‘When everything else falls apart, culture remains’: Haïti en Folie marks 20 years in Montreal

By Béatrice Vallières
MONTREAL — Haitian music stuffed the streets of Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood Saturday afternoon, as a whole lot danced and sang within the conventional rara parade organized by competition Haïti en folie. 

“I couldn’t miss this,” mentioned Louis Lincoln, a longtime attendee who got here draped in a Haitian flag and sporting an identical hat. “It’s in our DNA, in our traditions.”

The competition, billed as the most important multidisciplinary competition outdoors Haiti devoted totally to Haitian and Caribbean tradition, launched its twentieth version on July 23.

The five-day program features a meals truthful the place attendees can pattern conventional Haitian delicacies, cultural workshops exploring Haitian crafts, and musical performances by native and worldwide artists.

Haitian-Canadian artist Rebecca Jean and legendary mizik rasin band Boukman Eksperyans carried out on Saturday evening, whereas celebrated singer and guitarist BélO is scheduled to carry out throughout the closing present on Sunday. 

“We are able to’t simply curl up in a ball, keep in our nook, and cry, as a result of that’s not how you retain a tradition alive.”

Fabienne Colas, competition founder

Fabienne Colas, whose basis created the competition, described this yr’s version as an enormous milestone for what began out as a one-evening occasion in 2007. 

“Once we began out, we by no means, ever, ever thought that sooner or later we’d be celebrating our tenth, fifteenth, or not to mention our twentieth [anniversary],” she mentioned. “We have been actually simply centered on the day-to-day for every version, making an attempt to get by it.”

From a number of thousand attendees in 2007, the competition now attracts tens of 1000’s of individuals every year. 

Because the covid-19 pandemic, its programming has grown to incorporate on-line actions, corresponding to digital film screenings. Counting on-line audiences, the competition reaches over 700,000 individuals yearly, Colas mentioned.

“The truth that, yearly, we see an even bigger crowd, we see the artists coming again who belief us, and the companions who’re nonetheless right here, we’re very proud,” she mentioned.

This yr is a very celebratory one for Haïti en Folie, with the competition’s twentieth anniversary coinciding with Haiti’s return to the FIFA World Cup for the primary time in 52 years, and the 222nd anniversary of the nation’s independence.

At Saturday’s rara parade, one of many competition’s signature occasions, spirits have been excessive.

Dozens proudly wore jerseys bearing the Grenadiers’ colours, whereas others waved flags above the bustling crowd. Dancers led the procession, as vaksin, drums and maracas set the tempo.

For simply over an hour, the gang moved by the neighborhood below a shiny summer season solar. A number of curious onlookers got here out onto their balconies; some passersby joined the celebration.

“I believe that is actually good for us, for the Haitian group,” mentioned Jamesol Joseph, who was attending the competition for the primary time on Saturday. “It’s good for us, it’s good for our visibility, and it’s good for Quebec, too.”

For a lot of members, the parade was additionally a household affair, with a number of generations attending collectively.

“I can’t return to my dwelling nation proper now, so it’s like reconnecting with my group right here,” mentioned Valentia Résolu, who got here together with her younger daughter. “It has a family-like ambiance. I get to introduce my daughter to the tradition right here.”

Some attendees additionally mirrored on the challenges confronted by the broader Haitian diaspora, because the gang violence disaster persists in Haiti, and the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration simply south of the border. 

“All of us have households; all of us have somebody, like an in depth buddy, in the USA, so we are able to’t assist however fear,” mentioned Kervens Beaugé, who attended the competition’s annual rara parade for the fourth time Saturday. “We are able to’t simply faux it doesn’t exist.”

Colas mentioned considerations impacting the group have grow to be a recurring backdrop to the competition. 

“Yearly,” she mentioned, “both one thing main occurs in Haiti, or one thing occurs within the diaspora.” However, she added, “our mission, our aim, is to carry that consolation”. 

She quoted Haitian-Canadian author Dany Laferrière in certainly one of his statements within the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake in 2010 — “When all the things else falls aside, tradition stays”. She mentioned the sentence turned “a little bit of a motto for us”.

“We are able to’t simply curl up in a ball, keep in our nook, and cry, as a result of that’s not how you retain a tradition alive,” Colas mentioned. “There are such a lot of lovely issues occurring on the similar time, too, so now we have to make room for these lovely issues.”

The publish ‘When all the things else falls aside, tradition stays’: Haïti en Folie marks 20 years in Montreal appeared first on The Haitian Instances.

Source link