Flamboyants! A Musical and Theatrical Journey Through the Creole World

Born from the meeting between theater director and actor Florient Jousse and Big Chief Juan Pardo, an iconic leader of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Indians, Flamboyants! is the result of an original artistic collaboration linking several Creole territories separated by thousands of miles yet connected through shared historical experiences.

The project began when Florient Jousse discovered the world of the Mardi Gras Indians during an exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. Fascinated by this unique Afro-Creole tradition, he traveled to Louisiana, where he met Big Chief Juan Pardo. Their conversations sparked a powerful realization: despite the geographical distance, New Orleans and Reunion Island share a collective memory shaped by colonization, slavery, and the many forms of cultural resistance that emerged in response. Soon, a third territory joined this artistic dialogue: Puerto Rico, whose musical and popular traditions resonate with these same historical legacies. 

Blending live performance with documentary storytelling, Flamboyants! brings together personal narratives, music, and theatrical performance. On stage, the powerful voices of Marién Torres López and Ivelisse Díaz bring the rhythms of Puerto Rican bomba to life, while Reunionese musicians Frédéric Madia et Zélito Déliron puisent dans la tradition du maloya. 

Performed in five languages—Louisiana Creole, Réunion Creole, French, English, and Spanish—the production celebrates the creativity of Creole communities and the vital role the arts play in preserving, transmitting, and continually reinventing collective memory.

Practical Information:

The Tilawcis Collective will present Flamboyants! in Atlanta on October 22 and 23 at the 7 Stages Theatre, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:50 p.m.

Partners : 

Supported by the Albertine Foundation, the Centre dramatique national de l’Océan Indien (Indian Ocean National Drama Centre), Cité des Arts, the Department of Réunion, the Foundation for the Memory of Slavery, the French Institute (Institut français), the French Ministry of Culture, the Prefect of the Réunion Region, the City of Saint-Paul, Tulane University, and the City of Saint-Denis.