9653: RE: 9592: CArnival (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Pascal Antoine <pascal.antoine@verizon.net>

>Ok... I've arrived at the airport in Port au Prince on
>my first visit to Haiti during Carnaval...what should
>I expect...

Assuming you are talking about a future trip, I can only convey my
experience earlier this year when I went to Haiti's Carnival for the
first time. Although the trip was during very tense political times (how
can anyone forget the elections of 2000/2001), people on the flight
seemed very jovial since they were all going to Carnival. The airport
was the same mayhem of beggars and porters, but there was definitely a
sense of anticipation in the air.

Kanaval itself was stupendous. I had never seen floats so huge (or heard
music so loud) in my life. There were people on top of some whose sole
purpose was to lift power lines out of the way so the float could pass
underneath. These floats put the ones I was used to on Brooklyn's
Eastern Parkway, during the annual Labor Day Parade, to shame. After
being told by everyone back home (New York) to be very careful at
Kanaval, I later learned that this one was one of the safest the country
has had in years due to stepped up security, the beginnings of
Aristide's zero tolerance policies, and a newly instated 2am Kanaval
curfew.

Needless to say, I will be going again in 2002 and will make sure to
also visit the Kanaval in Jacmel which is supposed to be a thousand
times better.

For some 2001 Kanaval tunes, you may want to go to the redesigned
HaitiXchange web site (http://www.HaitiXchange.com) and click on
Multimedia.


Pascal Antoine
HaitiXchange
http://www.HaitiXchange.com
Peyi Nou Pap Tonbe!