Album Notes

For over 30 years, Manno Charlemagne has been the vocal conscience of Haiti. As a singer, songwriter, political activist, and one-time mayor of Port-au-Prince, he has constantly challenged the status quo and stood up for the millions of poor Haitians who otherwise would have had no voice. A soulful yet brazen balladeer, Manno for decades used his acoustic guitar and tender baritone voice as weapons against the brutal Duvalier regime and civilized indifference of Haiti’s insulated upper class.


Born in 1948, he slipped out of his mother’s womb with a clenched fist thrust up in the air; his birthsong was defiance. He picked up his first guitar as a teenager and has been playing, singing and writing songs ever since. In the classic troubadour tradition, he is a teller of truth who disguises his profoundly political messages by placing them inside hauntingly beautiful melodies.


Produced in 1994, La Fimen (Smoke) is one of his most popular collections. Marked by captivating rhythms, the songs are full of caustic lyrics that lash out at the tools of oppressions. Explaining the title song on this album, Manno once said, “The smoker is the guy who oppresses the people in Haiti. But if I smoke, when you open your window, you don't have a problem. The smoke leaves, and you stay. It is a message of hope.”

Today, Manno Charlemagne lives in South Florida and regularly performs in Miami and other American cities.


From La Fimen:

The one in hiding who takes wet leaves,

Pissed-in mattress stuffing that’s not yet dry,

Is not making a fire to cook,

But to make us cough.

If you see tears running down our faces,

Our crying is not crying.

We are the conscious that stands up,

That moves on and analyzes

The puff of smoke that’s up to no good.