Toto Bissainthe

Toto Bissainthe (2, April 1934– 4, June 1994) was a Haitian actress and singer known for her innovative blend of traditional Vodou and rural themes and music with contemporary lyricism and arrangements. Born in Cap-Haïtien in 1934, she left Haiti at an early age to pursue her acting studies abroad. Her career started in theatre with the company Les Griots, of which she was a founding member in 1956. Les Griots was at the vanguard of négritude-inspired cultural institutions in France, and was the first African theatre company in Paris and the first to perform of Jean Genet's play "Les Nègres". She also worked with playwright Samuel Beckett, played a co-starring role in Raoul Peck's "L'homme sur les quais", and worked with other directors such as Roger Blin, and performed in several films. In a document about Toto’s album Toto Bissainthe chante Haïti, it is stated, “Toto Bissainthe sings, and the memory of Haiti becomes the memory of the world, or the universal human. Vodou is then revealed, tapped in each one of us” (Translated from French).