Emerante Morse
Emerante de Pradines Morse | |
---|---|
Born |
Emerante de Pradines 24 September 1918[1][2]:0:11 Rivière Froid, Haiti[1]:163 |
Died |
4 January 2018 99)[3] Port-au-Prince, Haiti | (aged
Occupation | Singer, dancer and folklorist |
Emerante Morse, also known as Emerante de Pradines Morse (born Emerante de Pradines; 24 September 1918 – 4 January 2018)[1][3][4] was a Haitian singer, dancer and folklorist, and the daughter of Haitian entertainer Auguste de Pradines (better known as Ti Candio or Kandjo).[5][6][7]
Early life
Emerante's mother, Amarante Jean Pierre, implored Our Lady of Mount Carmel, patroness of the Carmelite order, to give her a child, a baby girl, "promising that in return she would devote this child to the virgin saint."[1]:161 Emerante was born when her mother was "on vacation at Rivière Froid".[1]:163
Musical and dance career
De Pradines went to Washington, D.C. in 1941 as a featured singer and dancer in a troupe led by Lina Mathon-Blanchet.[8]:59 After her return to Haiti, de Pradines performed in a regular concert series at the Rex Theater in Port-au-Prince. She often sang renditions of traditional vodou songs, "then a novelty in Haitian social life".[8]:59
De Pradines sang Vodou songs in Creole on the radio when it was dangerous to do so,[9] and was the first Haitian singer to sign a recording contract with a record company.[10] She married Richard M. Morse, a Latin-American scholar and writer from the United States who she met while studying in New York with Martha Graham.[11] Her albums were released internationally, including by Smithsonian Folkways in the United States.[12]
Reception and later life
She and her husband had one daughter, Marise, and one son, Richard Auguste.[1] Her son, also known as Richard A. Morse, also became a musician and prominent public figure in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
De Pradines Morse was one of six women profiled in a documentary film by director Arnold Antonin entitled Six Exceptional Haitian Women (Six femmes d’exception).[13]:19[14] She was also the focus of a 2017 article in the Journal of Haitian Studies.[1]
One commentator wrote that "Given the time in Haitian social history when [Emerante de Pradines] chose to sang vodou songs, popular songs, she stands almost by herself in Haitian history."[15]
Death
She died on 4 January 2018 at Saint-Esprit Hospital (Hôpital Saint-Esprit), rue Capois, Port-au-Prince, aged 99.[3] Her remains were cremated on 6 January after a private ceremony attended by relatives.[3] On February 3, 2018, a thanksgiving mass was held in her honor at Holy Trinity Cathedral.[16] At the mass, Emerante Morse's daughter in law Lunise Morse sang the traditional song "Carolina Caro",[17] a favorite of the deceased.[16] Emerante Morse was also remembered and celebrated for numerous philanthropic activities, including education of young people, founding the school La Ruche in Pelerin (Pétion-Ville), and supporting other institutions such as Octane Deslouches Martissant and other schools and cultural centers outside the capital.[16]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Scherpf, Stephanie (2017). "Emerante de Pradines: The Birth of a Legend and the Making of a Tradition". Journal of Haitian Studies. 23 (1): 162–68. doi:10.1353/jhs.2017.0007.
- ↑ Haitian Women of History |Emerante de Pradines, Episode 9 (accessed 1 July 2017)
- 1 2 3 4 Malandre, Daphney Valsaint (8 January 2018). "Adieu Emerante de Pradines!". Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ↑ "Décès de l'une des plus grandes danseuses du folklore vaudou haïtien". Loophaiti.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ↑ Richard Morse (2016). 'Pradines, Auguste Linstant de (“Kandjo” or “Candio”)' in Knight, Franklin W.; Gates, Henry Louis Jr., eds. (2016). Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro–Latin American Biography. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199935802. Retrieved 5 November 2017. ; ISBN 9780199935796 This biographical article states that Emerante's father Candio was born in Paris, France, on 10 September 1879.
- ↑ Averill, Gage (1997). A day for the hunter, a day for the prey: Popular music and power in Haiti. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226032931.
- ↑ "Chapo Ba: Emerante de Pradines". Kreyolicious. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- 1 2 Smith, Matthew J. (2009). Red & black in Haiti radicalism, conflict, and political change, 1934-1957. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807894156.
- ↑ Grech, Dan. "Into Haiti's Heart: Richard Morse Finds His Roots". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ↑ "Morse code: The man behind the amazing Twitter updates from Haiti | Boston Haitian Reporter". bostonhaitian.com. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ↑ Romero, Simon. "Richard McGee Morse, 78, Latin America Expert". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ↑ Smithsonian Folkways. "Creole Songs of Haiti". Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ↑ Hall, Michael R. (2012). Historical dictionary of Haiti. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810875494.
- ↑ Anonymous (19 June 2017). "Six Exceptional Haitian Women". MEDIA PRAXIS: Integrating Media Theory, Practice and Politics. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ↑ Alzuphar, Adolf. "Haitian singer Emerantes De Pradines". zcomm.org. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- 1 2 3 Victorin, Chancy (5 February 2018). "Emerante de Pradines Morse, une messe en son honneur à Sainte-Trinité". Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ↑ Santos, Daniel (8 November 2014). "Carolina Caro (Conga Haitiana)". Youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
External links
- Video: Haitian women of history (Emerante de Pradines) (YouTube)
- Interview with Emerante De Pradines, 12 May 2011 from Digital Haitian Art Archive of Florida International University (YouTube)