Remembering Jocelyne (1957-2016)

Makandal dedicates this slide show to the memory of Marie Jocelyne Louis—singer, dancer, and above all, Vodouyizan. Jocelyne co-founded La Troupe Makandal in Port-au-Prince in 1973 and brought the company to New York in 1981.

Marie Jocelyne Louis was born in Miragwann (Miragoâne), Haiti, on January 9, 1957, to the late Louis Jean-Louis and Léotude Civil. She had distinguished herself in soccer as a teen, but she stood out as well as a performer. Jocelyne established La Troupe Makandal in 1973 in the Port-au-Prince community of Belair, where she was growing up. The company named itself after an eighteenth century revolutionary and mystic, one who performed feats of mind over matter. Most artists in the company incorporated magic into the act.

Makandal came to New York in 1981 and settled in Brooklyn, where it rapidly won the acclaim of the immigrant audience. Under the direction of Master Drummer Frisner Augustin, Makandal found new audiences throughout the City and then beyond. Jocelyne danced and sang for the group, and her magical voice soon found a home in the diaspora's blossoming Vodou community.

More recently, Jocelyne Louis became the favorite aunt and great aunt to a growing family. She passed away suddenly on July 22, 2016, leaving her sister Carole, her nieces Kethelyne and Carmelle; her nephews Junior and Ronald; great nieces Keiora, LeeAnn "Lilly Butt," Chloe, and Natalia; great nephews Ryan, Ayden, Alijah, and Wagner; and longtime supporter and friend Jean Paul Joseph.

All photos but 4 and 6 by Chantal Regnault

Photos 4 and 6 by Lois Wilcken

Last photo by unknown photographer

Music from The Drums of Vodou by La Troupe Makandal, track 4 ("Mirabo"), recorded 1984, Jocelyne Louis, lead vocal

Slide show edited by Lois Wilcken