“Born on March 21, 1919 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Martha’s golden voice was as memorable as her career, which Haitian musical historians say begun in the late 1930s and early 40s, with young Martha singing at musical spectacles at Haiti’s famed Rex Theatre and at other informal gatherings.”
Martha was a singer, a dancer, an actress and a writer. She use to sing solo at the Cathedral of Port-au-Prince. Incidentally Martha jean-Claude was imprisoned in 1952 by then government for some sort of ideological tendency contrary to that of the regime’s social order. Upon her released, she left her beloved country for exile. She then settled in Cuba where she married. There, her career took off, and happily had four children. She became the “daughter of two Islands,” but she graciously departed from her adopted one.
Martha jean-Claude story is a long and fascinating one that needs to be read.
Here a song by Martha jean-Claude: papa chéri sam fèw