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"Queen" brings out the beauty in Haiti
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Virginian-Pilot, "Queen" brings out the beauty in Haiti >>
In her native Haiti, and in France, Emeline Michel is known as "La Reine de la Chanson Creole" - "The Queen of the Haitian Song." Far more than a decade, she has been the elegant, jubilant voice of her island nation, finding the beauty in a country most often characterized by political upheaval and social unrest.
"Every time you hear about Haiti, it's in a very negative context," Michel says. "I look for different ways to present Haiti, without the bad news."
Not that Michel, also noted songwriter, shies away from political content. Her latest album. "Rasin Kreyol" ("Creole Hoots"), includes tunes about AIDS and yearnings to see lasting peace in her strife-filled homeland. Born in Gunaives, Haiti, Michel says music played an essential rule during her childhood, though her sole source of such entertainment was her grandmother's closely guarded radio.
"Normally, the whole day you would listen to her music." But sometimes, "she would kind of wave the radio to you, and you could choose whatever music you wanted to hear. I was her favorite, so she would give me the radio often. Every type of music was played on one station - reggae, gospel, everything. ... You could hear South African music, Bob Marley, Burning Spear, jazz, French singers, as well as traditional music from Haiti."
Michel, who now lives in New York, began singing in church, and by the age of 12, her pastime evolved into profession when she begun touring with a choir.
"I started to realize people were expressing to me that I had something different when I began traveling outside of the country. It was scary, but I had a feeling since I was small that I had interests that would push me to do things differently. When I was growing up, they taught you how women should stay home and take care of the children, and feed the family. And I felt needed to know more about how the world was spinning outside."
That still-fervent interest in the ways of the world bleeds through Michel's music. While her lyrics lean toward social activism and political observations, she often juxtaposes serious topics with upbeat music. "Zikap," from her new album, is primed for the dance floor, but it's also a cautionary tale about AIDS. Between the hip-shaking beats, Michel warns, "Beauty does not mean healthy, the beast can hide anywhere." It's her version of the cheery old Mary Poppins adage about a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down.
"Songs like that can be especially useful in my country. People are attracted to anything that will make them dance. And while they're dancing you can get a message across. Afterwards, people will say to me, 'Oh my God, I didnt realize what that song was about.'"
-Renee Graham 06/12/05
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