Favorite
Artists
Toto Bissainthe
Toto Bissainthe (2, April 1934– 4, June 1994) was a Haitian actress and singer known for her innovative blend of traditional Vodou and rural themes and music with contemporary lyricism and arrangements.[1][2] Born in Cap-Haïtien in 1934, she left Haiti at an early age to pursue her acting studies abroad. Her career started in theatre with the company Les Griots, of which she was a founding member in 1956. Les Griots was at the vanguard of négritude-inspired cultural institutions in France, and was the first African theatre company in Paris and the first to perform of Jean Genet's play "Les Nègres". She also worked with playwright Samuel Beckett, played a co-starring role in Raoul Peck's "L'homme sur les quais", and worked with other directors such as Roger Blin, and performed in several films.
With a groundbreaking performance in 1973 at La vieille grille in Paris, Toto Bissainthe established herself as singer-songwriter-composer, stunning the audience with her soul-stirring renditions of original compositions that paid homage to the lives, struggles, miseries and spirituality of working class and rural Haitians.
The singer and actress Toto Bissainthe was recognized by many as a champion of Haitian music abroad.
An artist in exile, Toto Bissainthe will be unable to return to the Haiti that so inspired her until the departure of Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986. However, the multiple disappointments of the unending democratic transition and political infighting would forever embitter the outspoken artist, who had long dreamed of a return to help rebuild her motherland. Saddened by Haiti's social and political degradation, Toto Bissainthe's health would enter a downward spiral ending with her death from liver damage on June 4, 1994. The cause was cirrhosis, her family said.
Martha Jean-Claude
Martha Jean-Claude (21 March 1919 – 14 November 2001) was a Haitian writer, civil rights activist, entertainer, and composer. She was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and was well known internationally during her life and could perform in many languages. Her singing career began during the late 1930's and early 1940's. She incorporated Haitian folklore and Voodou lyrics into her performances. She spoke out against Haitian authorities who were exploiting the Haitian people. She was arrested in 1952 during the administration of President Paul Eugene Magloire after publishing her play "Anriette". Officials considered it to be directed toward and against the government at that time. When she was arrested she was pregnant but was released two days before giving birth.
Jean-Claude was exiled to Cuba on 20 December 1952. She was married to Victor Mirabal, a Cuban journalist.[1] Jean-Claude was well-known to the Hispanic communities who admired her talent and activism. She was featured in radio and television broadcasts in Cuba. She appeared in the movie Yambaó (1957) that starred the Cuban-Mexican actress Ninón Sevilla.[1] Cuba has claimed her as a great artist of that country. She became a member of The Cuban Union of Writers and Artists. She performed at many international venues that included: Salle Claude Campagne, Casa de las Américas in Cuba, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Madison Square Garden in New York City, Maison de L'UNESCO in Paris, United Nation Headquarters in New York City, and for the Faculty of Music at Montreal University. She traveled and visited almost all the nations of Central and South America and Angola. She also spoke in Panama against those who violated basic human rights in that country. She wrote and performed political songs. Jean-Claude also appeared in the Cuban film Simparele (1974)[2] directed by Humberto Solás.[1]
Jean-Claude had four children with Mirabal: Linda (an opera singer), Sandra (a musician), Magdalena (a physician living in Cuba), and Richard.[3] Her son Richard Mirabal has served as director of the Martha Jean-Claude Foundation, which promotes cultural ties between Haiti and Cuba.[1]: 143 Her son Richard produced the film Fanm De Zil [Woman of Two Islands] (2000) about her life and work.[1]: 143 [3] Jean-Claude returned to Haiti in 1986. She died in Havana, Cuba on 14 November 2001, aged 82, at her home there.[4][5][3] She has been described as "...one of the most precious jewels Haiti has ever had."[6]
Michel Martelly
Michel Joseph Martelly[1] (French pronunciation: [miʃɛl ʒɔzɛf maʁteli]; born 12 February 1961[2]) is a Haitian singer and former politician who went on to serve as the President of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016. He is from Côte-de-fer, a commune located in the South East region of Haiti. Martelly was one of Haiti's best-known musicians for over a decade, going by the stage name Sweet Micky. For business and musical reasons, Martelly has moved a number of times between the United States and Haiti. When travelling to the United States, Martelly mostly stays in Florida. After his presidency, Martelly returned to his former band (Sweet Micky) and sung a carnival meringue entitled Bal Bannan nan (Give her the banana), a message as a response to Liliane Pierre Paul, a famous Haitian female journalist in Port-au-prince