Dance and trad music in the spotlight in the new magazine Culture Trad Québec

From the sugar shack to the rigodon, which passes through the knowledge of the medicinal virtues of native plants, the living (or intangible) heritage encompasses everything that makes up the legend of a society and assigns all the cultural practices transmitted from generation to generation, usually. orally.

According to Antoine Gauthier, general manager of CQPV, the idea of ​​the magazine Culture Trad Quebec was born out of a real need, as we witness a renewed interest in traditional culture in Quebec.

We are in a certain vibrancy of traditional culture, as the interest in do it alone (do it yourself) and the local economy. We’re feeling, there’s a craze, he explains. We have approximately 25 trad festivals in Quebec and there are new ones coming out every year.

Trad dance, Inuit throat singing at Riopelle

The first issue of the magazine, entitled Let’s dance and created in collaboration with the Réseau des viveilles de danse au Québec, covers a wide range of eclectic topics. For example, a report focuses on katajjaq (which means singing throat at Innu), a traditional game played by Inuit women for centuries to forget hunger while awaiting the return of hunters.

There is also a text tracing the origin of the jig in Quebec. We learned how this step dance that has been coming to us from the British Isles for two centuries doing it on the other side of the Atlantic has had a unique Quebec flavor.

Later in the magazine, we talk about the importance of legend in the life of Quebec painter Jean-Paul Riopelle and of tradition in his work.

The magazine is not limited to Quebec, or Canada, which also addresses traditional cultures on a global scale, such as this article from the first issue of the Breton fest-noz, a festival that originated in Brittany based on music and dance that originated in the countryside. society in the 19th century.

Culture Trad Quebec also includes more fun content, such as traditional horoscopes, games, crosswords or even callers to collect. The business of callerwhich is almost gone, consists of directing male and female dancers on traditional dance nights, such as the square set.

The paper format is bold in the digital age

A somewhat surprising decision when some media are divesting themselves into their paper division, it is in the physical format that Culture Trad Quebec his adventure begins. The magazine is sold on the CQPV website, but will also travel to many events dedicated to the province’s traditional culture each year.

We’ve seen a lot online over the past two years. At CQPV, we have created online courses, Trad-666 to learn traditional music, online grinding courses. There are many albums released online, festivals almost held, but here we decided to go back to the physical with a magazine of a hundred pages on beautiful glossy paper, summarizes Antoine Gauthier.

This text was written from from an interview by Catherine Richercultural columnist on the show 15-18. Comments may have been edited for clarity or brevity.