29559: Hermantin(News)For Haitians, speaking out is a rasin-d'etre (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

For Haitians, speaking out is a rasin-d'etre



by David Cazares

November 17, 2006



Some of Haiti's most celebrated bands will be in South Florida on Nov. 25 for 
Rasin Fest, the annual Haitian roots music festival at Miami's Bayfront Park, 
301 Biscayne Blvd.

The annual festival celebrates the Haitian musical style rasin, a sound that 
emerged from the fusion of African religious practices with Christianity. The 
genre, also an outlet for the political frustrations and hopes of many 
Haitians, has gained worldwide popularity in the last few decades. In large 
part this is because of the success of Boukman Eksperyans, which headlines the 
festival.

Boukman Eksperyans was founded by band leader Theodore "Lolo" Beaubrun Jr. and 
family members. They wanted to revive the music that had fallen out of favor 
during the regime of the Duvalier family. Roots music, long rejected by the 
middle class, was almost abandoned with the emergence in the 1950s of kompas as 
the music of choice.

The award-winning group, named for the leader of a slave uprising, mixes 
Caribbean and African rhythms with songs sung in Creole. Its members weave 
traditional Haitian drumming and melodies with modern instruments. They sing of 
peace, unity and change.

They helped spark Haiti's transition from military rule to democracy in 1990 
with the song Kem'-M Pa Sote (I'm Not Afraid). It criticized Haiti's corrupt 
military government.

Jean-Claude Duvalier's fall amid a groundswell of popular opposition helped 
revive rasin. Many groups began combining rock and other modern genres with 
traditional rhythms. It also sparked a new wave of political songwriting by 
groups such as Kanpech, which also performs at Rasin Fest.

Kanpech stayed in Haiti while other groups left the country to perform and 
record. The band often staged unannounced concerts, and its music was dubbed 
and passed through Haiti's underground.

Other scheduled performers include Djackout, T Vice, Rev, Azor and Nu Look. The 
festival runs from 2 p.m. to midnight. Tickets, $25 in advance and $35 at the 
gate, are available from area stores. Contact rasinfest.com or 305-757-9555.


Staff writer David Cázares' Latin/world beat column appears every other week in 
Showtime. Write to World Beat, Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort 
Lauderdale, FL 33301. E-mail dcazares@sun-sentinel.com or call 954-356-4207.


Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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