Who is Alphonse Macena from Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn and what is their importance?

Alphonse Macena comes into the story in the late 1800s. He is a well-dressed, light skinned man who woos and wins the affections of Marie Noelsine, daughter of Joseph Binbin Mauvant. Macena has a great deal of power, but does not use it wisely. He believes that the spirits are there to serve him, not the other way around. His final error is to deliberately disobey an order given to him by the spirits, and in consequence, he loses his life.