Benoîte Boulard

Benoîte Boulard was born on December 13, 1927 in Mahajanga, a town on the coast of Madagascar. However, it was on Reunion Island that her name made history, as she moved to the island during her childhood after the family moved. A young mother at 16, Benoîte Boulard became a domestic servant in Saint-Denis to support her child. The husband of the family who employed her, Georges Andoche, was president of La troupe folklorique de Bourbon, and she regularly attended the ensemble's concerts. In 1952, a meeting with Maxime Laope led her to experiment with music. Together, they won first prize in a 1953 radio talent contest with "La Rosée Tombée", a sega piece, then a major genre on Réunion Island. She soon joined an orchestra, a ubiquitous formation at the time, and hosted numerous balls and private parties. Shortly afterwards, Benoîte Boulard recorded her first album, making her the first woman to record a sega album. When her daughter died of cancer at the age of 18 in 1961, she interrupted her career. She reappeared in 1976 for a concert, in duet with Maxime Laope, at the Théâtre de Saint-Gilles, whose success inspired her to return to the music scene. Although she was awarded the Medaille d'Honneur des Sociétés Musicales et Chorales in 1981 and the Medaille du Travail in 1982 by the French Ministry of Culture, and despite extensive touring, a serious illness forced her to interrupt her career once again. On January 12, 1985, the artist died on Reunion Island, leaving behind her an indelible mark on Reunion's musical heritage.

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