Eric spent his last hours on a hospital bed, away from the studio or the stage. His last show, he played it on the courtyard of the NH Haiti El Rancho Hotel on Saturday, February 13. It was on Valentine’s Day, with Mizik Mizik, Orlane and Eric Virgal. He wanted to offer us a little love, a last moment of pure musical happiness.
But, in truth, the last audience who saw Eric Charles did not applaud his ultimate solo performance. The artist was not in good shape, he was there without being present, hanging on an artificial system to breathe … It was yesterday Thursday, February 25, in the morning, at the Bernard Mevs hospital, at Boulevard Toussaint Louverture , Solidarity Village. It was in the presence of a few family members, a few relatives and doctors in an emergency room. At the hospital, no doctor wanted to speak to us. We were even forbidden access to the interior. No media, no microphone, no camera. Eric Charles, who confided to Ticket years earlier that he wanted to die on stage, died far from everything that marked his life, from everything that made him famous, without any comment to the press , without a last word to his fans.
The hospital courtyard is secure, and the ingenuity that I entered was unsuccessful with the doctors. I was able to attend without being able to capture any image at the start of the ambulance which was carrying away the immobile and now silent body of this great artist. The doctors are not talkative either, they operate in complete discretion and will not reveal anything to me, not even on condition of anonymity. In the emergency room where a foreign doctor had guided me, they were adamant. “No statement on the death of Mr. Charles! The doctors have information to give only to the family, and only the family can decide to speak about it to a third person or put the press in the bath, explained to me a woman in blouse which entrusted to me, among other phrases, that she too is a fan of Eric Charles.
“Eric died following a stroke (stroke). I was informed this morning of his condition around four in the morning. I found him on oxygen. His heart was still beating, but he was almost lifeless. The doctor let us know that he was waiting for our authorization to disconnect it, ”reveals Jean-Robert Charles, the artist’s brother, who is trying to manage the legal consequences.
Among the friends who went to the hospital, Fabrice Rouzier and Emmanuel Obas, colleagues of Mizik Mizik, are mentioned by Jean-Robert busy in coordinating. Contrary to what the first reports say, Eric left on Thursday, February 25, a little before ten o’clock, and this departure affects his colleagues in Mizik Mizik as much as his family.
Kéké Bélizaire has trouble speaking. What he tells me on the phone is confused by sobs. He breathes after each word and I try to grasp the sentences to reconstruct. The director of UCLBP has not been able to fulfill his functions in the State today, he is not capable of it. Eric’s death weakened him: “I didn’t stay at the office … I went back home … We spent twenty-two years with Eric at Mizik Mizik … Li du, li du, li du, li of… “Clément “Kéké” Bélizaire describes Eric Charles as the all-terrain artist (ATT) of Mizik Mizik, the one who could interpret everything, who replaced the other singers to perfection. Kéké tells us about a jovial man, a singer who offered his help, a citizen who, within the framework of his Foundation for helping children in Nazon, devoted himself to humanitarian aid. “Nou pran kou …” sighs the guitarist of Mizik Mizik.
It was obvious that Eric was not well. The general public has necessarily noticed, like Ti Lion, our colleague from Magik 9. “For some time, Eric has been weakening, he has been losing weight, tells us the platform animator Magik. I didn’t know what he had, but it affected his performance. He was showing signs of great fatigue; he was certainly moving, but we could see that it was not the great Eric Charles. However, he did not make false notes. He was one of our best compass singers, classifiable in a top 10. Unfortunately, he was misunderstood, the audience was not connected with him. He was one of the singers who could spend the three fat days of the carnival at the Champ de Mars and enter the studio the next day with a certain freshness. ”
Fabrice Rouzier could not grant his sentence so as to express himself clearly. The maestro and former partner of Eric Charles who will still remember hits like “4 kanpe” and “Paradi nan lanfè” was really unable to speak at the time. But his message on his Facebook page proves the affection and respect he has for this man, this friend, this artist who left this Thursday, February 25, 2016 at the Bernard Mevs hospital.
Born in Kenscoff on January 3, 1966, Eric Charles, married to Yolande Charles, was the father of 4 daughters: Faricka, Ericka, Norah and Juliana. The man made his music debut with the group Sirop de Miragoâne before joining DP Express, then Mizik Mizik. The singer was not only illustrated through the interpretation of titles like “Ayizan” and “Blakawout” within Mizik Mizik, but he was also one of those artists who never refuse their services and always willing to collaborate. Thus, he collaborated with several musical groups including Djakout Mizik and took part in various projects including Haiti Twoubadou.
For having been the voice of several successes of the group Mizik Mizik, tenor of the compass to which he has served for more than two decades, Eric Charles has deeply marked the Haitian music industry. His departure for the afterlife at the age of only 50 years will undoubtedly leave a void that will be difficult to fill. Farewell, Eric!
Plezius Junior Louis – Ticket Magazine
