Many artists and members of Quebec’s cultural and political scene paid a final tribute to the “father of Quebec show business.”», Guy Latraverse, Friday afternoon at Place des Arts. The co-founder of ADISQ and the FrancoFolies de Montréal died on October 14th at the age of 84 and was unanimously described as a revolutionary and a true lover of our culture.
Around a hundred people from the audience came to greet agent and producer Guy Latraverse, who has left his mark on Quebec’s cultural landscape. Afterwards, several Quebec personalities and artists invited to the private ceremony organized by the family and hosted by Dominic Champagne entered the Wilfrid Pelletier Room at Place des Arts.
Louise Latraverse, Guy Latraverse’s sister
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“As you can imagine, it’s emotional. It’s a celebration. We didn’t want it to be anything heavy. We wanted it to be a place where he lived his whole life with his friends and artists. We’re celebrating Guy! We are among friends, with family, his show business friends.”
Dominic Champagne, the host of the tribute
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“I am happy to be there for both the father of show business, the holy monster, one of the pillars of the temple, and the friend and family. […] He has achieved great things on the show business level, but also on the humanistic level. He helped. He gave us great artistic events, but he also helped many people live or live again.
Gregory Charles, artist
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“I love Guy. Who didn’t love Guy? I worked with Guy a lot, especially on TV in the 90s. Guy would always call me and say, “Listen, it would help me a lot if you agreed,” and I would always say “yes” before he finished his sentence.”
Franco Nuovo, journalist and columnist
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“There has never been an artist from Quebec who has sung at Place des Arts. Guy called in Claude Léveillée and then completely cleaned up the crime scene. He brought a lot of Europeans with him, Julien Clerc, Aznavour… He was extremely important to the culture of Quebec.”
Isabelle Brais, the wife of Prime Minister François Legault
“I represent my husband. I’m coming specifically because of my friend Louise. We want to tell people how important culture is to us.”
Mathieu Lacombe, Minister of Culture and Communications
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“Mr. Latraverse embodies everything we imagine when we talk about a builder. It’s always impressive to me to see people who worked so hard to build something like the Quebec star system, so long before my own birth.
Danielle Ouimet, actress and presenter
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“I was always very close to him. He is an absolutely extraordinary creature. Always a smile, never an accusation. An absolutely fabulous creature.”
Diane Dufresne, singer and actress
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“Guy Latraverse is very important. He was very important in my life as a singer. I accompanied Guy on his big projects.”
Boucar Diouf, comedian and biologist
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“It was Guy who brought me to Montreal. I was once invited to the Grand Rire de Québec. He saw me on stage and said to me, “I want to introduce you to the people of Montreal.” […] He is a real gentleman. A nice guy.”
Robert Charlebois
The singer was invited to sing Latraverse during the tribute to Guy.
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