MICHELE CARRIES

Unsung Heroes-MICHELE CARIES
TV Producer-Editor and Host
"Weekend A L'Haitienne"

I learned about you and your community involvement through reading posts on KompaMagazine some years back. Please will you tell us a bit about your childhood and your aspirations as a youngster? When did you come to the states?

First, I want to thank you, Pascal for inviting me to your blog.

When I was growing up in Haiti, I played piano and guitar. I used to entertain my family at parties, playing piano for them. My dream was to become a professional musician with my own band and an actress. Then, when I started watching the TV show“ Bewitch” which was called in French “Ma Sorciere Bien Aimee” That’s when I decided that I wanted to be like Daren (Samantha’s husband) and create ads.

I moved to the States back in December 1967 with my family. Like many Haitian families back in the sixties, we moved to New York where I attended high school and college. Back then; information about certain fields was not accessible to blacks, so my dreams of becoming an advertising producer were shattered until 2 years after my graduation. One of my co-workers at the bank where I was working was majoring in Advertising and Communication. She gave me the Information, then I started school again majoring in Advertising. It was a dream comes true. I spent the next 15 years I worked in the field as an Ad executive in various ad agencies in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Few women back then when you started in the field did not find being behind the camera appealing, how did you get into TV editing and producing?

While I was in Advertising, I always wanted to learn Television. Writing ads is one thing, but producing it is another. So I decided to go back to school and learn Television Production so that I could learn how to produce ads the way I saw them on TV. I figure if I was going to do any video production, I wanted to know the proper and professional way of doing it. Around that same time, Haitians started producing TV shows in Miami, but I didn’t like the way they were produced. I kept hearing how some Americans who would see those shows would make fun of us. I fell in love with TV production right away. I started working at a Spanish TV station where I worked with studio cameras, going out with reporters doing camera, editing, Master Control Operation (the person who actually put all the shows and commercials on the air).

The concept of your “Weekend A L’Haitienne” show was refreshing due to its groundbreaking status, when, why and how did you decide that TV would your choice of format addressing the community?

When I started taking the TV Production class, I decided that I wanted to produce a TV show that was totally different then any other Haitian show that was on the air. I noticed that with all the Haitian shows that were on, none of them were targeting the non-Haitians. We have such a great culture and no one even thought of sharing it with the rest of the world. That’s when I decided to do the show in English. Besides, my French and Kreyol were not that good to begin with. Nevertheless, I felt that if I produced an entertainment show in English that would introduce our culture not only to the international public but also to our young Haitian –Americans who did not know much about their own culture. You must remember that from the 70s through the 90s, Haitians were being viewed as dirty, smelly, and ignorant boat people. I was determined to change that perception of us and to me; the show was the perfect medium. The show would not just have music videos, but I would interview artists, feature our arts, our folkloric dances and our history.

You have done several projects with me you have a keen eye. How did your work in this South Florida community begin? Did you find entering this manly turf hard for a woman to break in?

I must tell you, working the Americans was not a problem at all. The men were always ready to help me out, but it was hard at the beginning trying to work with the Haitian community. As you said, it was strictly a man’s business and as you know, it was much harder with the Haitian men.

They didn’t take me seriously or disregarded me as a professional videographer. There were times when I was video taping an event, the men would purposely stand in front of me, keeping from getting my shots. Here I was, 5’4” tall battling with a bunch of much taller and bigger guys to get a shot, so you can imagine what I went through. But I knew what I knew and I was not about to let anyone intimidate me, period…

Were your efforts encouraged or bash by the established Haitian media entourage?

When the show started airing, most viewers welcomed it, some people would call to congratulate me, and encouraged me to continue, telling me how they were happy with the show but some others didn’t see and want to understand why the show was hosted in English. They would call and curse me out. I had to constantly explain why it was done that way. No matter what, I kept going.

What themes made up the bulk of your weekly production? Who were your viewers and which area did you cover?

I started airing the show weekly on WLRN. It is a public station that could be seen from Palm Beach to the Keys. In addition to those areas, I found out two years later that the show was being broadcasted via satellite in Europe and Africa. One of my relative in Rouwanda told me that he saw the show one Sunday evening. I was surprised and happy to hear that.

Of all your shows so far who was your favorite artist to interview and your least memorable guest? Is there someone you would be excited to Live TV chat with in our community?

There are quite a few artists that I definitely enjoyed interviewing. Artists such as Alan Cave, Dadou Pasquet, the group Mozayik, Ginou Oriol, Richie of the group Zenglen, Roberto of T-Vice, Emeline Michel to name a few.

My least memorable guests were a couple of artists, whose name I will not say, Who decided to purposely answering me in Kreyol after each question- not that he didn’t speak English, mind you. When I politely asked him to speak English, he rudely told me that he was Haitian and Kreyol was how he was going to answer. The other just did not know how to talk about him.

I turn my TV set and I don’t see you. I am aware that you are facing one very serious in your personal life; can we talk about it openly?

I stopped producing new shows ten months ago when I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. After the surgery (Lumpectomy) and starting Chemotherapy, it was very hard for me to go out video taping events, doing interviews, then come back and produce the entire show. As you know, I also edit the show. Now with the lesser dose of Chemo and going through radiation, I am feeling a little stronger. By summer, I should be done with all the treatments.

We come from a nation where if you don’t see you are fine mentality when it comes to illness, how did you find out you had cancer? When was that?

I am one of those people who always visit my doctor on a regular basis and always
checked my breast every night before bed or during shower. But, nothing
was showing. I found out about my cancer last May. Back in July 2006,
I started feeling a lump under my right armpit that was hurting. I thought
it was just a swollen gland since I worked out a lot.

But by November, the lump was hurting so much that I decided to visit my
doctor. After a mammogram and a sonogram, they ordered a biopsy which
ended up positive for cancer.

By June of 2007, I had the Lumpectomy.I started the Chemo in August and will end this coming August. Thank God that I felt
that pain and went to the doctor and caught it very early. 

I am very much aware of the lack of energy from the various
treatments for cancer, how do you handle this sad reality?
And-for those not knowing the importance of prevention, will you
elaborate a bit on your own story?

The first two weeks of the news were the worst.

I started thinking about not being able to be productive, how was I going
to handle my finances now that I would not be able to work.But, after a
good cry, I took a deep breath and regrouped. I started thinking instead
about when the whole thing would be over. My family played and still is
playing a big role in keeping me positive. They’re always around me.
My cousins visit me every week at home; especially when they know I just
got the treatment-that’s the hardest time.

I started looking forward to losing my hair. I saw it as not having to go to
the beauty parlor for a while and how much money I was saving (lol).
And I look good, too. It was a good time for me to start thinking about
other projects that I wanted to produce. 

As for prevention, I can’t say enough about how women; especially Haitian women, but
always check their breast aftertheir period. Once you reach your 40’s,
you MUST get yearly mammogram-that is very important. That way, they
can always check the new one against the one from the previous years.

Keep in mind that most breast cancers are not detected by just checking
your breasts. Sometimes you don’t feel anything or any pain. That’s why it
is important to get that mammogram. I know it is a little painful, but 30
seconds of pain once a year can keep you from losing your breast.

Thanks Michelle for talking to me about your involvement in the
community and battling cancer head on keeping a positive attitude
hoping your story will help someone else on time.

It was a pleasure doing the interview, Pascal.

I hope I my story have inspired someone in getting involved in promoting
our culture as well as convincing women about the importance of getting a
yearly check up. I’m always available to help out anyway I can.

Boulegra

Kafe-Pascal Garoute
BHM 2008 Series 
“Made In Haiti”

NATI DRED - NATHALIE GUILLAUME

Photo credit: Noelle Theard

NATI DRED - NATHALIE GUILLAUME

Cultural advocate, Social activist, ‘Backyard Show’ TV Host

Nathalie, thanks for taking time out to give me some background on your life, projects and TV Show endorsing positive reinforcement ‘Made in Haiti.’Indeed our community is loaded with many living positive heroes. A thousand thanks for taking time out to do this with me...

Will you please tell us about your childhood and what shaped the path you as an adult followed?

I would like to start by eliminating all titles associated to my work and would introduce myself as a simple human… I often think of the “marron inconnu” theory and greatly look up to our history of anonymity as a stepping-stone to success.

My childhood was privileged to be touched by inspiring individuals in the arts and sciences of Haitian Culture who in deed shaped my personality today. From the piano lessons with Serge Villedrouin to the dance practice at Lynn William Rouzier’s troop to the unforgettable moments in Tiga Garoute’s art studio, I have embraced multiple aspects of art with a tremendous passion for life…

I know that you also studied with Tiga as a youngster; will you share with us your memories from these sessions and what stayed with you from having had Tiga in your life?

My mother (a visual artist as well) always asked me how come I speak of Tiga’s role so often in my artistic life! But I think once she understood my creativity level and aptitude to transcend, she quickly understood that it had a lot to do with my training with Tiga. My experience with him was multidimensional as I learned to manipulate a wide range of mediums including clay and stone.

Apart from the art, the most important concepts that I acquired was his philosophy…the ‘TIGASOPHIA!’ Respect for others, understanding of higher self, removing limitation of thoughts and embracing traditions. He had this very particular coffee ritual during which you toast as you look in your surrounding’s eyes… the mirror of their soul… letting go of all inhibitions as you toast to life!

He was the one who told me as an artist you should have no sex… I used to sign NATIE and it was feminine identity, which later became simply NATI, simply NATURE, simply identity-less. Then I later found out that he was also an accomplished composer and writer, from which a great deal of my musical inspiration comes from today. OCHAN POU TIGA!

Would you tell us how you began on this cultural militant path of yours?

In reality, it began with just the thought of a change in my generation’s mentality. It was very difficult to accept that my surroundings had no concept of Haitian historical facts. They didn’t know the difference between May 18^th and January 1^st, they didn’t know the meaning of the conch in the revolution, in a word, they knew nothing about their roots and consequently their universal meaning. Words are too limited to describe infinite emotions such as freedom or revolution; such strong words can be felt in your core, via body language. These kinesics are more accurately learned through conversation with your family, close peers, or more simply your LAKOU which translates the BACKYARD. It has a certain sense of belonging and identity, breaking all the barriers of confusion. If the intellectuals wrote ground breaking manifestos in times affected by turmoil, it was for the sole purpose of having them revived by a new generation of freedom. Freedom is above all the backbone of civil rights! So this movement is about bringing this long awaited identity to the youth, it is time for them to break the chains of society that has locked their minds for so long…

How has taking the core of our cultural community to a next level turned-‘Backyard Show’ TV concept begin?

It was not easy to speak of hidden theories on TV, I mean, it’s not even easy to do it with your own family. Western society is based on fear and invests in all the elements that can scare a people. Rather to connect with the five elements of nature, we want to erase their existence and focus on the products. Like, very few people would realize that the computer is made of metal, or the chair of wood, and the shower we took this morning was sponsored by father water, the burger we had for lunch as particles of wheat that grows in the field and was picked by starving children somewhere in east Asia… we forget ourselves in this fast pace world. Consequently, our children suffer from the lack of a core cultural community based education, which is why the TV show is very important in South Florida; these kids are hungry for knowledge!

When where you last in Haiti? Would you consider returning to Haiti to live?

I do multiple trips a year and conserve an intimate contact with my friends who still reside there. My last visit was in January and it was in deed fruitful. My concept of Haiti is quite different from the other “jenn jan” of my generation. Very few are conscious of the state of Haiti as they go on their day-to-day lives accepting the horrible conditions the country is faced. I would not like to be misinterpreted when I say this but it is how I see it. Therefore, as a Haitian living abroad, I don’t take the situation lightly and rather see me as an advocate of Haiti in other nations.

If I go to Haiti, it is to work, “Travay nap travay o!” I also have fun while working, but it is about the development, the planning, the organization, the teaching, and the entire experience. So many Haitians want to travel to France and Australia but haven’t even been to Cap-Haitian or Jacmel, it is time for us to reconnect with the land and take back what every nation has been trying to steal a piece of.

What is a Nati day like, can we tag along and find out what makes you happy?

As I type this on my Mac laptop sitting on my Rada drum (picture it… it is a quite interesting sight), I’m sitting outside of a Miami Dade College hall waiting for at 12 o clock Dance and Humanities class in which I have a presentation on Haitian Rhythm. I’ve been up since 7 and had a cup of ginger tea and a huge amount of lime water since.

After my presentation, I have to go to North Miami Senior High school to work wit the chorus on some vocal arrangements for Haitian Flag day celebration. They will be singing Papa Loko and Kouzen Zaka.

After that, I will probably make some calls and mobilize more institutions about bringing Haitian rhythms in the classroom. This is what I work on. Bring Haitian culture to the classroom. Learning from myths will bring us no where, we need facts and they are all there. From olds recordings of Choeur Simidor, to the entire collection of “revue du bureau d’ethnologie” there are immense resources for our youth to connect with Haitian culture and see it as a true culture.

Ok, back to Nati’s crazy day (I get carried away when I speak of culture, I am sure you understand Kafe!)I’m really into organic food and would probably splurge on some “mayi moulen ak fey” with a fruit smoootie as I will do some more research on my computer, connect with fellow musicians on myspace or simply prepare power point presentation for my classes as this is a typical DAY OFF for me.(I CAN SAY THAT WE PROBABLY SPEND THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME ON THE COMPUTER KAFE... SAD BUT TRUE…)

On work days, I could be anywhere between teaching meditation & herbology classes to doing dance workshops with special needs kids for hours, to tapping long sets of shows or taking footage for documentation I would use for documentation purposes… the possibilities are infinite and spontaneous. I do practice the drum and keys to a certain extent and write daily in my journal. On other days of non-work, I am in school finishing my doctorate in oriental medicine (specializing in anti aging) in which I believe truly. It is so similar to Haitian folk medicine. The Asians have such a strong culture, it is probably because it is not based on myth or fear, you can’t tell me you haven’t eaten Chinese food before or read the message in the fortune cookie! Did you get scared though? Throughout my learning experience in the Chinese culture, I have become stronger in my belief that Haiti is as ancient as many well known empires, we are the 1^st black empire of the new world and that’s a fact. Ayibobo pou papa desalin.

Knowing the real factors blocking us as a community to be seen positively, do you find it harder to keep an optimistic attitude advocating on behalf of Haitian causes when most news coming out of Haiti seem so depressing?

Meditation, meditation, meditation! We are 70% spiritual and 30% physical, if the 30% is failing, you can still keep on keeping on. It is the way to go especially in this cold cold world. Tiga himself survived for days with failing organs, meditation in all forms is a way of life.

Has it been hard to build your own platform as a woman in a field requiring balls---all the while taking a stand as a cultural advocate on a newly explored weekly TV turf?

What is a turf? Why do we think we own people and own things when we really don’t! As a woman, the world is my country (Virginia wolfe) and I live by that. I believe there is enough space for innovation and creativity for everybody. When you turn on the TV, there are over 20 news channels and they’re all giving the same news. If they had to fight over turfs, nothing would get done. Haitian people still think like slaves, like they have a big bad master somewhere that will embarrass them or degrade them, that is soooo 1803! Hihi!

What I bring is different; first of all, I am only 23 and can by no way surpass those who have been broadcasting for over 30 years. I can be their daughters, and in all honesty, that’s what I want to be, a child of the sun, always seeking from the master… I need a directory of mentors who are willing to bring me wisdom, not just words, but silent powerful actions of progression. I am sure many other young advocates would sign up if this was being offered in the Haitian community. Nobody is perfect in this world, but only through the acceptance that we are both the student and the teacher, the object and the subject, the I and the I, will we accept to teach like the rightful master does.

As an advocate of culture, at times I feel overwhelmed with the influx of negativity to combat against bringing Haiti to light…how hard or easy is it for you to endorse Haiti’s concealed strength to foreigners with no knowledge of our country’s goods?

I’ve done workshops with a room full of 200+ foreigners playing rara, singing djouba and dancing yanvalou. They have no such concepts once you bring positive energy with your presentation. This one time, an 8 year old said “what about the kids who are starving in Haiti?” and I simply said “let’s do a silent prayer that the children of Haiti will find a meal today and let’s dedicate this music to them”. Quickly, I turned the negative to positive, the myth to reality. Yes there is hunger in Haiti just like there is in Somalia. There is kidnapping in Haiti just there is in Columbia. Haiti is a running functioning country just like others, now the way it functions is whole other story and that’s where the work comes in. Most of our books are written by foreigners, they fall in love with it at 1^st sight. They all want to go and learn more, they get initiated in voodoo, and play the tambou, when are we as Haitians going to take over for them? They have been doing that since 1492… we are our own problem therefore our own solution. Maybe when we accept this, we will have our country back.

It is obvious- we lack so many basics as a country; do you feel discouraged at times finding yourself defending a lost case on behalf of our unstable nation?

In deed is a true mission to get anything running accurately in Haiti, but I mostly want to focus on what we can do in other places where Haitians live than taking the initiative to make it happen there. I don’t live in Haiti but Haiti certainly lives in me. I am Haiti; therefore if I change my actions, Haiti will change.

Living in the states has confirmed another truth, perhaps the saddest to face pushing Haitian issues surrounded by a local community knowing very little or nothing of its own history and culture’s strength- how do we engage parents to endorse our longing to mold the upcoming generation growing away from Haiti-yet much Haitian nonetheless?

Once there is a class called “Haitian music” or “Haitian Art” or “Haitian Religion” and more in the school’s curriculum, I don’t think parents will be able to do anything about it. It is a little much to ask for a working parent to become superhero on this manner. Like I said before, we all have a calling. The teacher’s calling is to teach the truth and it is time for all specialists to excel in a field that is their own and teach it to those who seek the knowledge.

Being a classical pianist and an avid supporter of traditional music, how do you feel when at an advertised Haitian Festival you hear other genres blasting getting their extra share of promotion when our own confined variety of rhythms have yet been recognized as valuable in the heart of the many Haitian born and growing up Haitian on foreign territory?

“Lapriyè, lapriyè pou moun sa yo! Nou soti nan ginen an poun vin sove peyi a! Lapriyè”

There is nothing we can do about this problem but pray, it seems. No matter how much we want to involve other rhythms in the Konpa, it is just not welcome. But little does the Konpa fan know that this music is based on Ibo, just one of the dozens of core Haitian traditional rhythms. First of all, what’s up with the Bongo? Is that even a Haitian percussion? I mean, we are dealing with musicians who don’t read, composers who don’t write and singers who can’t scat. I think this discussion will stop here for now… I want to see a SHOW, you know like when you pay $50 to see PRINCE and he puts on a SHOW, yeah, give me my money back b****!!!

I have for years spoken against this ‘need’ it would seem promoted by musicians and supporters alike for Kompa music to be appreciated positively beyond our shores through this so called ‘crossing over’ the goal. Your music when played well will get noticed-naturally. Making of ‘crossing over’ IT as a form of validation to me is illogical. What do you think?

We have crossed over centuries ago. Why even think that adding some western instruments that thousands of musicians have mastered via Ivy League universities and extensive research will help us cross over? If we just take the time to appreciate the facts that make us stand out, the items that we has a people have mastered by tradition, we would have crossed over but just on paper because I believe we have crossed over already. Hollywood has reached our vodou temples years ago and have crossed over with us. It is time for us to put it on paper now.

Along the same genre-It is obvious that this musical community has so much to do prior? If we as Haitians can’t even enjoy a weekly kompa venue without drama, what crossing over are we talking about when we would be crazy to invite foreigners to some live gatherings?

There is nothing cultural about a music played by individuals dressed like wanna-be rockstars, singing songs with no universal context (you can only say I love you baby in so many ways!) in front of a crowd filled with 99.9% Haitians. The 0.1% is left for lovers, friends and families of Haitians who have merged races and has nothing to do with a general public seeking for Haitian culture. The foreigners know where to get the true music, you will find them eating at Chez le bebe in little Haiti before attending a local vodou ceremony where they will connect with old friends…

I don’t even think that konpa is a problem, rather the fact that we are scared to identify with ourselves, and accept it as a successful music able to “cross over”. Maybe if it was played the way Nemours Jn Baptiste intended, there would be hope… It is the same for the Haitians playing reggae or calypso, this is not ours, we have to stick to our roots. Foula did it with jazzy melodies, Zekle has done with with new age sounds and so many other masters have done it as well. We have to identify with ourselves…it is the key to exciting new cultures to discover ours.

Pausing on the similarities and divergence of these two Caribbean nations-Jamaica and Haiti. Haiti’s artistic pool is our nations’ strongest attributes, what would it take for Haiti’s music to reach same the level secured in Reggae?

Unity! Unity! Unity! Just like Bob took all the best musicians to form the Wailers, we should put together the best musicians and form a dream team. Even Kassav did it, so many others have done it, but Haitians are not going to accept that there is actually one vocalist better than another without turmoil, let the lead singer shine and take us to higher heights.

The music of Jamaica is sold with a culture: the dreads, the marijuana leaf, the red gold and green, the heavy accent, the jerk chicken, spicy Appleton rhum, akee dishes, thick women not afraid to wine and soooo much more. It is clear that once you expose the culture, the foreigners will accept and embrace it. Furthermore, this music had a purpose, it wasn’t just about fun, it was about peace, it was about revolution, it was about change. What do we sell our music with? If its not black magic, it is ignorant behaviors; who on earth would want that as entertainment? There is a Bob in all of us, don’t be afraid to let it shine.

In your heart, what is our worst handicap as a country? Although our culture is strong and perhaps the last thing we have to fall back on with pride, how can our culture to you be more used to bring some positivism to our island?

Look around you. Did you look? What do you see? Fatra, kidnapping, lamizè, tèt bese, vant mare, let us talk about things that do matter… things that can bring life back into our hearts… things that go so far back that they can no longer be broken… there is again so many ways to say I love you without sounding redundant. Hi hi!

There is this intentional faux-pas from news articles to show our poverty as a badge to illustrate any article or segment about Haiti? What do you think more often the positive from home is avoided?

We don’t like to accept our reality. Therefore we will remain stuck in this vicious cycle of ignorance and the saddest thing to say is that our children will suffer the most. When China realized that most of its economy was crumbling down, all educated people worked the field, food was severely controlled, there was no space for mistakes.

That was a reality, and they created the most powerful empire with their concept of self-production and non-individualistic success. They have literally imposed their culture to the world and that’s why there is a Chinatown in all big cities. Ni Hao?!

How has the concept of your ‘Backyard Show’ been received? Who are behind the scene?

I never received a call from anybody in the Haitian community to either compliment or support the project. When I see the “leaders” in community activities, they tap me lightly on my back asking me for the show like it was a child attending boarding school. They have signed contracts and disappeared, they have shredded documents, they have lied about our beliefs, ala pale yo pale… do nou laj! Pa gen danje!

This is no joke, this is a real production, it involves a budget, a dedicated staff and long hours of editing, without counting the marketing, the administration, the writing, the involvement in the Haitian community’s overall events and more… so in a world, my child is in boarding school and she is fine. Hihi!

She is growing and becoming stronger with all the advanced classes she is taking and is surely healthy thanks to her father Richard Pierre Louis (my executive producer), her two aunties Magdala Orelus and Pamela Paultre (my assistant producers), her uncle Jean Philippe Guillaume (my webmaster), and grand mother Marie Josee Guillaume (manman jazz la!).

So many other individuals are involved thanks to their contributions to the movement either by giving us a space (Il Castillo), a production studio (New Era Productions), wonderful clothing (Shades of Africa), memorable footage (Noelle Theard Photography) and more… as you can see it is a movement and not just a TV show. So many great people are involved and we think of them as an intricate part of our success.

Thanks to them, the Miami Herald, the Sunsentinel, the Broward Times, le Nouvelliste, Spotlight Magazine, Ticket Magazine, Television Nationale D’Haiti and so many other positive media outlets have helped promote the movement and attract more viewers to see the amazing productivity of Haitians living abroad. You will receive pictures of my dear child very soon as she is graduating kindergarten soon!!!

Working on a project dedicated to only speaking of the good ‘made in Haiti’ I don't feel that I am unrealistic in the want to counterbalance the redundant display of repulsiveness upon the shoulders of Haiti choosing to share only its good sides. For already doing your part stimulating positively Haitian awareness-I commend you and thank you.

Any last words Nati?

Vodou a pa diab!

Nou marye ak vodou a!

Sanyan Sanyan!

Vive le TAMBOUR!!!

C’est un cycle de la ‘Rotation Artistique’ de Tiga.

Kafe mwen avew 900% e mwen pa pè poum dil. Map bay vim pou mouvman an. Si poum viv lot bo dlo nan iyorans m pito pa viv. Fok mwen travay pou yon ti soley ka klere fè nwa menm si se yon ti twou li ye.

Ou pa jenm wè yon twou nan yon do tol lakay epi soley la pèse nen mitenl? Se konsa mwen Nati Soley Natif natal vle ye.

Tout atis fanm mwen yo, rale tambou nou nan fant janm nou epi komanse bat li pou sove timounn yo.

Ago!

Kafe, stay tune for our new video contents in our website www.thebackyardshow.net promoting all aspects of “Made in Haiti”. Think positive, it really works!

Kafe, ou konen tout lanmou m gen pou ou deja, ou se on fanm vayan tout bon vre. Se ou ki soley la pou peyi Dayiti e ou gen tout yon mouvman dèyèw… Ayibobo pou ou…

Kafe-Pascal Garoute

February 2008

“Made in Haiti”

LODY AUGUSTE

UNSUNG HEROES- LODY AUGUSTE

Social activist/singer/nurse and more...

Some may know her as a singer-LODY AUGUSTE. Her songs to me are anthems… Listening to her requires total silence to better meet her halfway.Ironically my brother Tony in Korea bought one of her album which is loaded with songs all should listen to. Her texts are double edged swords.

Her second album 'DEKROKE L' is a homage to some important figures in Haitian culture. Through six poems of Goerges Castera Lody added her own magic to the tribute. (Some of you may remember way back I shared many poems from Georges Castera lifted from his book “JOF.”

The compilation consits of : Sou latè, Bwi ki kouri, Poto, Sèmante twa fwa, Pitit malere, Rankit. On the album she also sings a tribute too Martha Jean-Claude inn Fanm vivan pa konn mouri. She pays homage to Dessalines in the text- fétiche from Félix Morisseau-Leroy Mèsi papa Desalin. She sings against violence political and economic lacks in actual Haiti in Tayo eleksyon, Dekwoke l, A la traka pou fanm lakay.

Lody Auguste lives in Montreal, but travels to Haiti back and forth. She and I keep in contact via email. During Tiga's illness I compiled sent poetry and songs from various well known artists, friends and writers from Haiti and all over having sent me messages to read aloud to Tiga in the hospital.

Lody was one of them. She wrote a poem with a clear message. As it was asked of me-I did read it to Tiga in the hospital one month before his death.

Di TIGA pou mwen

kouman li rete TIGA

Nan mitan nou

e kouman lanmou nou pou li

fenk kare pran rasin

pou peyi nou sa miltipliye

anpil lot Tiga

anfas malè pandye

k ap wonje lavi nou

Di Tiga pou mwen Kafe

Rose-Anne pa sispann

pwojte sou li

tout vibrasyon pozitiv

li ranmase

pou Tiga sa rete

yon eneji pozitiv

Di Tiga pou mwen

se tout jenn atis pent APROSIFA yo

ki kontinye kanpe ak li

pou mounte yon frésk lavi

pou lavi Tiga kontinye lavi

pou peyi n toujou rele Ayiti

Lanmou nou pou Tiga

rele peyi e lanmou peyi dAyiti

ranmase fòs nan sous Ti Ga

Pou n kontinye konstwi peyi

malgre peyi nou an chalkali

Rose-Anne

Carre Four Feuilles

4 novembre 2006

Lody is a PILLAR in our community. Her ongoing work within the community as an activist, her continued dedication to her medical center-APROSIFA (l'Association pour la Promotion de la Santé intégrale de la Famille)remains very much a part of her life traveling often to Haiti to ensure its smooth running.

She is a singer composer, a nurse, a social worker, a human rights activist…and MORE.

For the life Lody Auguste lives, I choose her as my BHM 2008 Unsung Hero!

Below is a complete article detailing a Lody worthy of your attention.
Happy reading all.


Born Marie Carmele Rose-Anne Auguste, November 29, 1963, in Jeremie, Haiti, daughter of Prosper (a lawyer and teacher) and Anne Pelsener (a retired midwife nurse) Auguste; divorced; children: Mandela Pierre Louis and Kwame Bertrand.

Education: Lucien Hibbert College, baccalaureate, 1984; National School of Nursing, Nursing Diploma, 1988; studied social services at School of Human Sciences, State University of Haiti.

Career: Served as nurse in social services at Hospital Sainte Therese in Hinche; managed health development center for Solidarity Health Canada Haiti, near Lascaobas, 1989-90; worked for Care, in Petion Ville, 1990-91; founded the Women's Health Clinic (Klinic Sante Fanm in Creole), in Kafou Fey, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1992.

Life's Work: Human rights activist Rose-Anne Auguste has spent her short lifetime fighting injustice in her homeland of Haiti. Instilled by her parents with a courage to do what is right and help others in greater need, Auguste has received international recognition for her work. That attention culminated with the receipt of a human rights award from Reebok.

Growing up, she was surrounded by a family that did not unquestioningly accept the status quo. As Auguste wrote in her autobiographical notes, her "father kept on questioning the social structures" while her mother "provid[ed] health care to the underprivileged population."

Following the example set by her parents, Auguste noted that "got involved in the resistance against exploitation and social injustice" while a teenager. During the 1970s she attended the Pressoir Jerome School in Jeremie, and later studied at Port-au- Prince's Lucien Hibbert College, where she received her baccalaureate in 1984. She went on to study nursing at the National School of Nursing, getting her diploma in 1988. During her studies in nursing school, Auguste set up a nurse's student union which advocated better care for needy patients.

She also studied social services at the Faculty of Human Sciences at Haiti's State University.

At the Hospital Sainte Therese in Hinche Auguste served as a nurse in social services. In 1989 and 1990 she managed a health development center for Solidarity Health Canada Haiti, and was stationed near Lascaobas, in the low central plateau in Haiti's frontier zone with the Dominican Republic. During 1990 and 1991 Auguste worked for Care in Petion Ville, 75 kilometers northwest of Port-au-Prince, and also became involved in planning and setting up a day program of vaccination with the help of other people.

In 1992, Auguste founded the Women's Health Clinic (Klinique Sante Fanm, in Creole) in Kafou Fey, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in association with the U.S.-based Partners in Health, an organization that works to improve health in poor communities. In its several years of operation her clinic, located in one of Haiti's worst slums and originally only meant for women, has treated over 200 women, men, and children each day, more than 22,000 patients. Auguste also has provided counseling for female victims of gang beatings and rape.

"I firmly believe that the overwhelming majority of women ... must fight with determination against social injustice," Auguste clarified in her autobiographical notes.

Despite the use of force and repression during the pro-Duvalier military coup that ousted the democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991, Auguste risked her personal safety to rescue patients in Haiti's only trauma facility, in which several patients were shot by Haitian soldiers. Doctors became too scared to enter the facility and it shut down.

Under military fire, Auguste entered the hospital, used an axe to force open doors and cabinets with medical supplies, and reopened it. Persuading several doctors and nurses to help her, she became the hospital's emergency director until soldiers removed her a few days later. Her social activism forced her to hide from the military at night, often sleeping in different homes.

In 1994, Auguste received the Reebok Human Rights Award, which she later donated to Partners in Health in support of destitute women in Haiti. Former American president Jimmy Carter has described "Rose-Anne Auguste's commitment to the protection and well being of her fellow Haitians [as] inspiring."

When Auguste journeyed with her mother and daughter to receive the 1994 Reebok Human Rights Award, the PIH (Partners in Health) Bulletin reported that in her acceptance speech, "Roseanne argued that human rights abuses are grounded in a society's socio-political structure. Her own country, she noted, has for centuries been ensnared in a trans- national web of political and economic forces, all of which have come to bear on Haiti's current human rights situation. Roseanne offered a scathing review of the policies of the powerful, both foreign and home-grown, and called for full disarmament of military and paramilitary forces in Haiti."

In the June 1995 issue of Essence magazine Auguste told Edwidge Danticat she was a "combatant for human rights," and added, "The situation is very difficult for poor women in Haiti. They are trapped by sexism, economic exploitation and political violence." She also said in Essence, "What keeps me going is my determination to help my people. Even though democracy has returned to Haiti, there is still a lot to be done. It is my love for my people that leads me to do this work."

For more than a decade Auguste, a divorced mother of two children, has provided health care services to indigent women while battling for social fairness in a country that has long suffered from abuses of political and human rights, and extreme poverty. While interning at the Hospital Sainte-Therese in Hinche and working with non- governmental organizations Auguste challenged the Haitian government with the argument that the lack of care her patients were receiving was in itself a human rights abuse.

In addition to her nursing skills, Auguste speaks several languages, is knowledgeable about first aid, hygiene, family planning, vaccination, and medicine. She also is a poet and a musician who recites and sings to patients to cheer them up and remind them of their political and reproductive rights. She has also edited a now-banned publication on women's rights and helped create the Ad Hoc Committee on Violence Against Women, which set up the only conference on the topic after the coup. And she has helped women seeking refuge from the military authorities and has assisted endangered people in escaping from the country. Several doctors have described her as "charismatic, compelling, courageous, an uncompromising defender of poor women's rights [and her work as being] nothing short of heroic."

Other advocates have added, "She is a thorn in the side of those who violate the dignity of the Haitian poor.... In many countries, Rose-Anne's actions would be admirable, but perhaps not really heroic.

In Haiti, where human rights workers and pro-democracy activists have been summarily executed, Rose-Anne takes enormous risks in even addressing these matters in public."

Awards---
Reebok Human Rights Award, 1994.


Further Reading---

Books
• Tekavec, Valerie, Teenage Refugees from Haiti Speak Out, The Rosen Publishing Group, 1995, pp. 7-17.

Periodicals---
• Atlanta Inquirer, November 26, 1994, p. 3.
• Crisis, January 1995, p. 40.
• Essence, June 1995.
• Houston NewsPages, November 2, 1994, p. 10.
• New York Amsterdam News, November 12, 1994, p. 24.
• Michigan Chronicle, November 23-29, 1994, p. 7-C.
• New York Voice, October 27-November 2, 1994, p. 1.
• Observer Newspapers, (Sacramento, CA), November 24-30, 1994.
• PIH (Partners in Health) Bulletin, Spring 1995, p. 7.
• Additional biographical information was obtained from Rose-Anne Auguste's autobiographical notes and curriculum vitae; Reebok Human Rights Programs; Dr. Paul Farmer, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School; Dr. Christopher Price, Regional Director, Family Planning International Assistance; Executive Director Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Partners in Health; Marie-Flore Chipps, Zanmi Lasante; and Dr.
• Jaap Breetvelt, Health Consultant, Medisch Coordinatie Secretariaat/Holland.


My thanks to: Alison Carb Sussman for this superb sharing about Lody!








" Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some people abuse the privilege."

Boulegra,



Kafe

TIGA BOOK/CATALOGUE - "MOULÉ DANS L'ARGILE" now available on Ebay and Amazon

"This LIMITED-EDITION 190 pages catalogue published by l'Institut Francais d'Haiti for the exhibition TIGA - MOULÉ DANS L'ARGILE which took place in October 2007 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The book is in color with more than 60 pictures of the artwork of Tiga, numerous texts describing his work and legacy as an artist, as well as the most comprehensive biography of the artist. The book is in softcover and measure 8.5" x 11" x .75"."

Regine Mercier

AMAZON

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0013K6YDS/ref=dp_olp_2/103-8319978-0170265

EBAY

http://cgi.ebay.com/TIGA-HAITIAN-ART-BOOK_W0QQitemZ120217483879QQihZ002QQcategoryZ378QQssPageNameZW


Anyone in New York willing to pick up their copies directly can contact Klode at: claudegaroute@yahoo.com


Boule gra



Kafe

RODNEY LEON

UNSUNG HEROES- RODNEY LEON

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RODNEY LEON AND HIS AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND MEMORIAL...

Bon soleil all,

Back on June 18th 2005, I headed to NY for a day to attend an award party hosted by Haitian American Alliance. Four having made a difference in our community were being honored by the organization: Wyclef Jean-Micheline Cadet Duval,Jean-Claude Garoute-Tiga, and---RODNEY LEON.

The other three I had heard about prior to the event. Rodney Leon I met that night and-his life story is one filled with excitement, travels and-accomplishments.

His architecture works have involved handed proposals for memorials for the likes of Frederic Douglas- Martin Luther King and the Freedom Crossing Memorial…

Leon's proposal was chosen over sixty-one offers-and five semifinalists to end up winning the design contract in 2004. At the time of the June event Leon was being applauded for this most remarkable project…

Leon was commissioned to create, design and oversee the ‘Ancestral Libation’ Chamber of the African Burial Ground memorial in Manhattan.

RODNEY LEON is a Haitian-American Yale-trained architect from Brooklyn, who is President and co-founder of AARRIS Architects. With a Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt and a Masters of Architecture from Yale University, Leon stands tall to fill this truly amazing and worthy project. Nicole Hollandt-Denis, is the other half of Aarris Architects PC.

"Our generation has been entrusted with this awesome responsibility and we're honored."

“These people were part of a worldwide network of slavery, and they helped the New York economy run and thrive,” Rodney Leon said.

Having been chosen to design and create the permanent memorial for the African Burial Ground even as a bystander I feel wonderfully proud of his accomplishments- I can imagine the emotions going through his own family.

"The African Burial Ground represents a unique opportunity and responsibility for all of us to tell our story to the world and to specifically honor the memories of the ancestral Africans,"

"We had certain objectives that we established early on that were guiding principles for how the memorial was developed,"

"One was to establish the site as a sacred site. Whatever we designed needed to have a sense of sacredness about it, so ritual and spirituality needed to play a role.

Oh boy, what a design it is! It is like walking into the far future yet-wrapped in total familiarity. He incorporated meticulous ethnic details without sacrificing aesthetics and artistic visuals.

The monument was to originally have cost three million dollars, but-as all never following a financial plan-by the time it was all done, five million was the tally...

Rodney is busy in his next project- designing a Bronx church. He and his wife, Dr. Galia Austin-Leon, a pediatrician at SUNY Downstate and also has her clinic in Bedford-Stuyvesant have two daughters six year old Alexandria, and Saniyah who is three. The family lives in Park Slope Brooklyn-

I love every aspect of this project-the overall visual is somewhat surreal and knowing that a Haitian descent is responsible for the artistic concept makes the African Burial Ground Monument very much more special. And-I do hope that many of us with a iota of Haitian blood in our veins if and when in New York please do stop by. It will be worth your while.

As a matter of fact-Leon encourages it…

"This is or should become a pilgrimage site for all people of African descent, especially those who come from the enslaved populations who owe a debt of gratitude to these 17th- and 18th-century prisoners who were not only central to building New York City, but America as we know it today."

As exciting as visiting the monument can be-it is also very sad, very sad.

It is like walking through a massive personal
mausoleum putting in perspective where you came from, have been, is and heading...

To Rodney Leon---my unsung hero-BRAVO!




" Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some people abuse the privilege."

Boulegra,



Kafe

LOIS MAILOU JONES-PIERRE NOEL

BHM---2008 UNSUNG HEROES- LOIS MAILOU JONES-PIERRE NOEL

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BHM-2008- Lois Mailou Jones- Pierre Noel

In addition to journalists and the many students being dropped for the weekly Artistic Rotation on any Saturday at Tiga’s house/atelier in Port-au-Prince, you never know who those extra cars parked out front belong to till you actually walk in or step in the backyard. From local artists, old friends, world’s diplomats and international leaders---it is like walking right into an adventure.

This particular Saturday there was a visitor I never met, she was having a birthday-she was the wife of an old artist friend of Tiga.

For years I have heard about her from my dad-she had sponsored his very first ceramic exhibit in the United States back in the early 70's at Howard University. It was for me an exciting day-I have followed her work for years and I was pleased to chat at length and photograph her…for hours.

Lois is the daughter of the first African-American to graduate from Boston's Suffolk Law School- Thomas Vreeland Jones. She was born in 1905 and she thanks her mom for having given her the bug at an early age fueling her interests in art and world culture.

She also is grateful for the time she spent studying at Boston Museum School of Fine Arts, Columbia University and later on at Howard University. In 1917, her dream came true graduating with a teaching degree.

In 1927, she received a diploma in Design with honors. She received in 1945 her bachelor’s degree from Howard University, graduating magna cum laude. She was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Suffolk University in Boston. More honorary degrees were given to her- Colorado State, Christian University, Massachusetts College of Art, and Howard University. She is also a ‘Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts in London.

In retrospect--- the time did not prove easy even on Jones-a very talented but black young lady…racial prejudice was not in her favor and it was clear to her that she would not be able to teach anywhere. As a matter of fact even-her application to teach at The Boston Museum School of Fine Arts was rejected. Go figure…

In her want to work, she decided to go somewhere less harsh-New York City became home. And-eventually relocated to North Carolina for a teaching position at the where she was drafted in 1928 by Palmer Memorial Institute in 1928.

Her visual impact when paused on can be translated in many period or phase as she puts it.
-The African-Americans works of early 1930’s.
-French and city landscapes, her studies on the body and Haitian scenes-1950s and 1960s.
-In 1930, when Jones at Howard University, her official artistic career began; and her works reflected her familiarity with racism and a close witness of the Harlem Renaissance.

Paris in 1931 attracted many artists and writers so Lois Mailou Jones headed there where she attended the Julian Academy and took painting. Easily merging into the culture, she learned French and made it home.

In a year time while there, she painted close to forty pieces. She was pleased to live and work there-her skin color did not matter.

Her fascination with Afro-art got her to take interests in Haiti. Her paintings were very much influenced by the scenes she saw in Haiti where she lived for a while with her husband. She met and befriended Tiga. One thing was very obvious---her art became more abstract after her association with Tiga.

But-she had more than an artistic interest for the country and its art. While attending Columbia University she had met and fell in love with a young man. A talented and well known artist himself-Lois married Louis Vergniaud Pierre Noel in the South of France in 1953. They did not have any children, they traveled intensively. Their wonderful twenty-nine years of marriage was cut short when Vergniaud died. She never remarried.

By the way-for those of you like me philatelists… one of the nicest United States stamps showing John F Kennedy over a Flag was drawn by him. I treasure that stamp…

She confided one of her proudest moment was when Haiti's government made her a ‘Chevalier of the National Order of Honor and Merit.’

She turned eighty the day I met. I found her magical! Full of life and so-captivating, we chatted as I shot so many pictures of her…

Jones painted a lot even in her mid nineties. She favors to work in oils and watercolors…and-it is apparent that her love for Africa and masks are predominant in most of her art.

One of the best known pieces studied in African studies art class has been- ‘Les Fetiches.’ In the piece one can spot five distinct masks. She joked hysterically hinting this specific piece is the ancestors’ biography.

She has exhibited in the most prestigious museums and galleries of the world.
In 1980, she was honored by President Jimmy Carter at the White House for excellent achievements in the arts. Her work is part of collections of well known like:’Metropolitan Museum of Art- National Museum of American Art-Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden-National Portrait Gallery-Boston Museum of Fine Arts-the National Palace in Haiti, and the National Museum of Afro-American Artists.'

She hopes to have in her work and life contributed to art and artists engaging them into a field of dream unlike any other…sharing also the importance of African American stand in the history of art.

Lois died in 1998 at age 93.

"It has been wonderful to have had this career and to be where I am at this time and have it finally arrive. Hopefully I’ve inspired some of the young artists to love their work as much as I have loved my career. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m still living to see the works arrive."

Indeed, indeed Lois- I will never forget the day you turned 80 at KAY TIGA!








" Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some people abuse the privilege."

Boulegra,

GERDES FLEURANT AND FLORIENNE SAINTIL

Photo taken at home-2006...Gerdes on drum and Florienne on his left

UNSUNG HEROES- GERDES FLEURANT AND FLORIENNE SAINTIL

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Greetings all,

As I predisposed in my emails sent out to my network list and websites I participate in a few days ago-BHM this year for me will mostly be about unsung heroes closer to home…

They are regular folks that I know very well for years that have been at work for the good of Haiti and Haitian issues.

They are in their own ways living dedicating their capability to acting-not so much pointing out culprits, forecasting…or waiting for others to do what they themselves can very well do. In short, these chosen few on my list have not chosen to limit their input for Haiti and its issues to just---talking…


I begin my UNSUNG HEROES 2008 with:

Founders, Gerdès Fleurant, Ph.D.and Florienne M. Saintil, M.Ed.

From their website- The Gawou Ginou Foundation I am sharing the following prior to my personal comments later.

Gerdès and Florienne now spend their time between the US (Cambridge, MA, and Lauderhill, FL) and Mirebalais, Haiti where they have built the Léocardie and Alexandre Kenscoff Cultural Center. The realization of their dream of more than twenty years, as husband and wife, building the Cultural Center stems from their determination to contribute actively to the education of the common people from Haiti's countryside.

Florienne retired early (2004) from her position as an elementary school teacher in the Somerville Schools to spend time in Mirebalais at the Gawou Ginou School to teach the children, their teachers and parents about modern educational methods.

Gerdès taught Sociology and African American Studies at Salem State College where he chaired the AAS Program until 1992 to join full-time the Wellesley College Music Department. At Wellesley, he taught Enthnomusicology and co-founded the Yanvalou Drum & Dance Ensemble, which introduces students to Haitian culture and music.

Gerdès *retired from his Wellesley College tenure (June 2005) to focus fully on his applied ethnomusicological research in Haiti.

Gerdès and Florienne who serve on the board of the Gawou Ginou Foundation, Inc., devote their time also to fundraising, to work on developing educational material for use in the school in Haiti, to help educate Haitian-Americans about the validity of their culture, and to foster cultural solidarity between Haiti and the United States. As the main promoters of this project, they are thankful for the opportunity to serve, and are grateful to all of you who have contributed thus far. Without your financial help and moral support, the work of the Foundation will be severely compromised.

Please visit their site:

http://www.gawouginoufoundation.org/index.htm