Renetsens - a Montreal original

  The guy with the shades was some kinda local legend in his time here in the Munchyhall.
  He called himself Renetsens (pronounced Renaissance) and was a cutting edge clubster in the early 80s who contributed to the definition of such clubs at Foufounes Electriques and Cargo, where he is pictured sitting with his friend Mario.
   Renetsens is mentioned a couple of times in a useful 100 page academic paper in French about the Foufounes Electriques nightclub.
   In that text, club associate Dan Webster described him as a "tall lanky junkie," and indeed Renetsens was pretty outrageous, he would tirelessly dance away all night staring at the lights, often pointing upwards while dancing. He would never use the men's washroom, always sticking to the women's side. He was once even seen french kissing a dog at Foufounes.  Some artists consider him one of the most original characters from his era.
 I'm still seeking his real name but he was born in Quebec City and was stricken with polio as a child, a condition which continued to cause him pain as an adult. He worked in various restaurants and had a clandestine bar that he tended late at night.
   Renetsens even had his own place in Old Montreal in 1986 called the Brasserie d'Art Renetsens. His final restaurant was somewhere on Park Ave.
   He died soon after that, apparently of AIDS. His friend Mario also died soon after as well.
   Renetsens was the subject of a book or two by an artist named Anonyme Sanregret, (real name Pierre Cornudet) One called Inutile - Anonyme Sanregret - 1984 and the other, apparently at the BANQ called Ed Voltichenkö   Inutile comprenant la chanson : Renêtsens.