| Firmin Viry | |
| Birth Date: | 11 March 1935 |
| Genre: | Maloya |
Firmin Viry (born 11 March 1935) is a singer from Réunion known for maloya music. He was born in the Ligne Paradis neighborhood of Saint-Pierre.[1] Viry developed his musical talents while working in the sugar cane fields and fighting for the rights of fellow sugar-cane cutters.
Firmin Viry worked as a sugar-cane cutter all his life between Saint-Pierre and Le Tampon. At 23, he made the instruments necessary for maloya, the bob, the roulèr, the kayamb, and the piker, thanks to Gustin Miza (a Mozambican).[2]
Close to the Réunion Communist Party at its foundation, Viry then proposed, according to Françoise Vergès, the first maloya sung and danced in public[3] in 1959, at the Rio cinema in Saint-Denis.[2] Firmin Viry led another relentless fight for the abolition of the ban on Maloya. When President François Mitterrand assumed power, he quickly lifted the ban.
In October 2009, Firmin Viry canceled the invitation for Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, a French comedian, to appear at the 20 December {{ill|Kabar (celebration)|fr|Kabaré (fête)|lt=kabar to celebrate,[4] during which Dieudonné was to present a preview of his film French: Sans forme de politesse: regard sur la mouvance Dieudonné. A Paris screening of the film had also been canceled after the mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, objected, following repeated complaints of antisemitism against the comedian. At the time Viry withdrew his invitation, penalties of a fine and compensation payable to community groups were imposed on Dieudonné for "public insult of people of Jewish origin or faith"; similar incidents occurred in 2004 and 2005 for which Dieudonné also had judgements against him in 2007 and 2008.[5]