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Obituary: Michaela Maracas free porn video
Obituary: Michaela Maracas
[A story by Trainmaster]
Recording star Michaela Maracas, 46, passed away Thursday evening in San
Francisco of congestive heart failure. Sources in the San Francisco
County coroner's office blamed acute obesity as the underlying cause of
death. In the past four years, her weight ballooned uncontrollably to
over 400 pounds, and her doctors said her early demise was inevitable.
The singer is survived by her five-year-old son Jeffrey, mother Angelina
Mitchell-Griffin, sister Andrea Carmichel, brothers Arvid and Adam
Mitchell-Griffin, stepbrother Marc Lawson and stepsister Marilyn
Zimmerman, maternal grandmother Isobel Mitchell, wife Ellen Smith, and
long-time companion and manager LaBelle Jefferson. Her father,
businessman Sinclair Mitchell-Griffin preceded Maracas in death.
Maracas, the first man/woman to experience an all-natural sex change, was
famous for her extraordinary recording output and her sophisticated and
often steamy trend-setting album covers. She is well-known
internationally for electrifying musical performances and often bragged
that she loved shocking her audiences.
In a 2004 People Weekly interview, she said: "Some think my album covers
and performances are too steamy, perhaps even overly sexual. It's what
distinguishes woman from man. I'm both ... or neither, depending on your
viewpoint. So I chose to flaunt what I have, part of the legacy of my
life."
Maracas, whose birth name was Allen Jeffrey Sinclair "Mitch" Michell-
Griffin, was heir to the Mitchell-Griffin Electronics fortune and had
planned to take over management of her late father's assets before she
had an opportunity to begin singing.
Her birth sex was male. Mitchell-Griffin became transgendered after a
1988 motorcycle accident in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan left her in a
coma. She found herself in a small rural village, unable to walk. "I was
surrounded by women wearing burkas and confined to a cot in a mud-walled
hut. I should be dead but they took care of me."
In the People Weekly interview, Maracas said: "I might have had a few too
many uzi's with some hill people. The Yurti's really know how to party.
That night they gave me the rest of the bottle and another to speed me on
my way. [Ed. note: her story is traceable to any of several villages
southeast of Chatyr-Tash, located in the Ak-Say Valley between the Tien
Shan and At Bashy mountains near the Chinese border.]
"The bottles got me about half way toward At Bashy. I don't remember
dumping the bike but I woke up hurting like hell, laying in the rain in
the debris." She later denied remembering anything that happened during
the first six months. At the bottom of a steep cliff, Mitchell-Griffin's
broken body was discovered by unknown persons, who apparently initiated
treatments indigenous to that region.
After another four months, anxious friends and family traced Mitchell-
Griffin to Kyrgyzstan, then a Soviet Socialist Republic. They learned
that she had broken almost every bone in her body and was recovering from
liver and kidney failure. She was carried out of the Tien Shan mountains
to Naryn, where a Peace Corps team transported her to the capital,
Bishkek, and then airlifted her to Frankfurt, Germany, and on to the
United States.
Mitchell-Griffin was beginning to exhibit the secondary sexual
characteristics of a female -- visible breasts, narrowing waist, lack of
a beard despite not having shaved since the accident, and changes in
pitch and timbre of her voice. "I looked so much like a teenage girl they
made me wear a burka on the way out," she said. "It was really a
restrictive society."
Details surrounding Mitchell-Griffin's recovery are still a mystery and
her western doctors have no explanation for her miraculous survival from
the injuries. Part of her liver and a crushed kidney were removed. "[The
doctors] told me I was lucky -- at least I still have one that's
functioning. Whatever they gave me out there, it saved me. But you can
sure see how it was a double-edged sword."
The most viable hypothesis for the spontaneous gender change seems to be
that Mitchell-Griffin's endocrine/hormone system may have been fragile
even before the accident and the native treatment exacerbated imbalances,
causing her testosterone to metastasize into an estrogen overdose. At
first, the doctors assured her she would become normal.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan in 2002, she said: "Normal? Yeah,
right. I'm just like other guys. All real men tie their bikinis in back,
don't they? You betcha. Seriously, it was bizarre to go through puberty
all over again and see myself in the mirror [as my shape changed]."
The hormonal imbalance bypassed her head. "People ask ... what's with the
face, since this [body] stops at my chin?"
At that point, Mitchell-Griffin still considered herself male. She
retained male facial features through the rest of her life. "After a
while, they got over laughing at that kind of voice coming from a face
like mine."
During a 2002 tour to Russia, Maracas told Reuters, "I really hated
myself. My body was still changing and none of us knew what I would look
like from week to week. Sometimes I felt like a clumsy kid sister,
sometimes like a Miss America wannabe, sometimes like a debutante at my
first ball."
"But it was difficult. There were times, I wanted to quit, just curl up
and die. Becoming a girl was about the worst thing I could imagine -- it
was happening to the person in the mirror, not to me."
She told Entertainment Tonight, "My male friends started making excuses
not to be seen with me but the women in my life were becoming more fun.
They showed me how to dress and helped me choose a new wardrobe that
fit."
Mitchell-Griffin's body went from a 185-lb. male to a 135-lb. female,
within the norm for a person with her six foot height. She bragged that
her waist narrowed to 30 inches and her bustline went from "almost
nothing to an amazing thing. It's never been the same twice and I still
have one hell of a time fitting for bras."
Her hormone saturated voice was the first thing that stabilized. "I was
never much of a singer before. My male voice broke in the middle, so I
had to sing the high notes down ... and low notes high ..."
As a woman though, her voice took on a pleasant alto that extended down
into the tenor range and up to a nice coloratura soprano. "As my vocal
range got steadily higher, I found I had better control. We started
schlepping around to bars and singing with the music." She was entirely
self-trained and never took singing lessons.
In 1990, a year after returning to California, Mitchell-Griffin found a
nightclub in Santa Monica that would occasionally let her sing with its
house band. "I was young [29 years old]. At first, it was just my friends
who clapped. But then others started throwing money onto the stage. It
was interesting to discover that people would pay to hear me sing."
When the house band's lead singer was recruited away to a recording
contract as a member of the Ka'Boys, Mitchell-Griffin was the natural
replacement choice.
She also audition with their manager, Saul Cecerello. "Saul was
hesitant," Mitchell-Griffin said. "But his girlfriend, LaBelle, liked me
and she didn't hesitate at all -- she dumped him so she could work with
me. We finally clicked with a major agency [William Morris]." Within two
months, Mitchell-Griffin recorded her first album, a duet with Jefferson,
doing covers of Beatles songs. The album sold poorly and is now a
collectors item.
It was the only time she ever shared singing duties with anyone. "It just
sounds better by myself. I love being in the studio with LaBelle, but
only for her moral support." Despite the poor album sales, her talent was
obvious and Jefferson became her staunchest advocate.
The two found themselves strongly attracted to each other in a personal
way. "We started living living together. We were so hot -- it just made
sense. And look, we still live together. If that's wrong, who cares."
Discovering she enjoyed performing was a shock to Mitchell-Griffin. She
explained to Jay Leno on the Tonight Show: "I was so shy when I was young
that I never joined the glee club or anything. In high school, I was the
last one asked to the prom. There was no way I had enough courage to ask
anyone. Finally, one of my classmates broke the ice. I was only 17 and
fell in love with her. We stayed married 10 years until the accident.
We've just drifted apart."
Mitchell-Griffin told Leno, "I learned a lot from Ellen. The important
part of growing up is to take chances. The only thing at risk is my own
perceptions. If the attempt doesn't work, don't do it again, and soon
people will forget the fool you made of yourself. If it does work ...
gee, wasn't that a lot of fun. But you'll never know if you stand next to
the door wishing you could melt into the wall."
There was never a divorce. Mitchell-Griffin separated from Smith in 1988,
after the accident, but the couple remained married. "Her mother, my
mother, hell, I just couldn't beat those odds."
Smith has always refused to talk about the marriage or any infidelity.
Mitchell-Griffin's relationship with Jefferson, at first platonic, grew
increasingly sexual. "Ultimately, we grew into a ... yeah ... a lesbian
bond as my sex transformed."
As her mew career began to take shape, Mitchell-Griffin withdrew from her
father's company. She claimed she never wanted to be a businessman.
"That's why I went looking for adventure. I bought the bike in Australia
and gypsied through Indonesia and Thailand. They smuggled me across Burma
(Myanmar) and into India. I wasn't supposed to be in Kyrgyzstan either --
the State Department wanted to shoot me."
At first, she struggled -- especially when the talent agency changed her
name. To a reporter from The New York Times, she said:
"The one thing I regret is that we didn't pick a better name, one that
would be much more ... sigh ... more feminine. We didn't know. We thought
the damage would be reversible; that I could go back to being me. I was
still struggling with my changing sexuality when I started recording. My
first manager came up with Maracas as a reference to my increasing
bustline. They took my nickname and changed it and it's always been
uncomfortable -- I learned the hard way that it's pronounced 'mik-A-la,'
not 'MY-kel-a.' "
As the records began to sell, Jefferson took over full management of
Maracas' career and worked tirelessly to promote the singer's albums and
live performances.
Between 1996 and 2001, Maracas began to produce female hormones
legitimately and her testosterone levels dropped to almost non-existent.
When she wore bathing suits, as on a number of her covers, there was a
notable lack of any bulge between her legs.
Despite her misgivings, she changed her name legally to Michaela Maracas
in 2001. "It was a millennium gift to myself; a way to start over in the
new century. I worried about the kharma ... but hey, this is me."
Although she also petitioned the court to change her birth certificate to
female, her request was denied.
"As I recovered from the loss of my dignity -- don't let anyone kid you,
taking on a female body when everyone remembers me as a man was not easy.
I moped and grumbled. And finally, I decided it was not worth making
myself or anyone else miserable," she said in the Times article.
Early on, she grew her hair longer hoping to hide her face. "I shaved at
least four times a day so my 'secret' wouldn't slip out. But I started to
go bald in the back about the time I joined the house band as a permanent
member. And [the hair loss has] been progressive."
During an appearance on the David Letterman show, Maracas said, "LaBelle
and others pleaded with me to go back to a severe masculine cut, arguing
that it would become my 'trademark.' Well, it certainly has."
She told People Weekly: "It's been a rough rocky journey since I tore
myself to pieces that rainy night. At first, I was ashamed. Losing my
masculinity was unspeakable, embarrassing. Then I realized what a gift
I've been given and stopped feeling sorry for myself."
Once her figure began to stabilize, Maracas wholeheartedly embraced her
feminine side. "People change. I changed. As I explored my essence, it
became easier to 'strut my stuff.' My voice has improved with every album
-- and life can only keep getting better."
Under Jefferson's tutelage and management, Maracas created a prodigious
legacy of vocal work -- contemporary, opera, spiritual, jazz, big band,
and other genres. She enjoyed recording and performing. "It's so easy. I
spend four days in the studio every couple months after they lay down the
music tracks. I've always loved to travel. And audiences turn me on."
Maracas was nominated for best female vocalist Grammies eight times
between 1996 and 2004, (for pop in 1996, 1998, 2001, and 2004, including
"Best New Artist" in 1996; for jazz in 1997, 1999, and 2003; and for
gospel in 2000) but never won the coveted award. She was hugged at the
2001 awards ceremony by Faith Hill, winner of Best Female Country Vocal
Performance, a category Maracas was not nominated for.
Constance Esser, president of Maracas' U.S. fan club, said, "We hope
Michaela will be presented with the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' next
year."
Although Maracas and Jefferson remained a couple until her death, she was
encouraged to explore the sensations of heterosexual maturity. In her
Cosmo interview, Maracas said: "The first time I got laid, I was scared
to death. I didn't know the guy very well and didn't know if [breaking
her hymen] would hurt. But he was really sweet."
In 2002, Maracas became pregnant. "I got careless. Stopped using
protection. I think, subconsciously, I wanted it to be the final mark of
my transition. Having the baby would be my official 'coming out,' so to
speak."
During her pregnancy, Maracas recorded five albums. She deliberately
flaunted her condition, appearing total nude with her bulging belly on
the cover of her "The best time of my life" CD. She claimed that it was
liberating.
In the Times article, she justified herself. "People write and ask why my
album covers are becoming a little more ... racy. I've been accused have
having a dirty mind by some who claim that they're my fans but don't seem
to understand."
"Well, it's like this -- having a baby changes things. I never thought of
myself as promiscuous and I love LaBelle more than anyone in the world.
But when I got pregnant, I thought, 'now, this is one of the most
progressive changes in the world.' "
"Frankly, I was apprehensive but LaBelle never gave in to my fears. She
was determined that we would make the best mothers in the world. I love
Jeffrey and he's the most wonderful gift a woman could ask." She opted
for natural childbirth, wanting to explore the full gamut of female
experiences.
Unfortunately, the birth triggered new changes to Maracas' body. She
could not lose the pounds added during the pregnancy and was unable to
control her weight, which gradually crept up until it was obvious to her
fans that the change was irreversible. "I've tried all the ways to diet,"
she apologized to the London Daily Mail in 2005. "But nothing's working.
So I kind of gave up starving myself."
Maracas stopped touring in early 2006. She told The Los Angeles Times in
2007, in what was her last interview, "I really miss the thrill of live
audiences but I'm tired all the time. Just walking through an airport
makes me want to take a nap. On stage, I sweat so much I feel like I'm in
a swimming pool."
Esser said that Jefferson told her, "Michaela had headaches and a fever
every time she performed. It was time to rest."
But her recording output never dropped. Even as she became so large she
could hardly walk, she continued to release albums, each documenting her
increasing girth on the cover.
"It seems natural that my albums should continue to reflect the changes,"
she admitted to The Los Angeles Times. "It's simply one more step toward
maturity. I never deliberately set out to upset anyone but this is who I
am now and if that's a problem, it's not mine."
"I suppose I should be embarrassed. But I've changed so much that getting
fat is just one more stage of my life. People still buy the Cd's, so
obviously they don't disapprove."
In a Playboy magazine excerpt from her unpublished autobiography, Maracas
said: "Having a career focus -- having a life again after being dead in
Kyrgyzstan, literally -- helps a lot toward my self-esteem."
"It's too late to change and I wouldn't now, even if I could go back and
stop myself from falling off that cliff. I have no complaints. My life is
wonderful. I have a beautiful girlfriend. I have a lovely growing little
boy. I've discovered what I'm good at and what I love. It took me a long
time to get here but it was worth the effort."
In her 12-year career, Maracas compiled a catalog of more than 115
recordings, including live performances in Amman, Jordan, as well as
Waikiki, New York's Central Park, the University of Texas, and Moscow. "I
love Russia," she told Reuters. "The people are so polite and respectful.
It's a beautiful country and I'd love to retire and live there year
round."
"I think she just bought an estate there," Esser said. "It's so sad
she'll never get a chance to use it."
The family plans to hold private services for Maracas and details about
her interment are not available. Memorials should be made to the Michaela
Maracas foundation at Bank of America, to fund arts programs being
eliminated by lack of support from the federal "No Child Left Behind"
laws.
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