Sunday, June 29, 2014

More Malavoi

I have been listening to Malavoi's "Pousser la vie" on repeat today. Again, we see the band's penchant for fusing different sounds of the Caribbean and Black Atlantic (jazzy piano, Haitian compas, Martinique's history of violin and string music), and it pays off. The song's multi-layered, featuring restrained characteristically Malavoi elements  that succeed with a compas structure and pulsating drums.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster

I finally read journalist Jonathan M. Katz's heartfelt and enlightening perspective on the international community's response to the diastrous 2010 earthquake that destroyed Port-au-Prince. Although a journalist, Katz clearly wrote a well-researched account of the numerous follies of the West's perception of Haiti, how NGOs, Western states, and the media contributed to the problem, and how Haiti's politically stability and democratization was further weakened as a result.

Katz, narrowly escaping from AP's Petionville house when the earthquake struck, followed developments closely. He notes how the media, NGOs, and Western governments exaggerated the extent to which rioting and social unrest would happen in the earthquake's aftermath, rightly criticized the influence and power of foreigners like Sean Penn who disseminated false information, as well as noting the problematic militarized distribution of aid from the US (which, assuming riots and unrest, likely slowed down the pace of rescue efforts and aid to the hundreds of thousands who lost their lives and homes). Katz also challenges the hypocritical stance of the US and the international community at large regarding corruption in Haiti, which was the rationale used by various agencies to argue against direct aid to the Haitian state.

Agreeing with Katz, I find it hard to see how not directly channeling aid to the Préval government would help, since the anti-corruption government agency in Haiti (as well as numerous other departments, institutions, and jobs) were sorely lacking in cash necessary to operate successfully or rebuild their destroyed offices. Thus, Western hypocrisy regarding widespread corruption in places like the US weakened Préval's and the Haitian state's ability to direct reconstruction and services in the worst humanitarian disaster to ever hit the hemisphere.

In addition, Katz makes it quite clear how most of the billions of aid raised by donor countries and financial institutions never found its way to Haiti, instead staying mostly within donor countries, dispersed through NGOs (which used much of the funds for costs of operation, paying for their own comfort, etc.), spent irresponsibly by US institutions, fed into UN organizations in Haiti, and under control by a foreign-dominated management group. In addition, the Collier report, favored by Clinton, Haiti's business elite, a South Korean garment factory operator, the UN, and other influential people continued an old pattern of failed strategies to challenge poverty in Haiti. Indeed, as Katz reminds us, the garment factory industry (or sweatshops, since most garment factories in Haiti don't comply with workers' right standards or the Haitian minimum wage law) never paid enough to lift workers out of poverty, led to an concentration of people in Port-au-Prince (fueling the creation of large slums), and left when wages rose and the workers became more skilled. Clearly, the Clintons, Sean Penn, the Martelly government, Boulos, some NGOs, and many donor countries saw an opportunity to make money off human suffering, which is exactly what happened.

Although lacking the term used by Naomi Klein, clearly there is an undercurrent of her work in Katz's coverage of the undemocratic, foreign-led transition of power in Haiti (as well as the eventual establishment of a tax-free garment factory in Caracol, far away from Port-au-Prince). In addition, Katz is not afraid to attack imperialistic bullying and coercion by the US and other donors, who used the threat of stalling aid and needed reconstruction efforts to ensure an obedient Préval. Undoubtedly, Haitian sovereignty was not a priority for most of the international community in the aftermath of the earthquake, a persisting problem that reared its ugly head in the farce of an election that led to Martelly's election. However, Katz is quick to note a corrupt land deal that led to hundreds of thousands being pushed in tarps out of Port-au-Prince (in a floodplain!) and other instances of Haitians colluding against their sovereignty and economic well-being.

All in all, Katz's book is an accessible, highly readable account of disaster capitalism and how neoliberal-oriented development in 'the republic of NGOs' has contributed to a catastrophe almost as horrifying as the earthquake itself. From cholera to a quasi-Duvalierist state, the reconstruction efforts to build back better in Haiti will likely take several decades to rectify.

Monday, June 23, 2014

La Filo


Another gem from Malavoi. This group has quickly become one of my favorite Caribbean musical groups.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

The Beauty of Ryco Jazz

From Congo-Brazzaville to the French Caribbean, enjoy Ryco Jazz! Their Congolese 'rumba' is thoroughly rooted in the Cuban son and the Afro-Caribbean music of the Caribbean, so it's magical to hear their recordings from their relocation in the French Caribbean. Check out the following songs:

1. "Tu bois beaucoup" is jazzy, Cuban-sounding, proudly affirming a Creole identity, and in every conceivable way classic.

2. "Kumbele" is a classic recorded earlier by Les Bantous de la Capitale, a band from Congo-Brazzaville.

3. "Marie Jose (Merengue Scoubidou)"

4. "Bana Ryco"

5. "Wachi Wara"

6. "Josephine Mama"

Friday, June 20, 2014

Tus Besos


An enjoyable merengue from the 1980s, "Tus Besos" has some funky bass and fast rhythms. Probably one of my favorites from 1980s merengue I've heard so far.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Haiti In the 1950's


Interesting video footage of Carnival in Haiti, including some music of the 1950s and 1960s with images of carnival processions and commentary. 

Monday, June 16, 2014

Jou Ouvè


One of my favorite Malavoi songs, "Jou Ouvè" celebrates the beautiful daybreak in Martinique. The strings here add an element to the music that is reminiscent of Cuban danzón, but clearly rooted in Martinique's Creole language, music, and heritage. Brenda F. Berrian's detailed overview of the song alludes to the song's abundant language about gardens, flowers, tilling the soil, providing an intimate portrait of Martinique. 

Vive Le Football

An interesting ode to football in honor of the World Cup. Enjoy!

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Borandá


Lovely, stylized jazzy samba from Edu Lobo (with help from Tamba Trio). Love that piano! Alas, if only the song wasn't so short...

Thursday, June 12, 2014

No Soy Africana

Check out this interesting interview with scholars by Marc Lamont Hill on 'blackness' in the Dominican Republic. Although Hill begins the show with a scene from the problematic series by Henry Louis Gates, there is more nuance and inclusion of Dominican-American attitudes. The voices of Dominican-Americans add much needed clarity on how blackness is always experiential and shaped by personal experience and how others perceive one, such that Biany Perez and Silvio Torres-Saillant 'learned they were black' from their experience in the United States (which was also based on how others perceived them). Indeed, one of the highlights of the show was hearing Biany Perez challenge the assumptions of the other Dominican-American based on how she is consistently seen as an 'Other' by other Dominican-Americans for being black (which reflects how Dominican-American identity within their own spaces may still exclude Afro-Dominicans in the diaspora).There is also recognition of how Afro-Dominican identity and cultural organizations are increasing in number in the island and in Afro-Latino activism in the US.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Con Valor


A lovely kompa tune alluding to Black Orpheus.

Axum


A short documentary worthwhile for intriguing interviews with an archaeologist on ancient Axum. In addition, we are treated with images of Axumite architecture, including some of the stunning elite cemeteries. Enjoy!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Skah Shah

Really enjoying "Haiti" and "Zanmi" by Skah Shah today. The former really is a nice homage to a classic in Haitian music, a tribute to Haiti, and even quotes from the Cuban "Guantanamera" while "Zanmi" is also irresistibly catchy. Nice horns from these Skah Shah songs really go a long way. 

Sunday, June 8, 2014

The Masquerade Is Over


While perusing some jazz magazine's list of the greatest alto sax solos in jazz history, I realized I had never acquainted myself with the wonders of Lou Donaldson's pre-soul jazz ventures in the 1960s and 1970s. "The Masquerade Is Over" is a beautiful song, but I am actually more fond Foster's piano playing. As for calling this one of the 'greatest alto solos' of all time, that certainly does not ring true, but certainly a highlight for Donaldson's 1950s output.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Reevaluating Haitian History

Check out this interesting interview on Haitian history featuring Alyssa Sepinwall. If I remember correctly, she is the sister of one of my favorite TV critics, Alan Sepinwall. Nothing too shocking here, but worth checking out for a clear, relatively unbiased interpretation of Haitian history that does not follow media stereotypes.

Accolade

I am quite fond of "Accolade," which according to Gage Averill, contained a medley of other hits (including this one), is an infectious kompa hit album that called for unity among musicians and a chance of conscience in a music form tied with Duvalierist Haiti. It's somewhat surprising that Bossa Combo was one of the leading commercial bands to lead to a shift in the kompa music scene politically, given their previous close relationship with Baby Doc. Regardless, they left us some great music.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Bechet's Creole Blues


A classic from Bechet.

Mats Lundahl on the Lakou


"Subdivision of a Lakou in the Marbial Valley, 1840-1948," taken from Mats Lundahl's The Haitian Economy: Man, Land And Markets. Clearly, over time, the extended kinship network and cooperative labor practices of this lakou (derived from the French la cour) reveal some of the problems facing Haitian peasant farmers in the second half of the 19th century and the whole of the 20th century. The lakou is based on a patriarchal 'founder,' which in the case of the Marbial Valley, originated in land grants from the state for men, whose descendants divided the land for the next generations.

The patriarchal founder divided his land equally among all male heirs, which was likewise repeated by the sons for their male progeny. Lakou were also a form of clustered housing where an extended family collaborated on agricultural projects, shared food and resources, provided mutual assistance (including loans), and maximized productivity on the collectively held land. Sons were to work on their father's land, providing labor for their male head of the lakou, while also being able to have their own sons do the same for them.

However, over time equally dividing the land among all male heirs led to smaller and smaller plots for the 3rd and 4th, and 5th generations, which inherently fueled conflicts within the lakou. According to Lundahl, there was less available land, more population pressure on the resources of the lakou, and more pressure for some kin to leave, either migrating to the towns of Haiti or trying their luck on their own. But for quite some time, from about the 1830s to the 20th century, many extended families lived prosperously through cooperative labor practices, all voluntarily agreeing to provide reciprocity in sharing resources, labor, funds, and support.

Although Lundahl seems to emphasize growing population pressure as a determinant in the fall of the lakou (as well as general problems from gradually smaller plots of land distributed to the next generation), the decline of lakous in the 20th century (such as in the Marbial Valley) represents a general decline in living standards and wealth for the rural population of Haiti. Whereas a lakou could support a large number of people, provide opportunities for saving and innovation, and increase productivity, unequal taxation (overwhelmingly on the export commodities of peasants, or the imports used by peasants), political marginalization,exploitation by middlemen and export houses, and a lack of government support for agriculture undermined the collective, clustered lakou pattern of rural Haitian agriculture. Other forms of cooperative labor practices survive in Haiti, but they were all weakened by declining living standards as peasants were increasingly reduced to subistence levels over the course of the 20th century (with accompanying malnutrition, rural to urban migration, soil erosion, you name it). One should also take issue with any claim that overpopulation or rapid population growth is the key determinant in poverty, since 'overpopulation' is usually the result of poverty, not a cause.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Era Bom


I love Brazilian music. I particularly love Elza Soares for her scatting rendition of "Era bom" because she sounds like Louis Armstrong. Jazzy, full of horns, and that relentless samba rhythm make this song worthy of repeat listens.

Terumasa Hino


Sunday, June 1, 2014

Volo Volo de Boston


Volo Volo de Boston is one of my favorite kompa groups as of now. Perfect for a relaxing Sunday, enjoy "Amour Volo," too. Moreover, Ti Manno was part of the group! What's not to love?

Haitian-Dominican Counterpoint: Nation, State, and Race on Hispaniola

Haitian-Dominican Counterpoint: Nation, State, and Race on Hispaniola by Eugenio Matibag is an excellent introductory text to the study of Haitian-Dominican relations in a context not biased by nationalism. Seeking to understand the shared history of the island from the colonial era to the present without a thesis of conflict being the main theme, instead seeing economic, social, cultural, and political ties between the halves of the island as an 'articulated system' with counterpoints. Matibag's lens for viewing Haitian-Dominican relations are consequently less obscured by national bias, endeavoring to situate the island of Hispaniola in a framework that elucidates past, present, and future problems and solutions. In the end, Matibag endorses a view of Haitian-Dominican relations that sees each nation's right to the island, but ideally rooted in solidarity and mutual cooperation.

Beginning with the colonial era, Matibag clearly demonstrates how Spanish colonial policy and other factors (the conquest of the mainland, for instance) left colonial Santo Domingo prior to French settlement as underpopulated, marginal, and perfect for contraband trade. Indeed, the Spanish crown ordered the residents of island's western half to resettle on the eastern side, what is now the Dominican Republic, to stem the trade between rival European powers and colonists eking out a living. With this understanding of Haitian-Dominican relations stretching back to the colonial era, conflict and cooperation emerge as themes because the ranching economy of the sparsely settled Spanish colony needed a market for meat and hides, which the French colony of Saint Domingue provided in the late 17th and 18th centuries. This pattern of conflict and cooperation involved African slaves as agents and victims, as runaway slaves were welcomed to form maroon communities across the shifting border, just as the thriving Atlantic Slave Trade fueled smuggling of slaves in the Spanish colony. Hateros benefitted from the French colony's demand, slaves could benefit from using the Spanish colony as a sanctuary for protection from slavery, the Spanish crown could use maroons to destabilize the French colony, and the metropoles endeavored to take advantage of the situation and plot to rule the entire island.

As for the Haitian Revolution and the Haitian occupation of l'Est, Matibag attempts to have an unbiased approach that highlights both positive and negative outcomes. Toussaint abolishing slavery in Santo Domingo, for instance, is undoubtedly positive for Afro-Dominicans, as was the subsequent emancipation under the Boyer occupation. Land redistribution under Boyer, was also positive, although taxing the East to raise funds for the indemnity to France, the Code Rural (1826), the pressure on ecclesiastical bodies, the lack of funding for public education, and compulsory military service certainly did not help either side of the island. Nor were the 1805 invasion of the East under Dessalines, the repeated invasions by Soulouque, and the political structure of Haiti. However, Matibag adds needed nuance to the Soulouque invasions of the Dominican Republic, which, from the Haitian state's perspective, appeared necessary to prevent a European imperial power (and later, the United States) from establishing a foothold in Hispaniola and undermining Haitian sovereignty. From that point of view, one can see why every Constitution of Haiti (including Toussaint Louverture's 1801 Constitution for Saint Domingue) declared the island was "une et indivisible." Thus, Soulouque was partly motivated to repeatedly invade the Dominican Republic to make European powers think twice about intervening militarily, while at the same time it did contribute to US and European meddling and mediation. What is lost in the racist satirical political cartoons of the 1850s, however, is that Soulouque offered Dominican leaders the option for a type of confederation, but was turned down.

Throughout the Haitian occupation and the rest of the 19th century, 'Dominican' national identity was clearly weakened by the white elite's interest in being annexed by a European power to 'protect' themselves from Haitian rule and open themselves more fully to European investment and markets. Simultaneously, committed Dominican nationalists cooperated with Haitians, even going so far as to receive aid, sanctuary, and military support from the Geffrard government during the Dominican war against Spain (after requesting to be admitted as a colony again!). Geffrard, and successive Haitian governments all realized that to defend Haitian independence, defending Dominican independence would be necessary. Indeed, the notion of a 'federation' of independent Caribbean polities in the age of European colonialism throughout the Caribbean was something going around at the time of anti-colonial struggles in Cuba and Puerto Rico, too.

In addition to cooperating against the Spanish, Haitian-Dominican relations also reflected numerous alliances against the neighboring republic's government, often along the porous border, which remains a constant factor in Haitian-Dominican relations, despite pacts agreed to by leaders from each country. This collusion between Dominican and Haitian actors also included Trujillo's outright dominance and interference in Haitian politics, cooperative exploitation of the Haitian poor by both sides (such as the Haitian state essentially selling Haitians as an export commodity for the much needed labor in the growing sugar industry and agriculture of the DR, itself a product of increased US investment and corporate control accelerated by US occupation of the island). As Matibag observes, the ultimate commodification of Haitian bodies came from both governments of the island, the Haitian state (especially under the Duvaliers) enabling and actively profiting off the sale of Haitian labor, blood, and cadavers while the Dominican economy became dependent on the migrant labor while excluding said migrants from rights and integration.

Where Matibag lost it, however, was in the chapter on the Haitian presence in Dominican literature. It was uneven, given the lack of equal attention to the 'Dominican Other' in Haitian literature (assuming for the sake of this argument, there is a 'Dominican Other'). It was interesting on its own merit, but hardly relevant to the overwhelming focus of the text on Haitian-Dominican relations through political and economic relations. Sure, Matibag includes cultural dimensions of intra-island dynamics (such as religion, language, and music), but the literary emphasis in the aforementioned chapter was unnecessary because of a lack of equal attention to Haitian literary sources. In another chapter, Matibag mentions Danticat's The Farming of Bones, and there is some allusion to Haitian poet Viaud (and the inclusion of Haitian poetry in a collection of Dominican poetry), but an exploration of how Haitian poetry, novels, and other literary art forms conceive of the Dominican Republic would be a fascinating addition to the chapter (as well as provide some much-needed balance and nuance. Perhaps the chapter would have functioned better as sub-section of the chapter examining the long period (1929-1985) of dictatorships ruling the island, so that one can see how poets and novelists during the Trujillo years were not exclusively anti-Haitian or racist.

Matibag concludes the short text with coverage of the tumultuous post-Duvalier years, as Dominican dependence on Haitian labor, Haitian dependence on Dominican and other foreign lands for subsistence, and Dominican dependence on the US in a neoliberal world-system complicates contemporary issues in Hispaniola. Instances of cooperation appear (such as international health organizations on the border serving Dominicans and Haitians), just as anti-Haitianism, virtual slavery of Haitian braceros, unemployment, poverty, and environmental degradation substantiate Matibag's call for a committed solidarity between Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo. Such a project must include democratization in Haiti (and by the same token, the Dominican Republic), which would challenge the traditional paradigm of a weak, undemocratic Haiti favoring Santo Domingo. As a result of more joint policy decisions and relations, Haiti and the Dominican Republic could, while still protecting the other's sovereignty and national identity, strive for industrialization. While Matibag seems to endorse a Puerto Rico-styled industrialization of Hispaniola through collaborative projects and state policies, the deeper economic and political question of confronting imperialism and neoliberal economic 'development' enforced by the US in the 21st century is largely ignored. So, while clearly a very detailed, informative overview of Haitian-Dominican relations, Matibag does not delve too deep into the uncertain future of the island, which leaves the groundwork for transnational collaboration up to the grassroots and popular classes in both sides of Hispaniola.