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Report 1651: Haiti, a Troubled Beauty

By Andrew from MO, Winter 2009

Page 3 of 4: Jacmel, part 2 with Carnaval

Sunday was the day of the national Carnival, Carnaval, or Kannaval, the big event bringing people from all over Haiti. It was also the day that room was opening for us to stay at the Hotel Florita, across the street from FOSAJ. Jimmy and Flo turned up early at Piano Piano to move us, as streets were being closed for the parade. We made the move, with Jimmy luckily knowing how to go down back streets. We checked into the Florita, where we had a two-bedroom suite, to be entered either from the balcony or through the bathroom. It was a nice flowery place, with flowers in evidence on the balcony but also with signs of deterioration in the 19th-century building, and intermittent power and water. The dining area, where we’d already had a few meals, was a flowery courtyard, mostly covered by a roof although there was an opening. They took credit cards for stays but not for meals; the one restaurant known to take plastic was the Hotel de la Place.

Some of us went to view the Carnaval parade. There was one option to view it from a balcony over the central street, but Jimmy advised that it was better to see it from a ground-level patio off one of the feeding streets. Wherever you go, there’s a charge for the seats. We sat and saw an afternoon of processions; so many people had devoted themselves to the show, with elaborate dressing, body painting, and papier-maché outfits and floats. They evoked the history of Haiti, Blacks in the New World, and the current problems of the country. There were also commercial floats, with people dressed as pasta packages or energy drink bottles. The straightforward American Airlines plane float put together at FOSAJ was not sponsored by the airline. There were long gaps between each display, we passed the time going through a few bottles of rum (with a great wood scent), and as dusk came people were going down the street in huge volume, with constant rhythmic music. The whole scene is better described in Edwidge Danticat’s short book After the Dance. We eventually returned to the hotel without too much trouble with the crowds.

Tricia and Steve were leaving on Monday. Before the trip, I’d seen references to air service between Jacmel and PAP, but Flo said it had ended when the plane crashed. While we were there, there was talk of the service resuming, but Tricia and Steve were able to charter a plane for $300 total to connect to their afternoon flight.

On Monday, I joined Flo in going to the Iron Market, where many goods are sold under a structure and in surrounding streets. We gathered fish and other things to cook over a wood fire; power had been on all day for the parade day Sunday, and was off for most of Monday.

We spent the final afternoon in Jacmel (Tuesday) along the private beach with the house belonging to the FOSAJ founder, where we’d had the chance to stay but his family members decided to stay and got priority. We had a picnic there until dusk; then it started to rain (the only rain of the trip) and we returned in a downpour with many people in the pickup truck bed. There had been FOSAJ events most nights; for the final night, my father did a slide talk (now on PowerPoint) on his artwork.

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Trip Report Pages

Flight and arrival in Port-au-Prince

Jacmel, part 1

Jacmel, part 2 with Carnaval

Port-au-Prince and Return

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Report 1651: Haiti, a Troubled Beauty

Page 3 of 4: Jacmel, part 2 with Carnaval

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