Red leaf and white lily
Last fall, I read the data of the sociological survey on the topic: "Name the best country in the world". Several parameters were offered: where it is better to live, where to go to the tourist to invest, the most attractive cultural and historical heritage and a few more. The first place was taken by Australia, the second – Canada, the third – Sweden. Countries, at first glance, boring. In the cultural and historical heritage, of course, France won, but in general, the most significant turned out to be two parameters – security and ecology.
The results of the survey I read just on the eve of my travel to Canada, more precisely, in Quebec. Clarification is necessary because Canada is two worlds who have married: English-speaking – 25 million people, and French-speaking – 7 million. Marriage cracks on the seams, but it does not reach the divorce.
Quebec – French-speaking Province of Canada, who persistently trying to become an independent state and conducts referendums. The latter gave the result 51 to 49 in favor of conservation of unity. But Quebecs are confident that the results were subtreated: as if the government urgently discharged 50 thousand Chinese and in 48 hours gave them Canadian citizenship – with the condition that they voted for unity.
Canada, is still under the Senya of the English Crown, represented by the Governor-General (although the state independently leads them the Prime Minister), does not want to lose the rich Natural Resources Quebec. In Quebec, two points of view are fighting: one thing – that Quebec, separating from Canada, hesitates, therefore it is better to endure the English-speaking owner. In the metropolitan Ottawa, the alarphs dominate and numerically, and economically, there is a production, american lifestyle and the image of thoughts, and Quebec – the raw material province: forests, oil, well, and assembly of military fighters. Second point of view – "Quebec freedom", which is in France, considers himself a European corner of the American continent and dislikes the United States (as well as the British crown).
There is nothing more similar to the middle lane of Russia than Quebec. The same climate, the same expanses, snow, ski. Landscapes, though, brighter than we. Canadian maples fall bright red in autumn. Under the legs – a carpet from fallen purple leaves.
Red maple leaf – on the flag of Canada. Quebecs are having fun: "See which red? Soon shottite". They have, like Russians, this is a vigorous attitude to power. She does not consider her own, so they say: "they", "There, upstairs". But Russians are all the case in poverty below and corruption at the top. In Quebec poverty is not. Say, the college teacher receives 60 thousand. Canadian dollars a year. Although taxes eat almost half, you can live at a completely decent level. Quebec complexes are associated with self-identification. Quebec on the eye is the same New England, the American states of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, with whom he borders. New England finds out terracotta brick houses with white windows, as in England "Old". Otherwise – modern faceless architecture, no history, shopping centers – outside the city, go there to twitch once a week by car. In the city of Quebec, the capital of the province, the Canadian Starina has been preserved – the XVII century. In Troy-Riviere – the third largest city in the province – only the corner of an old building, the rest is destroyed. Well, Montreal (he, too, in Quebec) – these are already solid concrete cubes and parallelepipeds of skyscrapers and "Non-shit". Also similar to Russia – there are few traces of history.
On the building of the Church on the central square of the city of Quebec hangs the plate: "Plysa Rudyl – Cradle of the New France. At this place, Samuel De Shamplin founded Quebec in 1608". It was abandoned once to Canada French navigators, and they decided to import life from France to these endless green lands. Returned with a bunch of people, began to build at home. New Motherland so called – New France. Like Columbus, the French in mistake believed that they had reached the shores of India, and called the local population of the Indians. In Russian, adapted to distinguish the Indians and Indians, and here the Indians are called "Americans" (amerindiens), otherwise do not understand what compete.
The history of relations with the Indians is the same as in the USA: they were killed by thousands, they turned into Christianity, drove off the lands. Four centuries have passed since then, but the Indians did not forget this and do not want to have anything to do with white. Of course, today they do not go to the feathers, and in the projected bandages and before they were not raised – the climate does not allow. Dress up just like all Canadians, shops in reservations are the same. Quebec authorities provide them with all kinds of assistance, but special "Friendship between nations" not visible. And mixed marriages have always been rare. If Indian marries white, the rule is such: the family will settle in the reservation, but in the event of a husband’s death, the wife with children should leave the land of the Indians. White woman will never be a kind representative.
Quebec Indians speak their tongue, some – in English. Education is to transfer to children the whole Indian history, from the very beginning. Here, they do not just know their mythology and history: it is worried about how believers Jews – an outcome from Egypt. The slogan in the Indians and White Quebecs ("Novofrantsuzov"), oddly enough, one. It is written in the number marks of Quebec cars: "I remember!" Quebecians remember their French origin, Indians – about how the French destroyed and tormented their ancestors.
Indian Word "Canada" means "village". This village has the second territory in the world, after Russia. Where else will you see the car or trains of kilometers by anyone not populated land, except for them and we?
Tourists go to Quebec look at nature – on red maples, waterfalls (except Niagara many others, for example, the city of Quebec on one side rests on the waterfall of Monmodrance), on whales, polar bears, roe. With roasons I walked side by side in the forest. The entire route passes on a wooden platform – the terrain of the swamp. A person comes and walks on the bridge, and around – the beasts, who, not sickness, live their forest life. I also visited the park of old forge, where a dozen stones of the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries are framed. It is believed that in this place, in the vicinity of Troy Rivier on the banks of the River San Maurice, the first French settlements arose. Forges – in our opinion "Forge" – so called the main street in Troy-Rivière, one of the longest in the world – 7 km. The French had once built here two forge near the devil key. It looks like this: the source beats from the ground, if you bring a burning mat, water to bubble water (!) Begins to burn, because with it gas comes to the surface.
"Three rivers" The city of Troy Rivière is named by mistake – for three French ever accepted one, with three sleeves. Previously, they were engaged in the manufacture of paper – there are some forests. But with the beginning of globalization, production turned out, and one of many publishers left one, which issues exclusively to poetry. Like a marble plate almost in every house "Troy Rivier – World Poetry Capital", and some poems are engraved at the bottom.
I just arrived at the 21st International Poetry Festival. This annual event opens the mayor of Troy Rivier, deputies, senators – state level, and subsidizes all Quebec government. Poets are invited for 10 days, and read poems are 3-4 times a day: in restaurants during lunch and dinner, in bars, in coffee shops, bookstores and educational institutions. This is not counting the record on the radio and the solemn poetic concert in the city hall.
During the festival, restaurants are divided into happy, where poets protrude – everyone goes there, and unhappy who are not enough for poets, and they are empty. The poems of foreigners sound in French and in the original. Quebecs were delighted when I read some poem in Russian. Did not understand the words, but they said that Russian is like music, I want to listen. With music, by the way, in Quebec restaurants and a cafe, the business is exactly as we have: I will not hide anywhere. Nowhere, except Quebec and Russia, I did not meet it. People after all come to the restaurant to talk, and their songs are not allowed to join the French, nor the British. But here – new French and new English. And the Russian man – he is always new.
Help to poetry – a sign of self-affirmation of the nation. Quebecs defend Francazevia: only those foreign poets invite to the festival, whose books went out in translated into French. Let the Anglofones know: the world sounds in French! With tongue, however, everything is not so simple. Quebec focuses that the French often do not understand the speaker. From the point of view of the regulatory French, the language is distorted. However, the Ryanian Quebec patriots claim that this is exactly the original French, who has not changed since he was taken here in the XVII century. Alas, the first migrants were mainly illiterate and unwanted – "Schapan from Yuga". If you imagine how in Russian, a tribal resident of the south of Russia is talking – the effect will be similar. But for Quebecs, this mixture became their life, their speech, and the question of whether it is necessary to strive for the right French pronunciation, so intimate and delicate that it is better not to remember about him.
This is not the only delicate question. "Everyone has its own continent – my Quebec Publisher complains. – European will say that he is european, asian that he is Asian. And what to tell us? Why residents of the United States call themselves Americans? We are also on the American continent, but for some reason they assigned it to themselves! We call them etats-uniens, "patennikov". He does not know that in Russia, too, everything is not easy: who we are Europeans, Asians, Eurasians? And continental self-determination is not just a technical term, this is ideology.
"You are a citizen of Russia, – continues the publisher. – So, Russian". (Again, ambush: in french "Russian" and "Russian" – one word.) "And I am a citizen of Canada means Canadian, although I have nothing to do with English-speaking Protestant Canada. I am Quebec! We have our own flag – blue with white lilies, french kings! Not red leaf. We are American Europeans, we are part of France, but we are not France. You see how everything is confused?" How not to understand, they themselves … Shortly after the French in the same XVII century, American British got into Canada. Fought with each other with variable success. It can be said that the war ended with the victory of both sides: and the new British received the territory, and the new French remained with their. Canada – a large country! Back in the XIX century, Francophones were dominated here, but then their number and influence in parliament steadily decreased. Quebec was unwound religion: the local Catholicism opposed the English-speaking Protestantism. However, in 1968, synchronously with the student revolution in France, young Quebecs religion hated and became militant atheists. Quebec is also divided into age: those who are fifty and less – anticlericals, those who are older – every Sunday go to Messe. On one of my speeches, I noticed that I did not go to church. In the hall, some intercepted the breath, as if I said something indecent, our eyes caught fire.
English-speaking Canadians in their mass remain pious, regardless of age, and this is another confrontation. "We have nothing in all, the Quebec poet hot. – They are for war in Iraq, we are against. Always when they are for, we are against. How can we be one state?" And we? Red leaf swings and they have, and we have, but I’m not going to fall yet, he is the essence of the landscape.
