The natural heritage and creative flair of Mauritius: these are what the new ‘We Love Maurice’ project (“Maurice” being the local, French name for Mauritius) aims to discover and highlight on YouTube. The inaugural video focuses on the island’s legendary La Roche qui Pleure (or Weeping Rock) site, and we reckon you’re going to love it…
Shhh, a DJ is at work! Matsonic’s concert is starting. The Mauritius-based artist, born on the island of Réunion, is spinning vinyls. Hold on tight, he has over 5000 vinyls already! And look at those impressive aerial shots! La Roche qui Pleure, the southernmost point of Mauritius, is rarely seen from this angle. Constantly assaulted by waves, it takes its name from the water that slides down its rockface. From above, La Roche only looks like a funny turtle. Visible to the west is the famous Gris Gris beach. To the east, the wild coast of Souillac. Here, for once, there is no coral reef. Below Matsonic’s feet, huge waves crash into this wild region – one of the island’s most inspirational sites – renowned for its raging elements.
The first We Love Maurice video, streamed live on YouTube (La Isla TV) is about 1 hour 15 minutes long and was created by La Isla Social Club. This local ‘cultural media’ organisation, already the pioneers of the Dreamers and La Isla 2068 events, debuted its newest concept during the first lockdown imposed on Mauritius in 2020. The idea? Film an artist at work in an emblematic or unusual island site for one hour, using three cameramen and a dronist. Each video is accompanied by around 30 informative windows (in French and English) to promote both the artist and the surrounding Mauritian region.
In this first video, we discover poetic anecdotes, such as this message in the 12th minute:
La Roche qui Pleure is fond of legends and melancholy. It is said that the rock was a young woman. Waiting at the top of the cliff while her lover was carried away by the waves, she ended up being frozen forever…
But there’s also useful information: in the 50th minutes we learn that Robert Edward Hart, considered the “prince of Mauritian poets”, rests in the marine cemetery of Souillac, where he had a house, La Nef, which is today transformed into a museum dedicated to his memory.
Throughout the video, Matsonic is encouraged to express himself. “La Roche qui Pleure? For me, it’s an aquatic ballet: violent, beautiful, dramatic, melancholy, a force of nature…”
You’ll soon clock that these ‘We Love Maurice’ videos offer a great way to get excited about an island full of legends and talents. Watch, and you will immediately want to take a walk to La Roche qui Pleure. Have a nice trip!
We Love Maurice #1 | Matsonic @La Roche qui Pleure:
Written with love by Tessa M
@attitude_hotels
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