Overview:
The Haitian group in Paris celebrates Fèt Gede with music, dance, and spirituality via the Ayibobo Mascarade, persevering with a decade-long cultural custom.
PARIS — The Haitian group in Paris got here collectively on Nov. 1 to mark Fèt Gede, Haiti’s Day of the Useless, via an evening stuffed with Rasin music, dance, and spirituality. The annual Ayibobo Masquerade was held by the Paris-based affiliation Kouzen Lakay and the D’Imperial Group at Espace Alliance in Blanc-Mesnil, within the northeastern suburbs of the capital. The Fèt Gede celebration introduced collectively artists, cultural teams and a whole bunch of members of the Haitian diaspora who celebrated the Gede spirits, the intermediaries between the dwelling and the useless in Haitian Vodou.
The occasion adopted a press convention on Oct. 31 on the Haitian Embassy in France, the place Ambassador Louino Volcy welcomed the organizers and artists and praised the affiliation’s promotion of Haitian tradition overseas.
“I’m actually blissful as a result of it is a continuation of the Embassy’s work,” he mentioned. “This occasion is concentrated on Haitian music, on Haitian roots, and on selling the nation in France. We proceed to make the nation shine via Rasin music and all its parts.”
France is house to a major Haitian diaspora that has grown steadily because the Nineteen Eighties, with many initially arriving through French Guiana. In accordance with France’s Nationwide Institute of Statistics and Financial Research (INSEE), roughly 87,000 folks from Haiti have been dwelling in France with common standing as of 2017. Nonetheless, when accounting for all Haitians throughout French territory, no matter standing, in addition to first-generation French residents of Haitian origin, the Haitian Embassy in France estimates the overall exceeds 100,000, with the bulk residing in metropolitan France, primarily within the Paris area.
The group maintains robust ties to Haiti, sending an estimated 165 million euros yearly in household remittances, making France the third-largest supply of diaspora funds to Haiti, remittances that signify roughly 25% of Haiti’s GDP.
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Darly Estinval, head of Imperial Group, speaks in regards to the Ayibobo Mascarade on the Haitian Embassy in France forward of the Fèt Gede celebration in Paris. Photograph by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Occasions.
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Singer Riva Nyri Précil on the Haitian Embassy in France for the Ayibobo Masquerade press convention forward of the Fèt Gede celebration in Paris. Photograph by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Occasions.
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Haiti’s Ambassador to France Louino Volcy on the Ayibobo Masquerade press convention in Paris. Photograph by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Occasions.
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Singer Riva Nyri Précil performs on the Ayibobo Masquerade Fèt Gede celebration in Paris on Nov. 1 2025. Photograph by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Occasions.
This 12 months marked the second version of the Ayibobo Masquerade in Paris, organized in partnership with the New York-based D’Imperial Group led by Darly Estinval. Whereas Kouzen Lakay has organized Fèt Gede celebrations in France for years, this collaboration with Estinval has elevated the occasion’s attain. The partnership introduced collectively artists from Haiti, the U.S. and France.
The Ayibobo Masquerade motion connects Haitians throughout borders via tradition and spirituality. “We embrace the Rasin motion as a result of it’s a dance rooted in Vodou that expresses all the issues of the Haitian folks,” Estinval mentioned.
Marie Gabrielle Pierre, president of Kouzen Lakay, a gaggle based to advertise Haitian conventional tradition via music and dance, mentioned the occasion exceeded her expectations.
“We anticipated 400 to 500 folks, however greater than 1,000 made the journey and confirmed up, it’s an awesome success,” she informed The Haitian Occasions.
“Fèt Gede is such an necessary custom for us. Everybody goes to the cemetery to honor their ancestors and family members. That’s the context during which we have fun this vacation.”
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Members of Kouzen Lakay carry out on the Ayibobo Masquerade Fèt Gede celebration in Paris. Photograph by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Occasions. -
A drummer from Kouzen Lakay performs on the Ayibobo Masquerade. Photograph by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Occasions.
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A member of Kouzen Lakay performs on the Ayibobo Masquerade. Photograph by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Occasions.
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Singer Riva Nyri Précil performs on the Ayibobo Masquerade on the Ayibobo Masquerade in Blanc-Mesnil, Paris. Photograph by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Occasions.
Sylvie Paul, who was born in France to Haitian mother and father, got here to see Thoy’Artwork and Tipay carry out.
“My mom is from Port-au-Prince and my father is from Tabarre,” she mentioned. “I’m glad to be celebrating tonight. We’re the French Haitian diaspora, that is about our roots and our ancestors.”
Because the night time at Espace Alliance drew on, dancers and spectators joined collectively in rhythmic celebration, merging custom and trendy expression. The air stuffed with incense and drumbeats and the power of the group rose with every chant.
Estinval mentioned she hopes Ayibobo Masquerade will evolve into a bigger occasion, presumably an Ayibobo Pageant that brings collectively Haitian artists throughout Europe and North America.
“We need to create one thing massive,” Estinval mentioned. “An actual pageant that celebrates Rasin and Haitian id.”