‘When everything else falls apart, culture remains’: Haïti en Folie marks 20 years in Montreal

Overview: Montreal's Haïti en Folie festival launched its 20th edition on July 23, drawing hundreds of attendees. The milestone year coincides with Haiti's return to the FIFA World Cup after 52 years and the 222nd anniversary of Haitian independence, though attendees also reflected on ongoing gang violence in Haiti and U.S. immigration crackdowns affecting the diaspora. By Béatrice Vallières MONTREAL — Haitian music filled the streets of Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood Saturday afternoon, as hundreds danced and sang in the traditional rara parade organized by festival Haïti en folie. “I couldn’t miss this,” said Louis Lincoln, a longtime attendee who came draped in a Haitian flag and wearing a matching hat. “It’s in our DNA, in our traditions.” The festival, billed as the largest multidisciplinary festival outside Haiti devoted entirely to Haitian and Caribbean culture, launched its 20th edition on July 23. The five-day program includes a food fair where attendees can sample traditional Haitian cuisine, cultural workshops exploring Haitian crafts, and musical performances by local and international artists. Haitian-Canadian artist Rebecca Jean and legendary mizik rasin band Boukman Eksperyans performed on Saturday night, while celebrated singer and guitarist BélO is scheduled to perform during the closing show on Sunday. Fabienne Colas, whose foundation created the festival, described this year’s edition as a huge milestone for what started out as a one-evening event in 2007. “When we started out, we never, ever, ever thought that one day we’d be celebrating our 10th, 15th, or let alone our 20th [anniversary],” she said. “We were really just focused on the day-to-day for each edition, trying to get through it.” From a few thousand attendees in 2007, the festival now draws tens of thousands of people each year. Since the covid-19 pandemic, its programming has grown to include online activities, such as virtual movie screenings. Counting online audiences, the festival reaches over 700,000 people annually, Colas said. “The fact that, every year, we see a bigger crowd, we see the artists coming back who trust us, and the partners who are still here, we’re very proud,” she said. This year is a particularly celebratory one for Haïti en Folie, with the festival’s 20th anniversary coinciding with Haiti’s return to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 52 years, and the 222nd anniversary of the country’s independence. At Saturday’s rara parade, one of the festival’s signature events, spirits were high. Dozens proudly wore jerseys bearing the Grenadiers’ colors, while others waved flags above the bustling crowd. Dancers led the procession, as vaksin, drums and maracas set the pace. For just over an hour, the crowd moved through the neighborhood under a bright summer sun. A few curious onlookers came out onto their balconies; some passersby joined the celebration. “I think this is really good for us, for the Haitian community,” said Jamesol Joseph, who was attending the festival for the first time on Saturday. “It’s good for us, it’s good for our visibility, and it’s good for Quebec, too.” For many participants, the parade was also a family affair, with multiple generations attending together. “I can’t go back to my home country right now, so it’s like reconnecting with my community here,” said Valentia Résolu, who came with her young daughter. “It has a family-like atmosphere. I get to introduce my daughter to the culture here.” Some attendees also reflected on the challenges faced by the broader Haitian diaspora, as the gang violence crisis persists in Haiti, and the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration just south of the border. “We all have families; we all have someone, like a close friend, in the United States, so we can’t help but worry,” said Kervens Beaugé, who attended the festival’s annual rara parade for the fourth time Saturday. “We can’t just pretend it doesn’t exist.” Colas said concerns impacting the community have become a recurring backdrop to the festival. “Every year,” she said, “either something major happens in Haiti, or something happens in the diaspora.” But, she added, “our mission, our goal, is to bring that comfort”. She quoted Haitian-Canadian writer Dany Laferrière in one of his statements in the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake in 2010 — “When everything else falls apart, culture remains”. She said the sentence became “a bit of a motto for us”. “We can’t just curl up in a ball, stay in our corner, and cry, because that’s not how you keep a culture alive,” Colas said. “There are so many beautiful things happening at the same time, too, so we have to make room for those beautiful things.”