Récit de passion - Fanfonne Guillierme

This is the third edition of the Récits de passion, events that allow the public to enter into the heart of a living heritage, a universe rich in know-how and culture, through the testimony of people who have made it one of their reasons for living. For this session, we explore the world of bulls and horses through the almost legendary figure of a woman-centaur, the Great Lady of Camargue, the manadière Fanfonne Guillierme (1895-1989). Robert Faure, her biographer, confidant and legatee, author of "Fanfonne Guillierme raconte sa Camargue" (published by Le Papillon rouge), will allow us to examine a life path that is as impressive as it is surprising. Born in Paris in a bourgeois and Protestant environment, raised between the capital, the prestigious Avenue Foch and the family estate near Aimargues, it took talent and courage for Antoinette (known as "Fanfonne") to impose herself in a world of men, to gain the respect of all the Camargue professionals and to accumulate titles and awards in the arenas! Even today, more than thirty years after her death, the Day of Homage to Fanfonne Guillierme brings together thousands of people every March in Aimargues for what is the kick-off of the Camargue racing season. Robert Faure, who also donated to the Museon Arlaten an important collection of objects, documents and photographs that belonged to Fanfonne Guillierme, will be interviewed by Aurélie Samson, director of the museum and chief curator of heritage. The public will of course be invited to take part in this interview, which will be accompanied by projections of images and a presentation of some emblematic objects that belonged to the manadière.