That language, however, is not afforded any official recognition. In what is ostensibly a little piece of France, a holiday destination with beaches to rival the Cote d'Azur, French is taught in schools from day one. French is the language of hegemony, Creole the language of the other. As Marimoutou outlined to us at his small house overlooking the sea, the movement for independence was once driven by the island's communist party. Young Creole people rioted in Le Port, the chief harbour, in the week of the festival.
Unemployment is high.
The festival takes place every two years at an old sugar refinery that has been converted into a performance and administrative complex. The area is not huge, but with its central outdoor stage for free concerts, performance spaces in the former rum distillery and the one-time stables, an exhibition space in another old building, along with a bonfire and a food tent, it made a convivial arena for a festival. It was heading for its 150th performance when it played to packed, ecstatic houses at the festival, and is booked for shows until 2002. Everybody has in himself all the universe. Choreographed by an Indian woman, Savitry Nair, it uses sounds and gestures from various cultures to create an abstract, ritualised fable that muses on the theme of thirst.