OPHELIA MARIE
DOMINICAN
SONGSTRESS WOWS
LOCAL MUSIC FANS
By Natasha Ofosu
Trinidad Guardian
July 22, 2000
Page 22
A
middle-aged man walks up to Dominican singer, Ophelia Marie, a
smile caressing his lips, and hugs her tight.
The man releases her slightly and speaks a few words of French quickly,
before growing silent and sombre.
For
a moment, he just stands there, holding her, not wanting to let go. Then tears start rolling down his
cheeks. After he composes himself, he
speaks to her again, and hugs her one lat time before walking away.
Ophelia
had just finished an hour-long performance, "Under the Trees", at the
Hotel Normandie's Fete de la Musique in June. She had held her audience captive with a repertoire of
"cadencelypso" songs - a slower, more lilting version of zouk -
before getting them involved, and ending her set on a high with a congaline
party.
The
man's outpouring of emotion, although no uncommon, left Ophelia baffled, since
the man told her that for 26 years, he had needed to tell her thank you.
"I
don't know why," Ophelia said in puzzlement. 'I don't know what it is, but I think I have angles that God sent
around to take care of me, and he might be one."
She
added: "I let God work for me, and I'm not afraid to start my songs by saying
'my soul magnifies the Lord'. You know
how much demons does run if you believe in that? I really feel stronger having sung a song like that."
Despite
her lengthy performance, which one would expect would leave her exhausted;
Ophelia willingly granted a post-performance interview.
She
was full of warmth, had a sharp sense of humour, and exuded a youthful energy
which belied her 49 years of age.
Occasionally,
fans would come by offering their congratulations on he wonderful set, which
she always graciously accepted.
Although
born in Curacao, Ophelia has spent most of her life in the nature isle,
Dominica, and as a result, considers herself "an integrated Caribbean
woman."
Ophelia
made her first recording in 1978, and in the intervening 22 years, has been
crowned the "Queen of Cadencelypso" - a musical genre which is a
fusion of calypso and indigenous Dominican rhythms, pioneered by the band,
Exile One, in the 1960s.
Of
the style, she said: "It is considered part of our heritage, and that
usually suggests that it is passing.
"But
I am an Aries, and I'm a stubborn one.
I am holding on to what the Lord gave me, and I make absolutely no
apology for that. It sees me through
where I have to go."
Despite
her success as a singer, Ophelia initially had aspirations to be a lawyer. Her parents said no, believing that lawyers
were liars, and therefore not the ideal profession for their first-born child.
So
she became a teacher - her second choice of profession - and taught for five
years in secondary schools in Dominica and Barbados. She now works in the Dominican Tourist Board, and runs a
guesthouse with her husband.
"They
(her parents) wanted me to be a doctor, but I think in my quiet rebellion, I
refused," Ophelia explained.
"Also, I was afraid of blood.
But, anyway, I wanted to be a teacher, and I find music is an extension
of that. It gives me the opportunity to
play god sometimes because you're controlling a crowd, and you pass on your
messages."
Her
messages, she said, are simple: "Let us compromise and work together, let
us be a people of love, let us love our country and remember where we came
from, no matter where He (God) allows us to go."
She
continued: "I love nature. I love
my environment. I love Dominica because
of its naturalness, so I talk about that in my songs and I tell people, let us
come together and let us enjoy the gifts God has given us.
"I
have been singing now for 21 years, and it's only after having looked at all
the themes that keep coming to me, I recognise this has been my mission. And so, now I'm at the time when I want to
thank the Creator for allowing me to do that, and for using me in the way he
has been doing - and is doing.
Her
heart's desire now is to record a gospel album to express her gratitude to
God. But her husband, McCarthy Marie,
who is her manager, bodyguard, songwriter, and the one who "holds the
money", has other plans. So she
said she is working on two albums.
"He
thinks I should do one that is more like me, in keeping with the kind of music
I have been doing. I feel it should be
gospel, that's what I want to do now and have been wanting to do since 1994.
"I
would like for us to do both of them," she said, adding somewhat
tongue-in-cheek, "but I just feel if it's going to be one it's going to be
his, because of the stupid, submissive, sweet woman that I am."
Ophelia,
a mother of two, said her family and in particular, her eight-year-old
grand-daughter, keeps her "ticking", giving her "something to
look forward to" and "a sense of purpose".
Her
biggest career achievement, she said, was being awarded the Maracas D'Or Trophy
by France in 1981, after only her second record.
"That
really was the first, and so far, still the biggest thing that has happened to
me,' she said. Last November, she was
also given Dominica's second highest national award - the Cisserou Award of
Excellence - for her contribution to Dominica's culture and heritage.
But,
she said: "I guess I am a little disappointed that it came so late. But then, isn't it biblical that a prophet
is never accepted in his own country? That
is the only country, for example, where I come in with a suitcase and I have to
open it for people to see what is in it.
Everybody else - ii don't know if it's my face they like - they just say
go ahead ma'am."
"So
that's life, and I'm a little disappointed that they took so long," she
continued. "But in general, I have
to say God has been good to me. Even in
moments that appear not to be so good, it's just so that He can remake me,
re-shape me, put me back in the oven, and make me come out nicer. So when I sing that I have regrets, but really
too few to mention, I am talking the truth."