“Haiti is Taking Off”
ESL Instructor Stephanie Rapp shares her impressions of her first time at Carnival, the vibrant celebration that takes place each year in Haiti and across the Caribbean:
Haiti's 2012 Carnival celebrations had a singular theme: Ayiti ap dekole – “Haiti is taking off.” The whole month before the National Carnival, the country built momentum and excitement with ra-ra bands every Sunday in Port-au-Prince, and the signature parade (or défilé) in the town of Jacmel. HELP's international staff set off from the capital on February 12, ready for a long weekend. Thanks to the generosity and hospitality of our Haitian colleagues and students, we encountered a truly excited community that had put their daily activities on hold to be part of the celebrations. The energy was so intoxicating that, for the rest of month, I couldn't imagine that Haiti was doing anything but taking off.
For our weekend in Jacmel, we stayed within walking distance of the Carnival activity with a friend of HELP Country Director Garry Delice. After a trip to the beach came the défilé itself. Snaking through Jacmel for over three hours, the parade included folklore dancers, men on stilts, and a bevy of papier-mâché creatures. Some were from nature (crabs, snakes, and dinosaurs), some were pure advertisements (toilet paper rolls and Barbancourt bottles), and some only nodded in the direction of reality (dragons with snapping wings and stylized characters from the Voudou pantheon). The crowd was remarkable: filling balconies, rooftops, and all the free space on the street, everyone was transfixed in joyful spectatorship.
This year, for the first time, Haiti’s “official” national Carnival celebration was moved from the capital of Port-au-Prince to the smaller city of Les Cayes, in an effort at decentralization. Along with HELP student Stéphane Jozil (electrical engineering, class of 2012), we promptly joined the pilgrimage of Carnival-goers. We were welcomed by the hospitality of Stéphane's aunt and uncle in their home, also located near the center of Carnival. In the morning, we drove to the outskirts of the city to meet Stéphane's immediate family at their farm. We watched his family make bread, drank from coconuts on the grass, and took sips of fresh milk infused with cinnamon. “It was very interesting to host these amazing people, to have them at my family’s house,” says Stéphane. “My favorite part was to see them dancing so well at Carnival! It was such a great time!” It was a treat for us to see the home of one of our students, meet his family, and remind ourselves that not all of Haiti is filled with the congestion of Port-au-Prince.
In the afternoon, we drove back to Les Cayes to prepare for the night ahead – this time much more focused on following chas. Best described as “party trucks,” chas are giant vehicles topped with popular musicians blasting their custom Carnival soundtrack. For at least an hour, we followed the cha of the konpa (traditional Haitian music) band Carimi, surrounded by over a hundred people, chanting and singing along to their signature Carnival song. The energy was momentous, seeming to include the whole city and to be accessible to everyone – directly in front of us was an elderly woman, helped along by a family member, raising her hands in the air to the music, and at one point, even President Martelly himself joined the crowd.
A great excuse to see the country and to meet the families of our students, Carnival demonstrated the complex harmony and balance of a nation at its best.