You are invited to take a
trip, far from your daily life in the States. You will go to
Haiti, Port-au-prince, more precisely, during the tumultuous times
of the 70’s and 80’s. That’s where, with his latest CD,
Charlot Lucien invites us, one more time –he did it before with Ti
Oma - . There, you will get acquainted with Ti Cyprien,
Sonson, Maitre Barzol and Coriolan, Capois La Mort, and
others.
Ti Cyprien is the lead character of “Ti Cyprien
Dokte Ya Bezwen”, the main piece of Lucien’s CD. This story
traces the itinerary of a young Haitian who grew up in the slums of
Port-au-prince, attended the Faculty of Medicine, and became a
physician. Along the way, he had to deal with the scorn of his
classmates, their abusing friendship, and the brutality of the
established authority. It is about overcoming obstacles,
winning against the odds. It looks like one more feel good
survival story. But wait, is it?
“Dokte Ya Bezwen” does not appall you like
Maurice Sixto’s Ti Saintanise nor does it cheer you up as Ti
Oma. It rather generates an oozing feeling of
uneasiness. It is sarcastic, however who do we laugh at?
Of course we laugh at the usual suspects: the conceited dignitaries,
their arrogant children, the henchmen of the regime. But this
time, we come to also laugh at our underdog, Ti Cyprien.
Although Lucien describes him as smart, Ti Cyprien shows no clues of
social awareness and identity. In addition, his sexual
preoccupations toward his female classmates reveal a brute and
aggressive side in his character. At the end, when he is
savagely beaten by the “Sportsman Officer” and thrown into jail, you
hardly feel outraged. It is as if Ti Cyprien pays the
misfortune of his show-off actions.
With such a dubious character, Charlot Lucien
introduces new facets to the usual one-dimensional Cinderella
genre. The satire is pervasive, no character escapes its
stings. Ti Cyprien is not this social victim devoid of flaws;
on the contrary he is as shallow and conceited as his
classmates. This portrait of Ti Cyprien may not bring us to
tears of joy or uplift our mood, but it is real. Too many
Haitians coming from humble beginnings fail to even attempt to
improve the conditions of life of those left behind. Too many
become physicians or lawyers or engineers to only claim their place
under the sun.
The other long piece of the CD, “Sonson Moun Fou
ou L’Alternative Politique” relates the daily life of a mentally
challenged Haitian, in the transitional epoch, right after the fall
of Baby Doc. Lucien uses the delusions of Sonson to decry the
follies of the established politicians. Here, the wit is raw,
almost surreal. In this short story, Lucien shows what he can
do when he gets rid of Sixto’s fixtures: an original, yet familiar
tale. “Sonson Moun Fou” is to this CD what “La Stratégie
Epidermique de Classe” was to “Ti Oma”, the best piece of the set, a
perhaps serendipitous story that transforms an ordinary fact of life
to an exquisite memento.
The shortest story of the CD, “Dyaspora Lang
Poudre”, introduces us to a couple living in the U.S who pretends
not speaking or understanding Creole or French in their attempt to
deny their Haitian origins. Although the story addresses a
veracious sociological topic, national identity crisis, satire may
not be the right vehicle to convey the implied message. Or
maybe Coriolan gets too much of the spotlight and comes across as an
obnoxious fellow. In addition, the story takes too much time
to pick up, and sways from one character to the other without
reflecting a coherent picture. In any case, the story, as a
whole, fails to amuse and leaves instead a sullen aftertaste.
The surprise of the CD is the poems “Le Baptème
de Capois La Mort” and its Creole version. Is Lucien teasing
us with these two epics or are they a kind of foretaste to future
directions? The poems reenact the extraordinary exploits of
one of the heroes of our independence. The language, pregnant
with images and sounds, matches Lucien’s eloquence, and recreates in
a few minutes one of the most unforgettable chapters of our
history. Lucien succeeds in capturing the immediacy and the
tension of the moment. He puts you right in the midst of
roaring cannons and flying swords. These historical poems whet
our appetite, now it comes to Lucien to bring us to
satiety.
With this second CD Lucien reaffirms that he is
taking this genre very seriously. As the addition of
supporting sound effects can testify, he is also thinking about
revamping it. You can sense in him an attempt, although
hesitant, to brake away. He needs to leave Sixto’s trails and
antics and forge new ways, new paths. From time to time in his
two CDs, we can feel him, unaltered, naked, risking everything, and
without the crutches of his illustrious predecessors. Lucien
needs to claim his identity, all the time, in each sigh, in each
word uttered, in each inflection of the voice. Already, with
two CDs, stories upon stories, he is certainly in his way to
recreate our world and capture our imagination. And maybe next
month or next year, we will hear Sonson’s rasping voice rehashing
“No money no love, drug” resonate in casual conversations and
carnival tirades. Then, somewhere in Boston, Charlot Lucien
will nod and whisper “Nap byen mennen”.
End.
CREOLE VERSION
Ti Cyprien, Doktè Ya Bezwen
Dezyèm CD Lodyans
Charlot Lucien Pote Pou Nou
Janvye 2004
Mezanmi pwoche, rale chèz ba nou, kanpe tout
aktivite, louvri zòrèy nou: Tou cho la men dezyèm cd Charlot Lucien
an. “Ti Cyprien, Doktè Ya Bezwen” kase kòd soti, li tou limen nan
vwayaj oraliti Charlot Lucien antame depi 2001. Nou sonje Ti Oma,
kounye ya se Ti Cyprien, envite lakay ou Mèt Barzol ak Coriolan pou
yo kase lodyans nan yon gwo aprèmidi anba lonbraj pye zanmann.
Lodyans prensipal cd ya se “Ti Cyprien, Doktè Ya Bezwen”. Istwa
sa pale de ti Cyprien ki soti nan youn lakou dèyè do Christ-Roi pou
li tonbe nan lekòl medsin. Lucien foure nou nan egzistans moun kap
lite nan rakwen bliye Pòtoprens kote la mizè simaye. Ti Cyprien ki
te youn nèg ki fò lekòl, apre ke li fini klas segondè, deside pou l
antre nan lekòl medsin pou l tounen yon doktè. Li tap vini premye
doktè, premye entelektyèl non sèlman nan fanmi li, men tou nan tout
zòn la. Nan lane 60, 70 yo, pou antre nan fakilte medsin, menm si ou
entelijan, ou dwe jwenn youn parenn ki pou lage ou andan. Se konsa,
papa Ti Cyprien te rive jwenn yon potanta ki pèmèt li reyalize rèv
sa.
Ti Cyprien antre nan fakilte medsin. Nap atann ak bèl mèvèy
pitit Sò Yèt nan mitan boujwa vant anfle. Nap atann pwofesè bèkèkè
devan eksplwa youn pitit malere. Lucien pito di nou kijan ti Cyprien
kòm si l bliye e ki kote l sòti, e kisa l vin regle. Li pran youn
abitid dezabiye ti medam fakilte yo ak zyel, pran woulib nan machin
tiboujwa, e menm manje sou tab ak la fanmi agwonòm. Ti Cyprien
tèlman bliye kote l soti, li menm rive pran machin pitit agwonòm pou
l ale kraze yon chèlbè. Men yon chèlbè ki malerezman fini mal. Devan
pòtre pèsonaj prensipal sa, nou santi nou twouble. Nou ta pito bat
bravo tankou nou te fè pou Ti Oma, men lan ka Ti Cyprien, nou menm
gen difikilte pou kè nou ta fè nou mal pou ti nonm nan. Nou prèt pou
n ta di, “se bon pou li”.
Se bon pou Ti Cyprien. Se bon pou tout
lòt yo ki bliye lakou degrenngòch yo soti. Se bon pou tout lòt yo ki
wont di yo se moun andeyò. Se bon pou tout lòt yo ki tonbe gaga
devan byen gran nèg. Sebon pou nou. Mesaj “Ti Cyprien, Dokte Ya
Bezwen” pat evidan nan komansman lodyans lan. Tankou youn majisyen,
Lucien rale atansyon nou nan youn direksyon, pou li tonbe nan youn
lòt. Men alafen, mesaj la klè: vin doktè se pa fè wè, se sèvi pèp
la. Se wete kalamite maladi tètchaje nan mitan malere. Men li pran
Ti Cyprien kèk chaplèt anba men espòtman militè, ak kèk jou prison
pou l te ka aprann leson sa. Pou lòt Ti Cyprien ki jodi ya nan tout
lari Pòtoprens, kisa lap pran pou yo tou vin konprann vokasyon yo?
Youn lòt lodyans sou cd a se “Sonson Moun Fou ou l’Alternative
Politique”. Fwa sa a Lucien mennen nou pi pre, nan epòk apre depa
Jean Claude Duvalier, kote palè nasyonal la te tounen youn lopiswa
pou politisyen opòtinis. Lè sa, zòn Bourdon te sou kontwòl Sonson,
se sa li te kwè. Sonson, se te youn fou dou, ki tap viv nan youn
reyalite ke sèl limenm te konnen. Reyalite sa pote l youn jou
pwopoze youn altènativ politik. Youn istwa vrè ke Lucien dekouvri
petèt nan monte desann nan lari Pòtoprens. Youn paj istorik ki pap
janm pibliye nan liv ofisyèl, men ki raple ladebat moun fou nan tout
rakwen Ayiti. Lodyans sa kanpe drèt, li soti tou dwat nan zantray
atis la, limyèl pwojte byen lwen pou l di nou Lucien gen kichòy nan
djakout li. Listwa konsa, fre tankou dlo sous, vanse oraliti ayisyen
an. Menm jan nou te kase renmen ak “La Stratégie Epidermique” nan cd
Ti Oma a, se konsa “Sonson Moun Fou” chame nou.
Si Sonson te
fou, mesyedam nan “Dyaspora Lang Poudre “ yo menm pèdi lidantite yo.
Mèt Barzol antipwèt pou l met pye youn koup dyaspora nan youn sèl
grenn soulye. Istwa sa merite pou Lucien di l, se youn koze serye.
Pou kabre letikèt lawont maladi SIDA, anpil dyaspora nan lane 80 yo
te chwazi di yo pa Ayisyen. Yo se Jamayiken, Matinikè, Antiyè,
eksepte kamoken. Men olye se boujwa arivis oubyen entelektyèl bouch
si kap pase pou etranje, lè sa nou ta ri nèt, Lucien kanpe pito de
pèsonaj ki ta plis sanble tonbe nan youn sitiyasyon degaje pa peche.
Sa wete tout zatouyèt lodyans lan.
Lucien fini cd ya ak youn
sipriz: de powèm ki blayi nan lè ya tankou de kout loraj. “Batèm
Capois La Mort” sakaje lantouraj la. Kout kanno fè kenken, cheval yo
debòde. Tout bon vre, gason pa kanpe. Vwa Lucien fè youn va sou chak
mo tankou youn sansi. Li plase nou nan mitan batay la. Boulèt blayi
tankou grenn lapli. Capois la Mort tonbe, li leve kanpe. Bravo.
Bravo pou ewo nasyonal sa. Bravo pou Lucien ki fè nou reviv paj
fyète sa. Nou bezwen rapèl sa, pi plis toujou nan tan jodiya kote
konsyans nasyon an depafini ak koutba.
Tankou youn zwazo kap
ranje kabann li youn ti bwa apre youn lòt, Charlot Lucien ap bati
zèv li nan oraliti Kreyòl la, youn lodyans apre youn lòt. Deja, li
montre, sitou lè l soti kò l anba lombraj defen Sixto, ke li menm
tou li ka pase chimè nou, fè nou bliye reyalite rèd nap viv la, lage
youn souri nan kwen bouch nou, fè nou menm ri de pwòp tèt nou. Nou
pa konnen si lòt mwa nan Kanaval na tande Sonson kap chante ak vwa
wouye l la:“Nap byen Mennen”. Nou pa konnen tou si rara nan Leogane
pap pwofite voye toya sou Ti Cyprien. Men sa nou konnen, avèk dezyèm
cd sa, Lucien konfime ke zèv lodyans lan pat mouri ak Sixto. Li pran
larelèv tout bon vre, e li fèk kòmanse.
Mario Malivert
End
