Pop Culture and Post-Earthquake Haiti

For my entire life, music has been a central theme—from having grandparents that like to sing to being a dancer myself, I have understood the importance of music and pop culture in my life. Today, after reading more of Jonathan Katz’s book, The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left behind a Disaster, I was able to understand the importance of music in the post-earthquake Haitian context.

The section that we read for this pre-trip training looked at various elements of the disaster relief, including land tenure and gender-based violence, but what struck out to me the most was the impact that music had. Young people in Haiti would sing and rap about looking forward as a nation, urging the citizens to “stop marching under the orders of the blan [foreigners]”. This showed me that music was used as a form of political expression, especially for youth, which is one of the most important demographics to consider when rebuilding political stability.

Michael Martelly

Another important musical movement in Haiti at the time was kompa music, led by a man named Michael Martelly, but commonly known as Sweet Micky. Katz described this music as “the love child of merengue, funk and R&B” that was popular for older crowds. His message in his singing was political too—claiming “if you don’t like it, get out of here!” This is a sharp contrast to what the youth were expressing through their rap—the youth had a more positive call to action, while Martelly’s lyrics explained the futility of even trying to escape. This sentiment was furthered when Martelly decided to run for president—knowing he cannot run away, and that the only hope for change was assuming a position of authority.

Wyclef Jean

The last artist introduced in this section of the pre-trip training was Wyclef Jean—a Haitian artist who moved to America and built up his music career there. He came back to Haiti after the earthquake to run for president. As a prominent Haitian in America, he was named Haiti’s ambassador to the US in 2004, and then continued building his diplomatic/political power. His music, much of which talked about Haiti, along with his high visibility status was an example of how the Haitians at the time were looking for a change from the current political parties at play.

Each instance of introducing music and its deeper meaning helped me uncover another aspect of Haitian culture and beliefs. This section of reading reinforced the emphasis I put on music in my life, and helped me appreciate from a different perspective. And now, I can’t wait to go to Haiti soon and listen to live kompa music, because it sounds like a lot of fun!