AFTER THE STORM

Haitian musicians lead relief effort

Haitian singer Emeline Michel recalls the Mapou trees of her childhood and the stories they inspired. Her grandfather would tell fireside tales of men turned into snakes by the spirits.

Now many of those muse-like, mystical trees in northwestern Haiti are gone -- most by deforestation, others by the floods and mudslides triggered by Tropical Storm Jeanne.

Also gone: the hospital where Michel was born. And her aunt's house in downtown Gonaives, a city stricken by tragedy with the deaths of more than 1,500 people.

''Completely gone with the water,'' Michel said by telephone Thursday while preparing for a concert tonight in Miami.

Michel will perform a medley of Haitian compas and traditional roots music as part of Miami Dade College's Cultura del Lobo Performance Series. Donations for the Haiti Relief Fund will be collected during the concert.

''I want to create a moment of warmth where you can share what the Haitian culture's really about,'' said Michel, who has earned the moniker Queen of the Haitian Song.

Michel, 38, is not the only musician seeking to help those back home.

Sweet Micky, self-proclaimed ''president of compas,'' played his synthesizer-heavy tunes last Saturday outside Port-au-Prince. Manno Charlemagne, a troubadour singer and a former mayor of Port-au-Prince, will sing and strum his guitar tonight at South Beach's Tap Tap Haitian Restaurant. And a dozen compas bands will perform as part of the ''Hurricane Relief Concert'' at FIU's North Miami Campus Stadium Oct. 11; concert goers are asked to bring canned food or medicine.

Such events are rare for a country in such dire need.

''There is a whole city (Gonaives) that needs to be rebuilt,'' said Ed Lozama, general manager of radio station Planet 17. ``Women are giving birth in the City Hall. Three months from now, unless we do something, it's still going to happen.''