Marcia Miranda A model of courage

Marcia Miranda is a courageous cancer survivor who absolutely refuses to live life as a victim. When the Sunday Guardian caught up with the busy and amiable Miranda, better known as “Marcy” to those close to her, she had taken her customary time off from her role as a talk show host to focus on the Christmas season and a rigorous schedule of back-to-back performances.

 

Of course, with Carnival right around the corner (February 11 and 12, 2013), there is not much of a let up. Suffice it to say she leads an active and productive life as a vivacious and versatile performer and articulate radio talk show host. 

 

Miranda spends much of her time encouraging and supporting those who have found themselves in a similar position (as cancer victims), but lack her strength, vitality and courage.The former teacher, general secretary, BWIA flight attendant, Miss Tobago Queen, she eventually decided to pursue her part-time singing on a fuller scale. 

 

There she put to the test her love of performing, having attended drama and dance classes under the wings of Cyril Collier and Astor Johnson. She has graced many a stage both locally and internationally spreading the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. She was adjudged the Soca Parang Monarch in 2000 and has been dearly referred to as the Soca Parang queen ever since. 

 

She usually performs quite a number of hits for Christmas season and her soca parang music videos have become a traditional “must enjoy” for Christmas. Miranda has been adjudged female artiste of the year on two occasions and several other accolades have been bestowed upon her.

 

One of Miranda’s biggest challenges came in 2004, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though the diagnosis brought great feelings of tragedy and trauma, she accepted the challenge as a test of perseverance and faith. 

 

She is now a very active volunteer with the Cancer Society of Trinidad and Tobago where she devotes time to inspiring other women and sharing her gifts of courage and determination in surviving and dealing with their cancer affliction. 

 

Tell us about your early years in life. My mom and dad who were originally from Trinidad, came to Tobago for separate reasons, met and fell in love, and built a small guesthouse and nightclub which became the family business and a popular Tobago destination for relaxation and entertainment. 

 

I came along, born I mean, on January 14, one very blessed night at the Scarborough General Hospital. As a child and then teenager my parents’ business provided an atmosphere of pure excitement and interest and actually became one of the pillars of my foundation as I grew into the woman that I am today. 

 

Our family’s nightclub La Tropicale, I could safely boast, was the most popular on the island. Besides the very talented Tobago entertainers, dad brought entertainers from Trinidad, the wider Caribbean and even as far as Germany, so entertainment was top class as I remember it.

 

 I spent my childhood at the Scarborough Roman Catholic School under the watchful eyes of the nuns, priests and other very loving but tough disciplinarians, then went on to Bishop’s High School in Tobago. My family made a decision to send me to St Joseph’s Convent in San Fernando for personal reasons, where I completed that part of my secondary education. 

 

I returned to Tobago and attended the Tobago Institute of Education where I did my A’ levels and at the same time had the opportunity to teach a class of school leavers at the institution. That was my first role in life exploring my potential to provide a service to others and moving on my path to finding my passions.

 

I recognised my ability for the arts, in particular drama and singing, from way back in primary school. I was a part of the school’s choirs and I sang solos and duets at music festivals all the way through high school. So it came as no surprise that I pushed my way into the entertainment business, after all I was blessed with a perfect forum. I secretly learnt from the best, as I emulated the styles of many of the ace performers. 

 

I first performed on stage at La Tropicale when I was just 14. I entered the national Scouting For Talent competition under the very awesome Holly Betaudier and was a runner up. Ever so often I would be given the opportunity to be a guest artiste at the club on a night when there was a huge star studded cast and that helped to boost my confidence. 

 

So then I joined the national airline BWIA and obviously became a part of the cultural organisation with the company. We did some fabulous productions and like most other local corporations we, too, had our annual calypso competitions. Well, that became my stepping stone to the professional entertainment arena.

 

With a monarch title under my belt, I was encouraged, no, forced to pursue my singing at a professional level. So in 1995 I resigned my cushy, secure flight attendant job and took to the stage.

 

Tell us about some of your top hits or other songs that you would recommend to our readers. I started off with calypso, dabbled with the chutney soca and other genres, but comfortably settled in with the soca parang arena.\

 

I have quite a number of albums and singles and would say that as far as calypso is concerned, Come Fly With Me and Dey Cyah Kill Kaiso would be two of my most popular. In the chutney arena my audiences enjoyed Dance Doulahin Dance and Poonwassie. 

 

In soca parang though, it’s hard for me to pinpoint which would be the clear favourites. Obviously Bring Out De Ham stands way out front and I get the feeling that Thiefing Parang Band and Letter To Mama also are in demand based on my audience reactions. 

 

I have a ballad called Starting On Christmas Day which, though people may have heard, they never realised that it is my production. 

It’s a beautiful song, so maybe if you can, take a listen sometime.

 

Who has been the biggest influence on your life and how did they?

There’ve been so many people that have influenced my life, that I dare not pull any name out of a hat. There have been quite a few though and they know who they are. They are the ones that have helped me to bring out the best in myself and others and those who have encouraged me to know my gifts and share them. Too numerous to mention!

 

If you could interview or dine with anyone, who would it be and why, and what question would you be eager to ask?

I have this dream of one day sitting with Oprah Winfrey, just so I could pull out of her how she manages to stay grounded in a place where people usually fall prey to delusions of grandeur and selfishness. 

She is not interested in plastic surgery and has no false securities. 

She does not do drugs or hard alcohol. Ironically in her efforts to be of service to mankind, she’s been challenged in so many ways and yet she endures.

 

Being in the public eye, what would you like people to know about you that they probably don’t know ... what do people generally not know about you?

Many people don’t know that post breast cancer diagnosis, a woman named Kiran Maharaj took the risk of putting me to present on air at Heartbeat Radio for Women with very little experience. 

I bless her and the day that I started that presentation which I do Mondays to Fridays as well as Monday evenings. 

 

Firstly it was a means of rising out of a possible depression pit, then I’ve learnt that I am strong, capable and confident and that I can do whatever I set my mind to. More importantly though I have been given the blessed opportunity to reach out to both women and men across the world. 

 

Everything that I learn I share with my listeners because it is my passion to help anyone to bounce back from any personal challenge. We share our frustrations and celebrate our progress. We women are wise and courageous but sometimes we need just a hint to be aware of it. 

 

I am awesomely excited too, that so many men have joined our listenership, so that together we can bring laughter and love back in our relationships and in our families and by extension our beautiful nation. We also have some of the best music on radio, that’s what our listeners tell me!

 

Tell us about your inspiration to do the type of “work” you do. What would you say and what advice would you give to anyone contemplating a vocation such as yours? 

I’d like to share this gift with everyone...I have been blessed to make a living doing two types of jobs that I love. 

 

We may not all be able to make a living this way, but whatever you do, do the best you can—everyone who got to the top had to begin at the very beginning, and “keep on sowing your seeds for you never know which will grow (Ecclesiastes 11:6)...perhaps it will.”