Martelly attended community colleges in the United States before returning home in the mid-1980s to embark on a musical career. He became a bandleader and adopted the moniker “Sweet Micky.” He quickly established himself as a star in Haiti, gaining fame for his outlandish live performances—which often included his dressing in drag or shedding his clothes onstage—and earning considerable critical acclaim as an important innovator in Haitian dance music known as compas. From