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Reactions came from all corners of Canada’s Francophonie to commemorate the interpreter of La Sagouine and Acadian icon Viola Léger, who died in Dieppe on Saturday at the age of 92.
The actress embodied the face of La Sagouine for over 50 years and more than 2000 times. written by writer and playwright Antonine Maillet.
“She has always been one of my best friends and certainly the greatest actress Acadia has ever known,” said the latter in a Pays de la Sagouine press release.
In an interview with Radio-Canada, she said she remembered Viola Léger on “Faithfulness in Friendship.”
“An openness even in friendship and a perseverance. We’ve always been friends, despite going through breakups and not living in the same cities,” she told the Canadian broadcaster.
Viola Léger was a Senator in Ottawa from 2001 to 2005 and also founded her own theater company and foundation. The Acadian director of the television version of La Sagouine, Phil Comeau, hailed “the journey of a great friend”.
“Viola, you are a national treasure. Viola I love you,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Every summer since 1993 she has played at the Pays de la Sagouine, a tourist spot in Bouctouche, New Brunswick where the fishing village of La Sagouine is located.
The creation of this character happened accidentally when, before the publication of the book “La Sagouine”, Antonine Maillet asked her to play some excerpts that later led to the creation of a play.
“Thus was born a legendary character, a humble academic housekeeper who tells of a life of poverty with intelligence, humor and dignity, while revealing the injustices that surround her,” describes Le Pays de la Sagouine on its website.
The National Arts Center responded through its social media, stating that it is “heartfelt in connection with the academic community and the large theater family,” adding that its flags will be lowered in honor of Viola Léger.
She received many honors during her career, including the Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade in 1978, the Officer of the Order of Canada in 1989 and the Ordre des francophones d’Amérique in 1998.
“Acadia has never had such a loyal ambassador as Mrs. Léger, for whom the character of La Sagouine was not only the role of a career and a life, but also a symbol of great pride and tenacity for all Acadians,” Federal and Akadian replied Official Language Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor.
Acadian Senator René Cormier paid tribute to the woman who “gives us an invaluable legacy made up of her talent, her voice, her love of the theatre, the French language and the Acadian people”.
“She will remain one of our biggest cultural ambassadors,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Société Nationale de l’Acadie praised “an icon of our people and its proud spokesman”.
“Viola Léger alone embodied the course of modern Acadia,” declared its President Martin Théberge.
Caroline Mulroney, Ontario Minister for Francophone Affairs, said that “when it comes to regretting the departure of a great Canadian, the Franco-Ontarian community has a heartfelt sorrow for the Acadian community.”
The Assembly of Ontario Francophonie offered “condolences to the great Acadian and Franco-Canadian family”, adding that her character of La Sagouine “went into legend”.
“A great voice of Acadia and Canadian Francophonie has just died, but its echo will be heard for a very long time,” said Liane Roy, President of the Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities of Canada.
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