Ophelia Marie 
©MINGAS 
SWEETEST CHANTIWELLE 
Ophelia Marie can't remember learning 
to sing and she reckons that her first 
utterance must have been a musical note. 
Her father, a night club entertainer in 
Curacao, capitalized on his daughter's 
enthusiasm and during his time off, he'd 
bang away on the family's ancient piano 
while his children sang along. 
"The piano died when I was three, but we 
never stopped singing," Ophelia remembers. 
Ophelia Marie or more famously just 
Ophelia is the most internationally 
acclaimed singer that Dominica has ever 
produced. When her Dominican-born 
parents came home after living in Curacao 
for several years, she was nine years old. 
Ophelia sang for local graduations and with 
community groups. She went on to win the 
national patois song competition in 1970, 
71 and 75. But she was a late bloomer 
and it was not until 1978 when her hus¬ 
band McCarthy, figuring his wife 
possessed a lot more talent than she 
thought she had, got her into the recording 
studio. 
It was one of the compositions that won 
her the local patois song competition that 
catapulted her to fame. 
"Aie Dominique is a lament on the socio¬ 
economic situation that was affecting 
Dominica at the time. I wished that Dominica 
did not have to go through this trouble as 
people were saying a lot of terrible things 
about the island. I wanted to console and 
protect the island because it was as if the 
country was crying," said Ophelia. 
The song which became her signature 
tune was banned in Dominica but it made 
her an instant hit in neighboring Martinique 
and Guadaloupe. Ophelia started recording 
in 1978 and one year later she held her first 
live show in Guadaloupe. She went on to 
other performances in Martinique, French 
Guiana and Paris. She also toured the 
French provinces. 
In 1981 Ophelia was the first black artiste 
to sing at the Theatre de la Renaissance in 
Paris and she collected the French award, 
the Maracas d'Or as the best performing 
Caribbean singer. Among the French she is 
known as La Grande Dame de la Chanson 
Antillaise. 
She has released 10 albums (the first 
woman in the Caribbean to do so) including 
two compact discs and most of her tracks 
are original compositions, written by herself 
or her husband. Ophelia sings mainly 
Caribbean rhythms which she calls kadans- 
lipso, an amalgamation, she says of 
different West Indian styles. 
"Anybody can dance to it as it has a very 
warm beat. I also play around with negro 
spiritual styles and bits of reggae too," said 
Ophelia. 
Most of her live performances take place 
in Martinique and Guadaloupe but in 
Dominica she does sing for charitable 
organizations and will occasionally do a live 
show. 
But even with her illustrious recording 
career, Ophelia is not a full time performer. 
"Dominica cannot sustain a full time 
artistic career and you have to be able to 
do other things to earn a living," said 
Ophelia. 
She has been a teacher and social 
worker and has worked in the local govern¬ 
ment's cultural division and as product 
development officer with the ministry of 
tourism. She is currently in charge of the 
ENCORE project in Dominica, a non¬ 
governmental organization which works to 
protect the environment. 
If you hear about an Ophelia show while 
you are in Dominica, get tickets quick and if 
you are unable to catch a performance, 
there's always one of those 10 records just 
bursting with her original Caribbean 
rhythms. 
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This six bedroom homestead is ideally 
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