French artist found shot dead near Rio

A crime haunts the city of Paraty, a very touristy Brazilian city, about 250 km from Rio. The victim is the French artist Cedric Jaurgoyhen Madala, 33 years old. The body was found Friday morning "with a bullet impact in the farm where he lived, an isolated and remote place" downtown, said Monday the police of the State of Rio in a statement. His house was also burned down. The badbadination occurred on the night of Thursday to Friday. No suspects have yet been identified but "the investigation continues to elucidate the circumstances of the crime, the mobile"

Photographer and visual artist, Cedric fell in love with Brazil and more particularly the culture of Paraty during his trip in 2003. This former hairdresser has performed several exhibitions in this country of South America. The murder of course shocked the artist's friends. Among them, the French photographer Claire Alice Jean. "I am shocked by so much inhumanity. I lost a great friend, an artist who was lovingly building his nest, in a heavenly place. He worked hard to make space comfortable. She was a sweet person who got on well with everyone and just wanted love. " In turn, a relative published on Facebook: "Cedric is no longer of this world, he has been brutally murdered and burned his house in the Paraty region."

A crime suspected of hate

Police are investigating to find possible suspects and motivation for the crime. His friends evoke the hypothesis of what they call a "crime of intolerance". For them, the homobaduality of Cédric and the practice of candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion could be the cause of the murder. "I believe he was executed for these reasons. Because he is gay, Candomblé, foreigner and artist. Some people in the city talk about the possible presence of traffickers. "- An anonymous friend reports to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo

Shaken, the parents of the victim arrived Monday at the morgue to proceed to the identification of the body. According to a parent, the funeral will be held in Cannes, France. Due to the nature of the crime, the body will have to stay in the South Fluminense area for a while until granted by the court.

He wanted to live in harmony with nature

Cedric chose the region to live and start building an ecological center that he envisioned to be a meeting point between art and nature. In order to work on his biggest project, he bought a plot of 30 hectares in the rural district of Barra Grande.

"The idea was to live in harmony with nature, an artist's space, an ecological neighborhood . It was in a very good time. Nobody can understand what happened. It's brutal. We are all shocked, "says one of the parents.

His friends took the initiative to collect the photos and videos to pay homage to this talented artist and thus to make public this tragically aborted artistic project. The exhibition in his honor will take place during the festival "Paraty in Focus", the biggest event of photography in Brazil.

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