Thursday, September 23, 2010

Sesenne, , Saint Lucian singer died she was 96

Dame Marie Selipha Descartes ,[1] best known as Sesenne, was a Saint Lucian singer and cultural icon. She was born in La Pointe, Micoud,[1] the youngest of five children born to a subsistence farmer and his wife.
She spent most of her time as a child with her maternal aunt, known locally as "Ma Chadwick". Her aunt, also her godmother, developed a strong sense of spiritual devotion and a commitment to the Catholic faith in the young Sesenne.

(28 March 1914 – 11 August 2010)




Sesenne became a locally renowned singer of traditional Saint Lucian music as a young girl. It was her father who, together with his wife holding the title "La Rose King and Queen", first introduced her to the public. He had plans to start a La Rose group in the Micoud area and needed a lead singer.[citation needed]
Sesenne was around eight years old when chosen lead singer of the new group. Sesenne says of her unique voice at the time: "Everyone was envious of my voice... when I sang I could be heard in Malgretoute."[citation needed] She was also an accomplished dancer of many styles, including the ring, kontwidance, konte, commette, belair and débot
As a young artiste, she was hired by Grace Augustin, entrepreneur of a guest house called The Hotel, and Sesenne became the lead singer of a traditional band which entertained guests with the use of such traditional instruments as the chak-chak, mandolin, quatro, banjo, violin and guitar. Not many people know that Sesenne sang for both La Rose and La Marguerite groups. This may explain one of her most profound lines in one of her well-known songs: "My mother was a rose; my father was a marguerite, I myself, I am the roots of flowers."[citation needed]
She burst onto the regional scene on the stage Expo '67 in Grenada; a precursor to the Caribbean Festival of the Arts, winning the Expo '67 contest with the song "Why".[citation needed]
Sesenne died in August 2010 in Mon Repos, Saint Lucia, a the age of 96.[1]

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