Jean Michael was a Puerto Rican American who settled in Tangiers in the 1970s after retiring from his post as librarian at Jos University in Nigeria. He bought a house in the Kasbah (R. Tanaker) and furnished it with some wonderfully exotic African pieces, including valuable Benin bronzes which, I suspect, had never been near an export licence. He loved to "go marketing" then come back to the house and cook. He worked magic with his food processor and fed his guests lavishly. Jean had an emormous range of friends and acquaintances. I remember one lunch where his guests included a Panamanian millionaire, a hotel secretary, a socialist ex-MP, a Dutch dyke, an elective mute, a husband and wife team of magicians and a plumber. He had an old-fashioned politeness through which he managed the group dynamic, so that people who would not necessarily have warmed to each other got on well enough together when he was around. However, Jean was prone to recurrent malarial attacks and to an overuse of the phrase "pochito mas", so that his glass remained permanently full while his gait became more and more unsteady. It was not unknown for a houseful of guests to arrive to find their host so tired and emotional that a meal of any kind was out of the question. Nobody ever held it against him. Jean was divorced, with four or five daughters, as I remember. This was a side of his life he rarely discussed though I know he remained emotionally close to at least one of his family. Like so many Tangiers' nasranis, he was a one-off. Personally, I was always fascinated by his speech, which was a unique blend of Puerto Rican patois, American English, and vocal impedimenta. For example, he would often refer to himself as "this boy", and in Jean-speak a common acquaintance called "Twentyman" became "Twinkleman". I'm only sorry I don't have a recording of that warm, courteous, but quirky voice to go together with these fotos.

©Arizona Ballet Theatre 2011|All Rights Reserved ¦Arizona Ballet Theatre's Dance Photographer: Miss Cecily - Studio Photoshoot - Friday, October 28th, 2011 Captures Ballet Dancers Stretching at the Barre... Reminiscent of Degas... Photo by Cecily Travsky Bressel IMG_1950 Version 5