Honored for his 40-year career, Mario Pelchat sang a few lines of his success I am a singera capella, following being given an ovation, Thursday morning, in the Blue Room of the National Assembly.
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The idea of making his voice resonate came to him when MP Pascal Bérubé, from the Parti Québécois, sent him a text message to tell him that Claude Dubois had already done that and that it was possible.
“I was wondering what to sing and my hamster was rolling. I thought of this song, my first, which was written very close to here by Martin Peltier, in an apartment on the Grande Allée”, he said during an interview, specifying that he did not wouldn’t have done that in the first place.
After tributes from Nathalie Roy, Christine St-Pierre of the Liberal Party, Catherine Dorion and Pascal Bérubé, and following receiving a standing ovation, Mario Pelchat stood up and sang a few lines.
The 58-year-old singer, originally from Dolbeau-Mistassini, experienced great emotions.
“I am extremely touched and overwhelmed. I am speechless,” he said during a private meeting, where the Minister of Culture and Communications, Nathalie Roy, presented him with the Medal of the National Assembly.
“He had an exceptional career and he enriched Quebec culture,” said the Minister.
Photo Stevens Leblanc
Mario Pelchat received the Medal of the National Assembly from the Minister of Culture and Communications, Nathalie Roy, for his 40-year career.
A childhood dream
By receiving this honor, the singer and producer had a thought for his parents, Réal and Raymonde, who have always encouraged him.
“My mother, who died in 2019, would have been extremely affected. My dad, who is 84 and mightn’t move around, would have been proud,” he said.
“Pelch”, as some call him, said his parents had done everything to make him realize his childhood dream of becoming a singer. A dream that took shape at the age of 10 following attending a Ginette Reno show with her mother.
“Pierre Lalonde and René Simard were my idols, but it was Ginette’s show that made me want to become a singer. Dreaming is one thing, achieving it is another. They did everything to make it happen. They never stopped me and they made huge sacrifices. It was a game at first and it became a profession,” he said.
