The story of a retired Miami public school teacher and a master Haitian percussionist forms the foundation of a new work. Through music, memory, and intergenerational witnessing, the piece pays tribute to two elder figures who shaped one woman’s life—and left an imprint on the city’s cultural fabric.
Drawing from personal experience, Celeste Landeros, Ph.D., has created what she describes as an immersive piece influenced by opera, carnival traditions, and community storytelling. That convergence of forms and histories is central to “The Last Songs of My Mother and Tonton.”
“The Last Songs of My Mother and Tonton” will be performed Thursday, Aug. 7 through Sunday, Aug. 10, in the Little Haiti Cultural Complex’s theater lobby.
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The production centers on 90-year-old Jean Fraser, a retired educator and Landeros’s mother, and 82-year-old Catelus “Tonton” Laguerre, a revered Haitian percussionist and cultural icon.
Both lived their final months under the same roof, cared for by Landeros and her family. What unfolds onstage is not merely performance—it is a deeply personal ritual of remembrance and cultural care.
Landeros—a classically trained soprano, former Latin music critic and editor at Miami New Times (1999–2005), founding editor of artburstmiami.com, and current member of the Florida Folklife Council—has long channeled her artistry into exploring legacy and identity.
“Having these two elders in the house at the end of their lives—as they became ancestors—was a really powerful experience that I wanted to share,” she says. “It was joyful, painful, surreal. And it changed me forever.”
She doesn’t romanticize the experience but insists on honoring it. “Every work of art I made while I was a caregiver was about—or blocking out—my mother and Tonton. I was living inside a poem I didn’t know how to write yet.”
The work traces the intertwined final year of Fraser and Laguerre’s lives. Fraser, who lived with Alzheimer’s, served Miami-Dade County for more than two decades as a teacher and assistant principal. Laguerre, a founding member of Haiti’s National Folklore Troupe, never secured legal residency in the United States. He was a fixture in Miami’s Haitian community for more than 40 years, known for his mastery of rara, yanvalou, and other sacred and social rhythms.
In the wake of gentrification-fueled housing instability, Laguerre was left without a home, so the Landeros family welcomed him into theirs. Their house became a sanctuary where cultures, memories, and daily rituals coexisted: Irish lullabies, Haitian drums, shared meals, and caregiving routines, all stitched together to form a rare and fragile harmony.
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“My mom took care of thousands of children as a public-school teacher,” recalls Landeros. “When she retired, she didn’t have much to do—so she took care of Tonton. That gave her purpose again.”
The cast of “The Last Songs of My Mother and Tonton” brings to life the intergenerational household at the heart of the story. Actress Dalia Alemán, a New York-New Jersey native and current South Florida resident, plays Jean Fraser. Ayisyen-American singer, musician, and actor Inez Barlatier—whose work is featured in the documentaries “Razing Liberty Square” and “Madame Pipi”—portrays Islande, a devoted student of Tonton. Milaimys “Milly” Castellón, a first-generation Cuban-American artist and New World School of the Arts alumna, takes on the role of Belle, Celeste’s daughter. Fernando Landeros, a pianist trained at Juilliard, the Mozarteum, and the University of Miami, who is a Miami-Dade music teacher and a performer, appears as himself.
Playwright and director Celeste Landeros appears as “Herself,” guiding the piece through scenes that merge narration, music, and lived memory.
Wesner “Ti Wes” Saint Louis steps into the role of Laguerre.
“To portray Tonton is truly an honor,” says Saint Louis. “He wasn’t just a famous drummer—he was someone I knew and respected deeply. He was Haitian like me, and to step into his story onstage feels like paying tribute to a part of myself, too.”
Born in Haiti, Saint Louis is a cultural bridge in his own right—performing in sacred Vodou ceremonies, schools, street festivals, and on international stages. His daily practice and devotion to the drum reflect an ancestral presence, grounding his artistry in both discipline and spiritual tradition.
Much like the man he embodies onstage, Saint Louis carries forward the legacy of Haitian percussion and oral culture. His presence in Miami’s cultural life has made him a living archive of rhythm, resistance, and generational memory.
“I always enjoy sharing my culture and traditions with people from other countries. It’s a two-way street—I learn from them, and they learn from me. I’ve done it many times before, representing Haiti and connecting with other cultures along the way.”
The two even performed together once. “We were in a movie years ago. I don’t remember the title, but I remember how he played—how the drum became his whole body. He was a quiet man, but the rhythms spoke for him.”
Laguerre was a familiar presence in Little Haiti, and Saint Louis often greeted him with a gentle pat on the back. “Since he was blind, I’d say, ‘Hey, it’s Steward!’ He wasn’t always warm to everyone, but with me, he always showed kindness. That meant a lot to me.” When approached by Landeros for the role, he immediately accepted. “This was someone who gave everything to his art, to his people. He put Haiti on the map.”
The show’s design, by Damian Rojo, elevates the domestic to the sacred—transforming everyday objects like chairs, bowls, and laundry lines into votive symbols of remembrance. Throughout his career, Rojo has served as art director and production designer for a range of iconic artists, including neo-soul singer and songwriter Maxwell, genre-defying R&B innovator Erykah Badu (on her “Mama’s Gun ’25: The Return of Automatic Slim” tour), and the legendary Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac, in what Rojo calls one of his most cherished collaborations at the Stephen Talkhouse. He also art-directed episodes of “MTV Unplugged” and designed sets for a Calvin Klein Jeans campaign featuring supermodel Kate Moss, with billboards illuminating Times Square.
Musically, the work draws on Haitian, Scottish, and Irish folk traditions. But in Landeros’s hands, these aren’t mere gestures of nostalgia—they become survival strategies. Audience members are invited to participate through clapping, singing, call-and-response, and simple collective gestures.
“With Tonton, singing the songs he had taught me helped [him] more than the morphine,” says Landeros. “And with my mom, I got her to sing with me with her last breaths.”
What began as an attempt to reconnect with her mother’s Irish roots—through folk songs and a postponed trip to Ireland—soon became a broader act of healing. “I finally was exposed to my own heritage,” she says. “And I realized I couldn’t do the album without inviting my collaborators from Miami. It became a fusion: Haitian and Scottish, Cuban and Irish. That’s who I am.”
For Saint Louis, the project resonates deeply. “I’ve traveled to Japan, Africa, Canada—always as a drummer, sharing the heartbeat of Haiti. But this is different,” he says. “I’ve never acted before. It pushes me to grow, to tell the story not just through rhythm, but through silence and breath, too.”
Set against the backdrop of Miami’s vibrant cultural landscape, “The Last Songs of My Mother and Tonton” finds its heartbeat in the voices of elders, the drumlines of Little Haiti, and the homes where multiple generations learn the rhythms of caregiving and coexistence.
“Folklore is participatory,” says Landeros. “You may not be a master percussionist, but you can clap. You can hum. You can show up with your whole self. That’s how we built this show.”
“The Last Songs of My Mother and Tonton” centers on music as a way to preserve memory and endure personal and collective loss. As Landeros reflects, music becomes not only a form of remembrance but also a means of survival—especially in the face of grief, displacement, and change. Rooted in the intimacy of the home and the strength of community bonds, these songs carry what might otherwise be forgotten.
“It’s all about the music,” Landeros says. “That’s how we remember. That’s how we resist.”
IF YOU GO
What: “The Last Songs of My Mother and Tonton”
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7 and Friday, Aug. 8; 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10.
Where: Little Haiti Cultural Complex theater lobby, 212 NE 59th Terrace, Miami
Cost: From $24.80 (includes fees). Free for seniors 65 and older.
Information: 305-960-2969 or www.eventbrite.com
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