Generally, says the Haitian singer BélO, “when I release an album, I like to travel around the world, but above all to circulate the album within the country”. The pandemic, of course, prevented him from performing the essential songs of Motivation, his last album dedicated, three years ago, to the youth, “the hope of Haiti. However, unfortunately, with the socio-political situation we are going through, I was unable to do a national tour, go to the provinces, to meet people from the hinterland. It remains to be discovered and to pass on messages ”, with us too, which he will do at the end of the Haiti en folie festival on Saturday, at La Fontaine park.
Haitian culture really needs a “crazy” showcase these days. A festival like the mirror of what it has richest to offer, at a time when the country is going through, since the assassination of Prime Minister Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, a terrible economic and security crisis, street gangs fighting at all hours of the day and night in several difficult regions, including at the gates of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The role of the artist
The situation leads to reflection on the role of the artist, agrees BélO – Jean Belony Murat of his real name –, committed author-composer, inventor of a song merging the troubadour style with jazz, reggae, soul and rara. Haitian, musician celebrated in Europe since his first album, Lakou quietilpublished in 2005. “Sometimes, when you’re too busy with problems — when you have your head too busy, as they say — you don’t think about radiation [de nos chansons], he said. Culture should not be seen as a concert that I will give on Saturday, but the impact [de la démarche]. What is our duty, to us, guardians of the heritage, of the identity of a people? »
“Indeed, it’s a shame that we can’t give so many concerts in Haiti, but it’s still not bad that we can sing elsewhere, continues BélO. Especially since with the pandemic, the cultural sector has been one of the most affected; artists must continue to live, also continue to give hope, it must be considered. The art will nevertheless continue to exist. »
Create despite the pitfalls
BélO hasn’t stopped creating despite the pitfalls. The pandemic has given him the time to tackle three new projects, two of which will see the light of day in the fall: an album of children’s songs, “those that were sung to me when I was little” and which deserve not to be not fall into oblivion, an album on which he revisits his repertoire, but with orchestrations made of bass and traditional percussion, and a rereading of his very first album, “but with female voices”. A fourth project of original songs is also in the works, as evidenced by the new extract Marjori which he will launch in about ten days and which we hope to hear during his concert on Saturday.
In addition to its traditional outdoor culinary fair, the La Fontaine park site of the festival will offer Saturday, at 3 p.m., a meeting with Dany Laferrière as well as performances by Rebecca Jean and musical entertainment by Win Butler (Arcade Fire) and Paul Beaubrun (son of the singer of the group Boukman Eksperyans), before the BélO concert at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, it will be the duo Bel & Quinn (3:30 p.m.), Wesli, Kabysh and Magdala (5 p.m.). A special concert by Corneille “encounter Haiti” will close the event.