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Manno Charlemagne – born Joseph Emmanuel Charlemagne on April 14, 1948, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti – was a folk singer, songwriter, musician, and political activist. He was raised by his aunt, who introduced him to music. He was influenced by the music of his Catholic school choir as well as the songs he’d hear the local peasants sing in his hometown. At the same time, he began pursuing a musical career, the 16-year-old Manno Charlemagne also became a political activist and combined the two causes together when he formed the group Les Remarquables in 1968 in defiance of dictator François Duvalier’s regime. After the group split, he continued to insert politics into his solo career, where he would play folk and traditional music in local clubs. In the late 1970s, he formed a duo with Marco Jeanty and released the album Manno and Marco in 1978. When his politics became too controversial, he was forced into exile in 1980 and spent time traveling through the US, Canada, Africa, and France. His travels during his time in exile inspired the politically charged albums Konviksyon (1984) and Fini les colonies (1985). Manno Charlemagne returned to Haiti in 1986 after the fall of Duvalier’s regime and formed the traditional and voodoo-based musical group Koral Konbit Kalfou and toured the country. He released the album Òganizasyon Mondyal in 1988. After supporting Jean-Bertrand Aristide during his successful presidential campaign, Manno Charlemagne was arrested during a coup against the new President in 1991. Released after pressure from humanitarian organizations, his recent struggles were captured in director Jonathan Demme’s documentary Americans for Manno. Forced into exile again in 1991, Manno Charlemagne released the album La Fimen (1994) before returning to Haiti. Abandoning music, he entered politics and was elected mayor of Port-au-Prince in 1995 and served in that position until 1999. He then moved to Miami, Florida, where he would continue to perform concerts at the Tap Tap restaurant. After the release of a live album in 2004, he returned to the studio and released the album Les inédits de Manno Charlemagne (2006). Diagnosed with lung cancer, which eventually spread to his brain, he died on December 10, 2017, at the age of 69.
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