The Population’s Bacchanalia

Some of Haiti’s most beloved musicians raised their voices to counter the antics of President Martelly and his associates. This chapter studies the carnival songs of two anti-establishment artists who captured the public’s imagination through their alternate approaches to political activism. The first is musician-comedian Matyas, around whom a protracted and preposterous storyline was constructed about his unlikely candidacy for the presidency, subsequent win, and the havoc he is able to bring about as a result of his high-powered fictitious position. Second, the roots-reggae group Brothers Posse released a consecutive series of acerbically critical music videos for each carnival during which Martelly was in office, before Brothers Posse’s lead Don Kato took his musical engagement to a literal conclusion and was elected to the Senate in 2015. As senator, Don Kato delivered a pointed warning in a carnival song about the PetroCaribe scandal, in which several billion dollars have gone missing.

Sweet Micky’s Allure

Though dismissed as jest at the time, in the mid-1990s Sweet Micky declared himself the “President of Konpa” and composed lyrics that avowed his seriousness for the job. Martelly’s play-acts at “presidential” performance suggest that he methodically crafted a political product inherently entangled with his musical product. Fundamental to Martelly’s stage persona are betiz, which encompass obscenities, off-color jokes, and sexual innuendo and which are considered typical carnivalesque behavior. Demonstrating that this staged vulgarity is nothing new, this chapter considers the long history of betiz as documented back to the colonial era. Such expressions have been key to the discursive practices of madigra bands of the 1930s, Coupé Cloué’s konpa hits of the 1960s–1980s, the rara bands of today, and even the Vodou lwa (spirit) Gede. This chapter reveals the deeper work of betiz, in navigating structures of power and oppression while establishing conditions for physical release and psychological healing.

Sounding Carnival

Carnival is the biggest musical event of the year in Haiti, in terms of musicians involved, crowds gathered, and money spent. It is also caught up in a complex web of political, economic, and social maneuverings, and thus creates an ideal space for venting against power alongside the various acts of play associated with the festival. This chapter introduces both carnival history in Haiti and the sonic environment that shapes this study, while establishing a conceptual frame for the book. This theoretical frame is built around two major avenues of inquiry that underline the entire text: a view of sounding as sonified mobility that can be studied through musical cartography, and a consideration of carnival and the carnivalesque in terms of vagabondage. Both avenues lead to broader discussions about performing citizenship and defending national sovereignty.

Epilogue 2

I promised a story that does not end, and find myself caught up in that very spiral. Travay la pa janm fini; istwa pa kanpe nan wout. The work is never finished; history does not stop in the middle of the road. The wisdom in this proverb was made evident when, on January 11, 2018, US President Donald Trump evidently dismissed Haiti, El Salvador, and nations of Africa as “shithole countries” while arguing with the US Congress over immigration policy. The remark was unceremoniously delivered one day prior to the eight-year anniversary of the January 12, 2010, earthquake. It was a deeply wounding ...

Epilogue 1

In mid-February 2016, mere days after Michel Martelly stepped down from the presidency, an advertisement began circulating online in Kompa Magazine announcing Sweet Micky’s appearance on May 19, 2016, at the Café Iguana in Miami. The publicity enthuses, “The President of Kompa [sic] is back!” Online poster Neg Timid assessed the situation:...

Mixed Modes and Performance Codes of Political Demonstrations and Carnival

Popular singer Sweet Micky (Michel Martelly) became Haiti’s president in 2011 after a controversial election cycle. Port-au-Prince in late 2010 was overwhelmed with political demonstrations ostensibly in support of Martelly. Alongside other evidence, musical cues suggested that the voting process was less than democratic. Five years later, the 2015–16 presidential elections were again highly contested and ultimately failed to produce an elected government in time for a smooth transition between administrations. The political farce was decried by musicians as an eleksyon madigra (Mardi Gras election), articulating views held by many citizens and observers. This chapter explores how the seemingly unrelated and seldom associated phenomena of carnival and political demonstrations are in fact intricately intertwined, while reassessing the use of the Kreyòl terms anraje (a state of physical and emotional exuberance or enragement) and angaje (an expression of political engagement) that are often applied to describe musical (and civic) behavior in both contexts.

Re-Sounding Mizik Angaje

This chapter considers the music examined in this text from a broader lens, pointing out that angaje (politically engaged) expressive forms have been tied to defining moments in Haitian history when sovereignty has been challenged and fought for, including the Haitian Revolution, the US Occupation, and the downfall of Duvalier. This radical activist energy is intrinsic to mizik angaje (politically engaged music) and associated with artists such as Auguste Linstant de Pradines (Kandjo) and Manno Charlemagne. Reflections from musicians today who are widely thought of in terms of their serious engagement with social and political issues, from Matyas to Manzè to BIC (Roosevelt Saillant), suggest the wide array of current perspectives on what constitutes mizik angaje, or, alternatively, mizik sosyal (socially engaged music). This chapter goes on to underscore the deeper and more sustained cultural and political work that has to take place beyond the lyrics and musical performance for sustained change in society.

Response from the Roots

This chapter profiles two classic bands tied deeply to Haiti’s Vodou roots, Boukman Eksperyans and RAM. Both bands are active and revered on the global popular music circuit and have also been instrumental in leading grassroots resistance to abuses of power and authority in Haiti. More than thirty years after their respective musical debuts, the leaders of both groups have become pillars of the music scene and respected figures in society far beyond their music celebrity status. In many regards, both ensembles have established models for civic leadership through their musical activities, and both are well recognized for their politically and socially engaged music. This chapter explores how Boukman Eksperyans and RAM have infused their music with principles of Vodou metaphysics and Haitian cultural values, albeit in different ways. It also describes how the respective bandleaders situate their musical and non-musical work in the larger scheme of Haitian politics and culture.

The Konpa President’s Government on Parade

Returning focus to the political realm, this chapter demonstrates how Martelly campaigned on a populist platform and used his musical skills to guide his path to office by employing polemics and a politics based on carnivalesque festivities and parties. On becoming Haiti’s president, Martelly reinstituted the Carnaval des Fleurs that had been popular during the Duvalier regime, which offered the public a second chance at celebrating carnival each year. Martelly, like Duvalier, proved himself adept at using carnival, and large public musical displays, as a distraction for the population from politics. During the run-up to his election, Martelly organized mega concerts with big-name celebrities to entice young people to his platform. Throughout his presidency, he maintained his flair for show business, which he would often bring to the political stage—sometimes vacillating between disarming charm and insult within the same appearance. This attribute gained him many admirers and many critics.

Wyclef’s Score

The Haitian elections of 2010–11 were unusually marked by interventions from high-octane pop stars. Not only did Sweet Micky pose his candidature, but so too did Grammy-award winning artist Wyclef Jean. When the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) dismissed Wyclef from the presidential race, the artist hotly contested the CEP’s decision and quickly released an excoriating critique in song. This chapter offers an evaluation of Wyclef’s musical deeds and post-earthquake interventions as a celebrity and as the almost-candidate who saw himself as the best representation for the nation’s youth. This focus on a notable musical individual is then contrasted against the music-making of the crowd, with an aim toward understanding how songs that get people moving and engaged often emerge out of crowd-sourced improvisation. Resignification of song texts and melodies lies at the core of the deep intertextual play that musicians and music listeners share as they decode political acts.