Manno Charlemagne

Manno Charlemagne
Manno Charlemagne
Born	1948
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, acoustic guitarist

Manno (Emmanuel) Charlemagne, born 1948, is a Haitian political folk singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist, lifelong political activist and former politician. He recorded his political chansons in both French and in Creole. He lived abroad in exile twice, both during the 1980s and again during the years 1991-1994, when the country was ruled by a military junta led by Raoul Cédras. In 1995, Charlemagne was elected mayor of Port-au-Prince after running as an independent candidate, while Oganizadyon Politik Lavalas (OPL), J.B. Aristide's political party at the time, did not present a mayoral candidate for Port-au-Prince, many considered this decision by OPL as a sign that Aristide had supported Manno's candidacy. He was mayor until 1999.

Born in 1948, Charlemagne grew up in the sprawling new suburb of Carrefour, to the south of the capital, where he was influenced as much by the songs of the peasants who moved into the area in search of a livelihood, as by his Catholic school choir. Raised by his aunt, he did not know who is father was until he turned 37.

The Jean-Claude Duvalier regime renewed the repression of political and cultural dissent in 1980, and Charlemagne was forced into exile. With the fall of the Duvaliers in 1986, he returned home, and was active in both political organising and the burgeoning roots or racines music scene. He formed a live group, Koral Konbit Kafou, which included drummers from a Voudou temple, and played concerts that provided a soundtrack for the popular mobilisation for political change in the late 1980s. Some of these songs can be heard on "Nou Nan Male ak Oganizasyon Mondyal", Kako Productions, 1988.

His support for the grassroots, popular movement frequently landed him in trouble with the Haitian military, and, after receiving death threats, he spent several years in semi-clandestinity. Charlemagne was a supporter of the Lavalas political movement of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide against whom the military launched a brutal coup d'état in September 1991. Charlemagne took refuge in the Argentine embassy and went into exile once again. During 1991-94, he played concerts in Miami, New York, and Montreal, where he rallied the expatriate Haitian communities in support of Haitian democracy. He released a recording, "La Fimen", Kako Productions, in 1994.