at the University Hospital Center (CHU) in Brazzaville that Passy Mermans passed away after a long illness, according to his relatives.
"
With him
, they say,
it's a legend that we lose
".
As a teenager, it was in his native region of Pool, near Brazzaville, that Passy Mermans took his first steps in music.
He is a guitarist, but also an author and composer.
The Bantu de la Capitale spotted and recruited him in 1963. In the company of great talents, such as Nino Malapet, Jean Serge Essous or
Edo Nganga
, he brought rain and shine to this
orchestra born on the eve of independence. of the Congo
.
He will leave “
a great void
”
Following disagreements, he slams the door of the Bantus of the Capital and goes to create in 1990 "the Bantu monument", with other virtuosos like Pamelo Mounka or Célestin Kouka.
In 1997, he returned to the Bantus and never left them until his last breath.
Music lovers believe that his disappearance leaves a "
great void
" in the world of Congolese and African music, just one year after the inclusion of
Congolese Rumba in the intangible heritage of humanity
.
For documentary filmmaker
Hassim Tall Boukambou
, who is also responsible for the association “La maison des archives Congo”, we must quickly collect the traces left by these founding groups so that future generations can inherit this musical history.
We would benefit from promoting the musical heritage of the Bantus by relying on fan clubs.
Hassim Tall Boukambou, documentary filmmaker
Laurent Correau
"
It is urgent today to work to enhance this memorial heritage that the Bantus constitute,
says Hassim Tall Boukambou
. All generations combined, there are many Congolese who have memories of the Bantus at home, in particular vinyl records, photos with the members of the Bantus
”.
We must "
collect
" this heritage, in a museum for example, or even "
immortalize
" the Bantus by giving their names to streets, suggests the documentary filmmaker, who also underlines the importance of fan clubs in maintaining this memory. .
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