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Childhood Home of Enrico Macias, New Constantine, Algeria
The childhood home of a singer who’s never been able to return to it, located in Constantine’s historic Jewish quarter.
Description
Enrico Macias, born Gaston Grenassia in 1938, spent his childhood years in his family’s home on Rue Palestine,[1] on the northernmost edge of Constantine, Algeria. As a child, Grenassia attended the neighborhood school, the École al-Ghazali,[2] and was musically mentored by the famed Algerian-Jewish musician Raymond Leyris (Cheikh Raymond).[3]
Throughout Grenassia’s childhood, the Jewish community in Constantine was very religious,[4] adhering to traditional Jewish customs to a greater extent than many other Algerian Jewish communities at the time.[5] During the French colonial period (1830 - 1962), Constantine had the third-largest Jewish community in Algeria, and was the nearest city for Jews in eastern Algeria.[6] In 1934, four years prior to Grenassia’s birth, the city’s Jewish population numbered about 12,000 residents.[7]
Grenassia’s childhood home was located on the edge of the city’s hara, or Jewish quarter, a thriving community that coexisted with its Muslim neighbors during French colonial rule.[8] However, this relative peace would not last. In 1961, there was a wave of antisemitic violence and general political unrest where nationalists disputed the colonial order. Leyris, who fostered musical cooperation between Muslims and Jews, was killed by nationalists during this period.[9]
Leyris’ murder spurred Grenassia and his family, including Leyris’ daughter Suzy, who had married Grenassia, into leaving Algeria for France. Grenassia left behind a job as a teacher in a primary school. Upon arrival in France, he changed his name to Enrico Macias, and kickstarted a musical career that would span decades.[10] Many other Algerian Jews left Algeria for mainland France in 1961, mirroring the French withdrawal from Algeria in 1962 and the pied-noirs’ (former colonial French settlers’) return to their home country.[11] Yet, unlike the pied-noirs, Algerian Jews had to settle into a completely new environment, which proved challenging for many.[12]
Despite a stellar music career and international acclaim, Macias has never been able to return to his childhood home,[13] and he has been banned from entering the country twice because of his pro-Israel views. This has separated Macias from his roots, which is not uncommon for many Jews who fled Algeria in this period.
Sources
[1] Ait-Larbi, Arezki. “Constantine se souvient de sa communaute juive.” Le Figaro. May 12, 2007. https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2007/12/05/01003-20071205ARTFIG00236-constantine-se-souvient-de-sa-communaute-juive.php
[2] Ibid.
[3] Goldstein-Sabbah, Sasha. "Macias, Enrico (Gaston Ghrenassia)". In Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World Online, (Brill, 2010) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_SIM_0014160
[4] Cohen, Anne. “Enrico Macias, Sephardic Superstar.” The Forward. Mar. 18, 2014. https://forward.com/schmooze/194770/enrico-macias-sephardic-superstar/.
[5] Charvit, Yossef. "Constantine". In Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World Online, (Brill, 2010) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_COM_0005720
[6] Ibid.
[7] “Constantine, Algeria.” Jewish Virtual Library. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/constantine.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Seroussi, Edwin. "Leyris, Raymond". In Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World Online, (Brill, 2010) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_SIM_0013830
[10] Rosenheimer, Catherine. “SUPERSTAR: Singer Enrico Macias, who comes from Algeria, made his reputation in Paris, but gets his warmest reception when he "comes home" to Israel.” The Jerusalem Post. Oct. 5, 1976.
[11] Cohen, Anne. “Enrico Macias, Sephardic Superstar.” The Forward. Mar. 18, 2014. https://forward.com/schmooze/194770/enrico-macias-sephardic-superstar/.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Cohen, Anne. “Enrico Macias, Sephardic Superstar.” The Forward. Mar. 18, 2014. https://forward.com/schmooze/194770/enrico-macias-sephardic-superstar/.