21728: Allouard: Re: 21718: Arthur - Balls in buttocks? (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Allouard <allouard@libertysurf.fr>

    Here, Charles,
    As far as I know what I can tell:

    "Grenn nan bounda" or GNB is less a mouvement than a slogan or a moto
for demonstrators and people fed up with Aristide.
    Litteraly I suppose your translation is correct.
    Words convey the idea of virility, strenght, courage,
perseverance...(French has identical expression)...
    As someone remarked it was not perfectly adapted to be shouted by
demonstrating women, some of those women replied they had already changed
the expression to their use: koko nan bounda  KNB.

    One could notice a growing tendance to use "nan bounda" anytime and for
anything...
    I can only refer all to the highly comical and satyrical "preaches" of
artist "Paste Blaze" who nailed this new trend...

    The "Pastor", preaching to his flock in church remarks:
    "Nowadays, anything Haitians possess, they have it "nan bounda yo" "in
their ass"...

    And on he goes listing commonly used sentences puting in same place
money, women, power, friends, connections, food and so on... The famous
"preacher" concludes stressing that it is vain to give importance to all
this... Jesus is the only thing necessary... and same structure is obviously
employed the: "si ou pa gen Jezi nan bounda w ou chire".


    I wish some perfectly bilingual person would translate at least part of
this comic in English... It is perfect caricature of the style used by
preachers trained in the USA (strong voices, shouting, repeating over and
over...) you can hear everywhere.
    It had a wide broadcast, through radio and duplicated tapes and CDs, at
all levels, and, while very ironic, sarcastic and with a strongly satirical
piece imitating Aristide, it is commonly listened to, and makes people laugh
nomatter what is their political side... At least in the streets. The
stronger piece concerning Aristide was caricaturing him (using same voice
and tone, rythm and structures) with a new version of the pro-necklace
speach  but where Aristide is praising not the burning tire but the mulato
women... where the poor is encouraged to look towards hilltops in order to
find mulato women, where the moto is "pa neglije ba yo sa yo merite" (give
them what they should receive)... that is, for the mulatoe women ["grimel"]:
money and power...

    "When sun is hot upon your head, when rhum is making you hot, you should
always look up towards the hill...
    "you should always look for your own grimel... Pa neglije bay grimel yo
sa yo merite!
    "I love them, I love them, I love them...
    " This is why  I will marry one, at any cost!!!
    "This is how you can conqueer a grimel: If you don't have money, throw
yourself in politics... Then with your money in hand, with your drug money
in hand, with your power in hand, march upon them "mache sou yo"...
    "Pa neglije bay grimel yo sa yo merite!
    "women with fuzzy hair, you have not a chance (ti fanm tet gren, pa
ladan l)
    "women from Cite Soleil, you have not a chance
    "women from Belair, not a chance,
    "women from Little Haiti in Miami, not a chance...
    " And if you are not an American woman, you also have not a chance (e si
ou pa ameriken, ou pa ladan tou).

    All this was common popular culture from spring 2003 and on...
    Shows by "paste blaze" were crowded... I don't know for provinces,  but
for popular areas in and around Port-au-Prince...
    At the same moment people expressed commonly concern "they" would kill
the artist...

    Excuse me,  this is off topic, but it is a long time I regret not to
find hints to popular culture in the list (carnival songs, compas, satirical
artists etc.)...
    The last 3 years, wide duplication on the black marcket (CDs and tapes)
of compilations or complete albums,  and large availability od personal CD
players and walkmans reinforced the impact of this culture while it was
before diffused mainly through radios... Now, even the poorest street
children have access to CD players (they lend, exchange, share them) at
least some hours a week, CDs and tapes are not only duplicated but exchanged
and shared with passion...

    Those artists are better known in the streets than in bourgeois' houses
or foreign diplomats... Printed media recently gave them a better place
especially since Le Nouvelliste created "Ticket" kind of special edition
dedicated to artists (their productions and their private life) and local
famous people (radio or TV most popular speakers etc).

    Regards to all.

                                Philippe Allouard