Shock over passing of singer Moricia Cagan

The entertainment industry woke up to the devastating news on March 24 that another one of its songbirds, Moricia Cagan, had transitioned.

Cagan, 48, died peacefully at the San Fernando General Hospital at 8.13 am on March 24, her partner Nigel O’Connor told the Newsday.

On March 23, parang singer Susan Maico, 62, who was also battling sepsis which resulted in organ failure, died at the Port of Spain General Hospital.

“It is with deepest regret I have to share this information under these circumstances. She was a woman of the arts, both artistically and musically inclined,” O’Connor said.

Tributes have been pouring in for this Pleasantville, San Fernando singer, as well as condolences to O’Connor and her family.

Longstanding friend Nigel Campbell said he was shocked by the news of her passing. He said Cagan worked with a company he is part of, Production One Limited, as a professional singer.

He recalled some of her performances at One Night Stand with the Blue Culture band, productions at the Little Carib Theatre, as a featured artiste and entertainer in the Songbirds Live series.

In 2015, she was a surprise singer with Arturo Tappin and others in Jazz on the Greens and returned in 2016 as one of its featured artiste.

“I engaged with Moricia professionally over the years. She was one of those first-call singers, she sang with bands and could sing a range of songs – love songs, pop songs, jazz – she had a range.

“She was part of Divine Echoes, a band the late prime minister Patrick Manning had established and stayed on through its five-year duration.

“Before that she was one of the singers who was able to go to Asia where she learned Chinese pop songs which she performed as part of its dinner culture, at restaurants and bars where Trinidad and Tobago nationals were among the population. She performed well.

“She was one of those bright lights that has gone. She could have been a big star. There is as no denying she was well-known. To me, she was a supreme professional and very good at her craft.”

Although she came from a family of singers, Cagan’s dream was to be an athlete. She was focused on track and field and had her sights set on acquiring a scholarship to realise this dream.

As a career option, she envisioned herself as a system analyst.

An injury derailed her passion to become an athlete and she turned to music, both as therapy and as a sustainable means of income.

Her talents also included painting and in 2024 she exhibited her piece titled Mesmer-eyes, in the Rotunda Gallery exhibition Free Form: A Representation of Life, Red House, Abercromby Street, Port of Spain.

She recalled in previous interviews that music was her personal escape from the world to prevent her from sinking into deep depression. It was never a career option.

Using music to calm her, the writer, singer recalled joining a community choir and receiving a standing ovation after her debut and offering of Whitney Houston’s I Love the Lord.

She realised then that music was a career option, one she never regretted making.

That decision led her to capture many titles, including Miss TT Talent competition in 2003 and four major Caribbean pageants.

In 2004, she was given the opportunity to tour China and perform there for over one year. On her return, she joined Divine Echoes.

She was also part of a six-week study tour of Cuba and has performed with some of the best local talents including Baron, Cro Cro, Devon Seales, Kenny Phillips, the late Black Stalin, Phelam Goddard, Leston Paul, Clive "Zanda" Alexander and others.

Her funeral will take place at Guides Funeral home on March 28 at 1.45 pm.