1940: (Perez Writes and Produces Sanité Bélair — In Her Zeal for Her Niece to Dwell in the Crevices of Revolutionary Possibility Perez Foreshadowing Her Own …

1940: (Perez Writes and Produces Sanité Bélair — In Her Zeal for Her Niece to Dwell in the Crevices of Revolutionary Possibility Perez Foreshadowing Her Own Political and Creative Trajectory, When Marie-Madeleine Was Eight Years Old Perez Writing and Producing Her First Play Sanité Bélair — About the Infamous Woman Revolutionary Soldier née Suzanne Bélair Who Fought Alongside Her Husband Charles Bélair Under the Leadership of Toussaint Louverture, the Story of Sanité’s Skill as a Fighter and Her Ultimate Capture Being Legendary, Her Courage to Face Her French Colonial Executioners Without a Blindfold So She Could Look Them in the Eye as She Screamed “Viv Libète! Anba Esklavaj!”): In her zeal for her niece to dwell in the crevices of revolutionary possibility, Perez foreshadowed her own political and creative trajectory. When Marie-Madeleine was eight years old, Perez wrote and produced her first play, Sanité Bélair. The play was about the infamous woman revolutionary soldier of the same name (née Suzanne Bélair) who fought alongside her husband, Charles Bélair, under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture. The story of Sanité’s skill as a fighter and her ultimate capture was legendary. And her courage to face her French colonial executioners without a blindfold so that she could look them in the eye as she screamed, “Viv libète! Anba esklavaj!” had been told to children for generations — the letter to the four-year-old niece had been a seed, and the play was its flowering: the revolutionary woman warrior brought to life on stage for the child who had been told to climb the stairs of King Henry Christophe’s fortress.