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60s & Further Guest Photojournalist

Montreal Tam Tams

A Photo Journal by Pierre Desrosiers

About Pierre and the Montreal Tam Tams

Montreal, Canada-November 2003

I let the photos speak by themselves. Don't they say that they are worth a thousand words. But I can tell you that the Tamtams started around 1978 when a dozen drum players began to gather each Sunday at the foot of mount Royal, close to downtown Montreal, to play together. First, they attracted only a few people. As time went on, the number of players increased, as well as the one of spectators, dancers and craft sellers who saw there an opportunity to offer their products. They attract now dozens of drum players and thousands of spectators each Sunday when the weather is fine. Like I heard somebody say one day: "This is where now it's happening in Montreal". That's the place to be on Sunday afternoon. That's a must to see if you are a tourist. The city administration calls them a "spontaneous event", because it is not an official one and there is no official organisation or some kind of leadership. Anybody can bring his or her drum and play with the others. The motto could be: "Keep on drumming and smiling"

When the Woodstock Festival happened, I was a not so proud member of the Canadian Navy, wondering what the hell I was doing in it. I had joined the Navy to travel and to do at least something of my life. It didn't take long for me to understand that I was not made for that mad crazy military life. So I quit after only two years of service to then become a journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. I got married in the meantime. Again, a few years later, I realized that I was still on the wrong path. I had that "good" job, I was news editor by that time, a good salary, but I was not myself. In fact, since my childhood, I had the feeling that I was not living my own life, but the one imposed by my parents first, and then by the society. So I quit my job. My wife, my daughter and I lived for a year in a log cabin, in the forest somewhere in northern Quebec, whitout electricity. There, for the first time of my life, I took the time to really think about myself, the nature, the universe, everything. Two girlfriends of ours stayed with us for 8 months. So what happened next? My wife and I splitted. I hit the road, travelled extensively from coast to coast, in Canada first, and then in the United States and in Mexico. I lived of odd jobs. My peregrinations braught me to Marseille, in France, where I got married for the second time with a girl 20 years younger than me. My wife and I live in Montreal, Canada, since 1997.

Many Blessings!

-Pierre Desrosiers-