The Little Sparrow | Generated By Artificial Intelligence

I suddenly thought of creating a short audio slideshow on Edith Piaf using Midjourney to generate monochromatic images of her singing in 1940 Paris...at first shunned by the public, then acclaimed as an authentic voice of France. I also used ChaGPT to generate the following blog post summarizing her life much better than I could. In the audio slideshow, I unearthed an authentic recording of her singing "Non, je ne regrette rien"...one of her most famous songs.

In the realm of music, some artists possess an unparalleled ability to touch our souls and leave an indelible mark on the world. Edith Piaf, the iconic French singer, is one such artist. With her emotive voice and heartbreaking lyrics, she captivated audiences across generations and became a symbol of resilience, passion, and authenticity. In this blog post, I delve into the life and legacy of Edith Piaf, celebrating the woman behind the voice that continues to resonate even decades after her passing.

Born on December 19, 1915, in the working-class neighborhood of Belleville, Paris, Edith Piaf's life was marked by struggle and adversity. From a young age, she faced a myriad of hardships, including abandonment by her parents and a challenging upbringing in her grandmother's brothel. However, it was her love for singing and performing on the streets of Paris that would become her salvation.

Piaf's remarkable talent was discovered by a nightclub owner, who gave her the stage name "La Môme Piaf" (The Little Sparrow). Under his guidance, she honed her craft and gained recognition, captivating audiences with her raw and powerful voice. Her breakthrough came with the release of her timeless hit "La Vie en Rose" in 1946, which cemented her status as a national treasure.

Behind the curtain of fame, Edith Piaf battled personal demons. Her tumultuous love life, marked by failed relationships and heartbreaks, often mirrored the themes of her songs. She faced numerous tragedies, including the death of her only child, Marcel, at the age of two. These experiences shaped her artistry, giving her music an authentic and cathartic quality that resonated with fans worldwide.

La Place Du Tertre | Paris

The Place du Tertre is the highest square of Paris, and was created in 1772. Its name means the ‘mound‘, a direct reference to the hillock of Montmartre. All over the square, various artists set up their easels in the afternoon, tempting the visitors and tourists with their works of art: personalized charcoal portraits, water-paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

About 300 artists occupy their rented spaces. They erect their easels and pallets and go about their creative business from around 10 am until dusk. There are about 150 spaces of a square meter, occupied by two artists – each working alternate days. To obtain a permit, the artist has to submit a portfolio for approval.

It’s claimed that the French term ‘Bistro’ started from earlier days in the Place du Tertre. It originated during the Russian occupation of Paris in 1814. The Cossack soldiers would often take a drink in the cafés before their little battles. They would call ‘Bystro’, meaning quickly, before they were ordered to fight. Legend has it that the term Bistro has stuck ever since.

Here's an audio slideshow (or readers can scroll down):

For my larger sized photographs: Place Du Tertre

Tony Smith | Pèlerinage Des Gitanes

Photo © Tony Smith-All Rights Reserved

Here's another photographic essay in an audio-slideshow format documenting the gypsy pilgrimage, an annual event held in Saintes Maries de la Mer, a small village in the heart of the Camargue, South of France. Tony's photography, his narration plus the unusual music of the gypsies during the festival are certain to interest viewers in a lesser known religious festival held in the very heart of Europe...and which has its roots in the Middle East and South Asia.

This time it's by Tony Smith, a Welsh born photographer who specializes in photographing ethnic, cultural and religious festivals and environmental portraiture.

On May 24 of each year, more than 10,000 travelers (including Roma, gypsies etc) come from all over Europe to Saintes Maries de la Mer to venerate their patron saint Sara the Black (also known as Sara la Kali), and take the opportunity of having their children baptized during the festival.

In my previous post about this particular pilgrimage/festival, I mentioned that I was struck by the similarities between this gypsy religious festival and those of West Bengal's Durga Puja and the odalans (temple anniversaries) in Bali.  It's also curious to learn that the nickname given to the gypsies' patron saint is Sara la Kali. Kali is the Hindu goddess associated with empowerment, time and change., and the name Kali comes from kāla, which means black.

This is most interesting as the Romani originated from India and arrived in Europe by the 14th century, and the Kali name given to their patron saint could have its origin as theirs.

Tony provides more information on the festival in his own words (with some redaction):

"The main pilgrimage is held in May every year. This is when the town is besieged by thousands of Gitanes from France, some Gitanos from Spain and other Roma from once Eastern Europe, Hungary, Romania, etc. The people of the area, in national costume, also participate in the processions though it is not their event. The same can be said for the gardians, the Camargue cowboys who seem to police the event by leading the processions. The music (accompanying the slideshow) is an evolved mix, and coming out of Eastern Europe will no doubt have some Yiddish violin in there somewhere. For anyone thinking of going who might be worried about security, don't be. It's primarily a religious festival and I have not seen a single incident there."

Tony attended my 2011 Kolkata's Cult of Durga Photo Expedition/Workshop, which was principally aimed at documenting the annual West Bengali religious event over the course of almost 2 weeks.

Viviana Peretti | Camargue Gypsy Pilgrimage

Photo © Viviana Peretti-All Rights Reserved

I sometimes discover a photographer's work that is so interesting that I hurry to post about it as soon as possible, upending the predetermined order of future posts on my blog.

The work of Viviana Peretti is one of those.

So I'm glad to feature Viviana's Gypsy Pilgrimage in La Camargue which she covered so well using her iPhone and the Hispstamatic's Tintype Tinto 1884 lens and the D-Type film pack...which is by far my favorite.

The Gypsy Pilgrimage celebrate the saints Mary-Jacobé and Mary-Salomé, and it is held in Saintes Maries de la Mer, a small village in the heart of the Camargue, South of France. The legend is that a boat landed near the village's site from Palestine, carrying Mary Magdalene, Marie-Jacobé, and Salomé, as well as Lazarus. With them was Sara, whose identity is unclear. There are some who believe that she was the daughter of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ...while others believe she was the personal maid of Marie-Jacobé. As the only dark-skinned woman on the boat, she was embraced by the Romani as their patron saint.

Romani (aka gypsies) from the region carry the the saints' effigies in a long procession to the beach to be blessed in the sea. The procession is not only made of Romani, but of the region's Arlesiennes in their distinctive costume, as well are the Gardians (Camargue's cowboys) and pilgrims.

This ritual's concept reminds me of the Hindu Durga Puja and the Balinese odalan, where effigies are carried to the river or sea to be blessed.

Viviana Peretti is an Italian freelance photographer currently based in Europe. After earning a BA in Anthropology from the University of Rome, she moved to Colombia where she specialized in photojournalism and worked as a freelance photographer for 9 years. In 2010, she graduated in Documentary Photography and Photojournalism from the International Center of Photography, and worked in NYC as a freelance photographer until her recent move to Europe.

She received fellowships and awards from the International Center of Photography, the Joannie M. Chen Fund in New York, the University of Salamanca, the Spanish Embassy in Colombia, the Photo Museum in Bogotá, and the Colombian Ministry of Culture. In 2010, she was selected for the Eddie Adams Workshop (Barnstorm XXIII), and has been published in a number of international newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, the New York Magazine, BBC, CNN, Le Journal de la Photographie and L'Espresso.

Chris Bickfrod: Paris

Chris Bickfrod made his first appearance on this blog through his work published by The New York Times on Venice's Carnevale. Funding his expenses by working as a wedding photographer mostly in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, he devotes his summers and early winters to traveling to Europe and working on his street photography. He started work on books of Dubrovnik, Venice, and Paris.

In an infrequent departure from my geographical focus, I chose to feature Chris' work on Paris, which is a lovely collection of this city's scenes...combining street photography with its traditional landmarks.

NY Times: Steak Out In Paris

Ed Alcock for the New York Time-All Rights Reserved
This has little to do with travel photography, however I couldn't resist featuring it for many reasons. The first is that it's about the type of food I ate almost daily while I was growing up, the second is that it's narrated by Mark Bittman (more on him later), the third is that it's about Paris (one of my very favorite cities) and the fourth is that it's about brasseries and bistros (my favorite type of restaurants).

Mark Bittman is an interesting character...he's a celebrity cookbook author, appears on PBS and has a weekly culinary column in the New York Times, but what makes him unusual is that not only does he subscribe to the minimalist cookery school but he's as opinionated as they come....and that makes him interesting and a must-see on television.

His choices of the bistros in this piece are equally interesting...Le Severo, Chez Georges and Au Boeuf Courrone are traditional no-fuss eateries, and are quintessentially Parisian. These are the places I look for when I visit this eternal city.

The photographs are by Ed Alcock, a Paris-based photographer who shoots for the NY Times and The Guardian, who happens to hold a PhD in mathematics. That's interesting too.

An enjoyable multimedia slideshow, but I wish the producer (Emily Rueb) could've added a snippet or two of Parisian street singing, especially since the biopic movie of Edith Piaf is currently in theaters...that would've completed the circle nicely.

The New York Times' Steak Out In Paris