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”