12190: Djarara Strives to Keep Rara Alive (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Djarara Strives to Keep Rara Alive

By Macollvie Jean-François
Haitian Times Staff
from The Haitian Times,  29 May 2002

Countdown to Kreyol Fest!
Second of Six Articles

BROOKLYN - The members of Djarara stream into a Haitian restaurant on
Nostrand Avenue, one young face after another, most with locks either flowing
or wrapped, on a Friday night as the rara band prepares to rehearse in the
basement. Band members greet restaurantpatrons and chat before diving into
the basement. Djarara stands for "dans, jwaye ansèt," Creole for "dance and
enjoy our ancestors.

For Djarara, it's all about keeping it real for Haiti's roots, something that
they find difficult to do when many Haitians shun rara as a music form. Band
Manager Mario Donnay and Yves "Pè Iv" Bienaimé say it's harder for them to
produce and market rara when many middle-class Haitians see it as music fit
only for low-income people and vodouists to appreciate.
"They have a complex," Donnay said. "They might listen to it in private, but
they don't support it openly."

Donnay said rara is not poor people's music in New York, but rather a
cultural genre that Haitians should appreciate. Bienaimé, co-founder of the
6-year-old band, said that duringa Prospect Park performance, about 2,000
people were enjoying the music. After he passed around a hat for donations,
he got $50. "If there's something that has money in it, they don't call
Djarara," Bienaimé said. "If there's a bal going on, promoters won't book us
to play with the konpa bands."

Bienaimé and Donnay suggest that party promoters include a cultural element
in their shows.In their music, Djarara encourages Haitians to respect each
other, put their heads together and to learn to love their African ancestral
roots. They use a variety of traditional wooden and iron percussion
instruments to convey their message.
Jean “Montina” Elifait, a 3-year Djarara member who used to play in rara
bands in Haiti, said he found that Haitians in the United States received
rara well enough, but that theydon't show their support openly or financially.

"They like rara, but they don't like rara," Elifait said. "That succumbs the
band...The musicians become discouraged."
However, the members vow to make rara acceptable in all social circles. "We
[Haitians] don't accept what is ours," Bienaimé said.
One of its goals is to help rara musicians in Haiti also. Though there are
many rara bands in Haiti, Bienaimé said most of them play only during
carnival season, when they parade down the streets in colorful costumes,
painted faces and masks, with an assortmentof artistically carved and
makeshift instruments.

Bienaimé said those groups do not have much money, which makes it difficult
forthem to produce albums or export their music like some of the konpa bands
are able to do. To get visas to the United States, applicants have to prove
that they have enough funds to sustain them during their stay.
"We, roots guys (are) plotting to see how we can change that," Bienaimé said.
"If we canmake an international impact, the guys who are down will have hope."
Djarara was founded in New York and has performed in Boston, Miami and Canada
to expose people to rara. Donnay said the band will try to appeal to the
younger generation as they try to change perceptions since they are the most
receptive group. Of the band's 12 members, most of them appear to be in their
early 20s.

"That's what will lift up rara - the kids," Bienaimé said. "More children
like rara than adults."
Donnay said unlike the misconceptions of rara musicians as uneducated and
poor, Djarara members attend college and work. Last week, Jean Wesley "Dadou"
Cantave showed Donnay the diploma he had picked up the day before from Apex
Technical School in Manhattan. Cantave said playing in bands in Haiti helped
to finance his education.
"It helped me live," Cantave said. "Rara is something in our culture. Since
when we werelittle, we were raised in it. Even if people don't want to come
see us play, we'll always continue."

Though they need cash, Donnay said the group should show potential sponsors
what they can do. For now, he said Djarara will promote its work through the
typical channels: television, radio, newspapers and festivals such as
KreyolFest June 30. Donnay said the band will also have a bus ride June 9 to
Garrison, NY, where some Haitians travel to celebrate St. Antoine, one of the
annual prayer pilgrimages that Catholics in Haiti do during the summer. Aside
from that, he said the group is working on setting up its own Mas Camp, a
type outdoor club where promoters throw parties to raise money. Their Mas
Camp, named "Lakou Nou," or Creole for "Our Back Yard," will feature
costumes, masks and Haitian dishes.

And they just might get sponsors too. Bienaimé and Donnay say non-Haitians
seem to accept rara more than Haitians do themselves.
"Haitians need to stop throwing away what is theirs," Bienaimé said.