Carnival, RAM and Hotel Oloffson

‘Kanaval’ started in Haiti last Sunday, marking a period where all vivid aspects of Haitian society are blended together in a powerful mix.  Although it is called pre-carnival at this stage, some tens of thousands must have been present already on the wide public spaces around the presidential palace.

Haitian music: styles, Emeline Michel and BélO

Emeline Michel and BélO are two outstanding Haitian artists who have attained broad acclaim both within Haiti and abroad. The Haitian music scene is, as it supposed to be in a Caribbean country, rich and diverse,

Vodou and Beyond: Alan Lomax’s Astounding ’30s Haiti Archives Released – Spinner

Below is an article excerpt from spinner.com on retrieved vodou music recordings that were made by Alan Lomax in the 1930s.  It gives a bit of an insight in the culture of vodou and its music. I’ll try to write more on Katherine Dunham and vodou later on.

Click here for the full article on spinner.com.

This endeavor will get a high-profile assist. The project is being done under the auspices of the Haiti Repatriation and Cultural Preservation Project of the Lomax-founded Association for Cultural Equity — of which Lomax’s daughter Anna L. Wood is the director. And that in turn was selected for support by the Clinton Global Initiative and the Green Family Foundation.

Boukman Eksperyans

Going out in weekends is not always that self-evident in Port-au-Prince. Most of the options are in Pétionville, once a small city in its own until the exploding growth of the city climbed up the hills. The feeling is different from most of downtown which in itself has to be differentiated between the ravaged colonial part, and higher areas as Turgeau, Debussy, Canapé Vert and others. Trying to describe the urban layout Port-au-Prince is