Art finds its way through the acute violence that overwhelms Haiti. For twenty years, a band of theater enthusiasts have kept their culture alive under the unforgiving Caribbean sun. The Quatre Chemins festival ended on Sunday with a resounding success.
In a hilltop Port-au-Prince, where altitude translates to wealth, the mid-slope neighborhood of Pacot hosts Haiti’s oldest festival every year. Plays, dance, poetry, conferences: more than fifty events enliven the otherwise deserted capital of the living arts at the end of November.
All around, the country is mired in a bottomless crisis. The assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 left a political void that has since been filled by violent street gangs. The main oil terminal was under their control for many months. Shootings depopulate entire neighborhoods. More recent sign of worsening chaos: the head of the National Police Academy of Haiti was shot last Friday, according to the spokesman of the national police.
Gunshots ring out in the distance throughout the program, but “whatever it is, it happens”, proudly launches the To have to from Port-au-Prince the director of the Quatre chemins festival, Guy Régis Jr.It doesn’t matter if the country has seen dozens of Ministers of Culture for twenty years, “it’s civil society that says it’s not going to stay like that! There are things possible in this impossible country”.
He had however wondered: will the anarchy of the country cut the hunger of his compatriots for art? “We shouldn’t ask ourselves that question. There were more people this year than in previous years, more people paying. There were twice full shows! »
And the 19e edition of this festival was sold out in the middle of the Soccer World Cup, a not insignificant detail. For the 20th anniversary of the festival next year, the theme has been announced: “Dreaming the impossible”.
Play the impossible
Haitian-born Quebecer Joseph Hillel attended the festival this year. “I was told that it had been reduced for two years, that it was worse than before. Wow, what must that have been! I saw packed houses, joy, people lit up as if nothing had happened. »
He also saw actors “with the knife between their teeth”. For months, the actors rehearse almost every day to finally play a maximum of two performances in front of an audience. “It demonstrates the vital dimension of culture. […] The festival reminded me of a phrase by Graham Greene, from his novel The comedians : “All Haitians are actors”. It’s not false. To face all that they have to face, they will adapt, modulate, maneuver to live to survive. »
I was told that it had been reduced for two years, that it was not as good as before. Wow, what must that have been! I saw packed houses, joy, people lit up as if nothing had happened.
Artists in their twenties or thirties — paid with a few thousand dollars — rehearse at the risk of their lives. One of the pieces was staged in the middle of the street, recalls the director of the festival. “I didn’t want to encourage this show. In this same street, there are motorcycles that can arrive and rob you. In this same city, there are stray bullets. Anything can happen, but the director wanted to, and they rehearsed for a month on the street. I can’t tell him not to. In fact, it’s almost a civic duty, a democratic duty to fight for these things to remain. »
These victories renew the intellectual class of the pearl of the Antilles, he points out. “All these young people are training the Haitian theater community, but also the cinema community. All those who do films today in Haiti take actors from the theater world. »
Some Haitian classics will thrill the public, such as Frankétienne’s plays, but, for the most part, spectators have seen “very current” plays which allow them to “dream the country”, according to Guy Régis Jr. “Pieces where we laughs at politicians”, others dealing with ordinary misery, or even one on “the story of a policeman who returns somewhere at night and is afraid of the dark…”.
Canada-Haiti relations at a standstill
The great absentee from this festival is the Haitian diaspora.
“There are zero bridges [culturel entre le Canada et Haïti] observes Joseph Hillel. “To do a co-production, I have to go through France or Belgium. This lack of connection fascinates me. Apparently armored tanks are given, but for culture, there is nothing. Ottawa indeed sent arms to Haiti in October to “fight against criminal gangs”.
The turned back of the Haitian diaspora can be seen in all the host countries, adds Guy Régis Jr. “Very simply, we no longer have the same migratory flows. Before, we had intellectuals who left and we felt a great interest of these Haitians for culture. Now, the migratory flow is a bit like everyone, and we have a lot of difficulty getting them interested. Now we have to look for them to go to the theatre. »
Moreover, Guy Régis Jr hopes to be able to play the role of matchmaker between Haiti and the diaspora in Quebec.
He was invited in the past by the National Theater School of Canada, only to come up against the obstinate refusal of the Department of Immigration. He will try his luck again to present one of his pieces in the country in 2024… if Canada grants him a visa.