Kira Viator

At age 13 in 2000, Kira Viator is already a veteran Cajun musician who has played at many festivals and who, in 1997, received the prestigious Governor's Art Award.   She learned to play the accordion at age 7. While she was performing at a jam session in the Jean Lafitte Center in Eunice, one woman, moved to tears, said that Kira's playing "was like liquid lace flowing from one generation to another." "Liquid Lace" became the title of her first CD, released in 1996, and is the name of her band on her next CD, Le 'Tit Coeur Cajin: The Little Cajun Heart, released in 1999 by Fais Do Do Records and Master-Trak Enterprises of Crowley.

As Kira explains in her liner notes to Le 'Tit Coeur Cajin, "I am one in a long line of musicians dedicated to keeping alive the traditional style of Cajun music."

Several of  the original songs on the CD reflect that strong attachment to her heritage.  In "Je souhaite qu'il connait," written by Ann Viator Bell, her godmother and aunt, Kira offers a tribute to the late L.J. Viator, her paternal grandfather, a long-time musician, and a continuing inspiration:   "Et quand je suis aprés jouer / Je souhaite qu'il connâit / Le meilleur cadeau il m'as donné (And when I am playing / I hope he knows / The best present he gave me)".  Another song, "Cet aprés-midi á ma maison," recalls house dances at which friends and relatives would gather.  Another song, "Son nom c'est Ophelia," was inspired by a dream Kira's mother had in which Kira's maternal great-grandmother, Ophelia Ancelet Trahan, kept asking, "Comment ça vas? Mon nom est Ophelia."  Since Kira's middle name is Ophelia, the song, written by Ann Viator Bell in conjunction with KIra's mother, Roxie I. Viator, is especially significant.

In the album's title song, also written by Ann Viator Bell, Kira sings, "La musique en Français/ c'est la seule moi j'vas joeur / Les mots des chansons dans mon coeur ça va tout le temps rester (The music in French is the only kind I will play / The words to the songs in my heart will always stay)."

The album also features Kira's highly accomplished accordion playing and her own arrangements on traditional songs like "The Amédé Two-Step," "Quand j'étais pauvre," "Le pays dans le jogue," "Jeunes gens de la campagne," and "Petite ou la grosse," among others, as well as her version of Dirk Powell's "Kingpin Special."  Among those supplying vocals on the CD, in addition to Kira, are her father, Jody Viator, Ann Viator Bell, Barry Cormier, Travis Matte, Robert Jardell, and Courtney Granger.

Both Kira Viator and Ann Viator Bell are nominees for the   Female Vocalist of the Year for 1999 that will be chosen by the Cajun French Music Association.

Kira Viator also sometimes performs with Robert Jardell and Pure Cajun and with Kevin Naqin and the Ossun Playboys.

For more information about Kira Viator and Liquid Lace, contact her father, Jody Viator, (337) 783-8278.

Kira Viator and Courtney Granger are shown performing during a 2001 performance of Liquid Lace at the Liberty Theater in Eunice.

All photographs and text by David Simpson.

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