Tributes have been pouring in for an ‘immensely loved’ Amazigh icon Idir, whose death has shaken the Amazigh community a year ago on May 2nd.
To mark this first anniversary, a statue bearing the image of the artist was unveiled at his native village in ait Lahcene in the commune of ait Yenni in Tizi Ouzou.
A permanent exhibition on the work and life of the icon of the Algerian song of Kabyle expression, artistic events and testimonies from companions as well as lectures by academics, later in the evening, were also on the three days program of this tribute.
Born in 1949 in Tizi-Ouzou, Idir, whose real name is Hamid Cheriet, died on May 2, 2020, in a Paris hospital, at the age of 71 following a long illness.
Author of a prolific successful discography of which certain titles (Vava Inouva, in particular) have been reproduced in many languages, Idir has performed on many international stages, bringing the Amazigh music to universality.
In his latest album “Here and Elsewhere” released in 2017, he teamed up with several renowned singers such as Charles Aznavour, Francis Cabrel and Bernard Lavilliers.
On January 12, 2018, after forty years of absence from the Algerian scene, the artist reconnected with his audience during a concert at the Cupola of the Mohamed-Boudiaf Olympic Complex, on the occasion of the celebration of the Amazigh new year, Yennayer.
