TIA&TW: Haiti Today - History & Culture

[Music] recently this is America in the world visited the Republic of Haiti we wanted to look beyond the headlines and experience Haiti for ourselves so with a local Haitian camera crew we set out to explore the country's rich culture and very real challenges and we discovered a truly beautiful country with warm welcoming people on this program we'll explore the many historic influences rich culture and natural beauty of haiti haitian vodou magnificent historic sights an incredibly creative art are all part of the exciting cultural tapestry of Haiti this is America and the world is brought to you by Whittle school and studios the us-china Education Trust and F Y Chang Foundation guided by julia chiang block president the League of Arab states the roten daro family trust Japan history hospitality and advanced technology sharing tomorrow the forerunner foundation dedicated to forward-thinking public policy and the embassies series uniting people through musical diplomacy presenting international artists in diplomatic settings Haiti will surprise just about everyone not familiar with the country and it just might be a new destination for your consideration I spoke with Hades Minister of Tourism about the country's new tourism outreach over coffee in the capital city of port-au-prince tourism is the most important thing for us right now because I convinced the president and told him that tourism should be the model of development for Haiti 79 countries of the world have their 10% of their GDP s that are based on tourism so why doesn't Haiti doing that doing the same thing because Haiti has some potentials and we can offer so many things to the world how does the Minister of Tourism go about trying to put Haiti on the map as a tourist destination well that's one thing that we're fighting for since last year last year actually I'd launched a campaign that says that catalyst is a fated one it says in English it's a Creole thing uh-huh but in English it says tourism is everybody's business so then people could understand because in our mind in our mentality tourists tourists it's only foreigners come we don't know because threesome first of all refers to leisure pleasure and what you can have Indian Haitians we're not used to that actually we always think that people that come that foreigners can come to your country and enjoy themselves but now we is we have to change it and then some icon to make everybody know and then teach all the Haitians that they should be the first stories in Haiti first ah that's a very interesting way of going about yes what do you say is at the heart of the Haitian culture our voodoo voodoo yes tell me because people sometimes a here voodoo they may have maybe a negative reaction tell me tell me the belief system and how it works well actually has to tell you the truth they say like 60 or 70% of all Asians or Catholics the rest of them are presidents yes and then 100 percent of Voodoo because guru is part of what we are for the for the independence the our ancestors when they fought for liberty they fought to have the nation the first black Republic nation of the world all they had was voodoo all they had was the laws that they did they'd be called and then everything that we do even in art we're in crafts yes everything that we do part of it has something to do with food we find the people warm friendly hospitable great sense of humor definitely is what keeps us alive I think so how so okay tell me more my daughter once told me that mommy I would have been miserable if I was on Haitian yes she told me that say that yes she would have been miserable if she was not Haitian explain that because she says that we make fun out of everything I think that this is what makes us be the bee hey shanz i think so because we have a way to see life which is totally different from the rest of the the world i can see that because even when you go around and then when you see people they don't have much but all they have is their mind their spirit and then they are way to go on their way to understand life and then so this is what makes us a great nation also and whenever you smile to someone it would smile back at you because they have nothing they have nothing to be to be they have no anger actually even when they are in pain during misery they have no anger because they love life they love their country they love what they see they love to be alive this is this is the mentality I think so ministers some folks are coming for a weekend and the question in the back of their minds is is Haiti safe Katy was ranked by Global Peace Index in 2017 as the safest place in the Caribbean what a badge of honor that is yes it is a this place in the Caribbean to revere wearing before Cuba before Jamaica before Dominican Republic before everyone thank you in northern Haiti the citadel is a powerful landmark and symbol of independence for all Haitians there are many forts throughout the country however at an elevation of 3,000 feet the size and structure of the citadel is unforgettable and the views are once-in-a-lifetime we traveled by ATV and the poorest up the mountain to the fortress where our tour guide Maurice offered a heartfelt lesson in the richest of didi why were the French so interested in having a base here in Haiti so when you talk about 80 before independence it was sending so sindermann mints 80 before independence so it was the richest French colony ever so the fridge would get everything they wanted like coffee cocoa beans sugar cane so they would do anything to take it back from the Asians if even after the independence so that means it was very rich and that's why the Asians built this Citadel to fight against the French just in case 1804 was the peak of the revolution because they started fighting way before it you know for we can go back to 1791 which was a very big ceremony to motivate the slaves to tell them hey guys we have to wake up you are not born to be slaves so something must be done about it and and yes they kept fighting and fighting in the last Barrow took place occupation against the French which was what we call a nation is real a battle division the Battle of virtue when the French army was defeated and a few months later Dacians became their independence in 1804 so independence is declared and the Citadel the start in the building of the Citadel to prevent the French from coming back from returning how many years did it take to build the Citadel and how many workers might have been involved so we don't know that it took the King 15 years from 1805 to the time he died in 1820 but we cannot tell you how many people are working in this Citadel because this we never mentioned a specific number but what we do know everyone they wanted to be to be part of the work going on here because Christophe told them you have two choices guys either you help me to build a citadel in this case you're going to be free for the rest of your life all if you don't the French will come back you go back to slavery they say ok let's build it so that's why people come from all over the place to be part of this the French did not come back no and another reason for which the city that was built was I would say three reasons uh-huh one to fight against of the French since the country was divided it was also built to fight again the south and the third reason was to show the world that 80 do things big and beautiful things just like the Europeans below the Citadel at the bottom of the mountain are the ruins of a complex of government buildings and Palace built by and for the first king of Haiti Henri Christophe also known as Henry the first Sarah price hua is the founder of Tour Haiti which specializes in personal and private group tours born and raised in Haiti he was the perfect guide for a visit to the Kay patient area let's talk about this particular spot that we're in right now is it San Souci cell so see San Souci oh you see your pronunciation is so beautiful does does that translate and what's going on here yes this is a ruin of spectacular proportions so so so see literally means without worries or care carefree and it was so Susi was a complex built by one of Haiti's revolutionary leaders only Christophe was also the second head of state of Haiti and he built this as a an administrative capital of his kingdom and it was destroyed it's in ruins today because it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1842 but it keeps this majestic aura to it as Christophe was also building the Sita of the mountain this was built so this was built really at the same time and roughly it took about ten years to be built or even less and this was a palace huh this was a complex so this was okay it was really the the capital city the administrative center of Kristoff's the Kingdom of Haiti under the rule of Christophe and where we're standing exactly was indeed the palace that was the the royal residence and it's something that Christophe built first of all to be efficient to serve a purpose I mean you have you had government offices you had a university here you had a mint you had all of this but at the same time he built it to be majestic he built it to be beautiful did he build it also to send a message I think I think they were there was a very important message uh-huh for two different publics uh-huh first of all as a nation of slave that had risen and and decided we're now going to be independent and we will have no other masters than ourselves a sent a message the former the former colonial masters is that whatever you guys can build we can build just as well but I think there was an even more important message and that message needs saying still today it's a message to the Haitian people themselves and it's a message to the Haitian people saying we can do whatever we set our minds do we can accomplish anything according to many Haitians Guddu is at the core of Haitian culture I spoke with a voodoo priest who is the general director of Hades National Bureau of ethnology where he's pure ating a voodoo Museum during our visit he joined in on a rehearsal for an upcoming event of traditional voodoo music and dance tell me a little bit about the different countries that have come together to be part of Haiti first of all we have to know before the independence when that contingent from Africa came to hey to send domain at this time Santo to send domain and they brought different tribe from Benin Africa Nigeria Nisha and each of them have their own language come to the new world was going to become again Haiti mix with those Amerindian who share with them with the African the knowledge that you are the same creole voodoo Kunis's when they said at Canisius that knowledge that knowledge they put them together it was like after the genocide of those Amerindian but most of them like part of them were Andrew Martin to share their concerns their knowledge with those African also the kernel is it colonies at the colony of French Polynesia during also brought the language they brought the culture the birth the dance the way of life and those slaves those people those disturb those Creole put those culture together to create a nation to say now we have to twelve that Philip was supposed to work to become one person on one nation with one language what's at the heart of the culture of Haiti the heart of Katya Hayley how hot is food Vado as a way of life a religion which is that way of life will give us freedom that independence how does that play out in daily life is life but we have respect for nature for environment our respect for the ancient orders the respect for you the respect for women photoshops from the beginning our be human being is the same is that about colours and we don't care about the colours of the skin we care about the color of your heart of your soul it's for example if you take an example about our singers of music of them's everybody the realistic because voodoo is modern religion is a way of life and our way of life we are the daily life with cooking we're crying you're happy we enjoy what this pasta charity our resilience is always there art is essential to life in Haiti and can be seen just about anywhere we visited a variety of galleries during our time in Haiti and we're absolutely poured by the varied styles creativity and especially mediums of expression I spoke with two highly regarded gallery owners in culture it's a peculiar sensitivity that gives each and every Haitian a certain put a potential and a certain boldness that translated by I can that's the fair dizzy call and this I can has given us schools of artists such as aviation such as why with metal sculptures cut metal sculptures such as calmly and generations of artists because that I can't after the fall of the sturdy year dictatorship in 1986 there was like a new light opening this new freedom new freedom expressed in the art we see here we yes is there a single word that you can put on the movement energy energy and forth of life madam thank you merci beaucoup things you if you take a piece of sculpture a painting maybe even some jewelry are there common themes or is there a common denominator in the work of Haitian art and Asia and by Haitian artists definitely our history definitely history a you know our culture which I believe all kind of is come trickles down from religion or religion which is so specific and unique to Haiti voodoo so through the art that's what's so interesting with with art through all the meet different mediums the sculptures and paintings and even fashion now is it's sort of bringing its it's taking out its demystifying if you'd like this this the this sort of heaviness associated with voodoo and and through the artists and through the art there there were sort of we're now beginning to openly talk about it publicly and be and be less afraid of it and more proud of it one of the things that we should definitely focus on as a nation as a group is is is to start loving each other more and you know appreciating our differences in trying to really find an identity that we can all relate to at all the different you know stages of you know life else really is is one of the main spirits in our voodoo tradition that is worshipped and it's a very positive spirit you know to try and really get us together and you know for us to move forward as a nation Haiti's food and dreams say much about the Haitian culture I spoke with the young chef and watch some of his students prepare a meal of traditional patient food and we also visited a world-famous Haitian rum company has been around since 1862 the rum making process is absolutely fascinating every place we go people are talking about the Haitian food the culture of food here talk a little bit about that so in Haiti we have some beautiful beautiful vegetables and we have very very beautiful spices - so as you know in Haiti so our gastronomy is very very very extraordinary because when people come to Haiti so they are very happy to eat our food our grill the Nacional so far so good so we have a very quantity of food that we prepare and we are the best we are the worse I have know that we have French cooking so we have Spanish cooking a lot of country but I think Haley is the best because when when people come to Haiti they taste our food they said oh my god Oh Haiti is very very beautiful our food is very very very good for today we prepare the National okay we people or seguir and then we prepare our sauce tamales okay and then we prepare Bannen crazy yeah and then we have salad with a dressing with cherries okay Asian cherries tell me a little bit about the school that trains young people to work in the kitchen yeah so we have em what is the name of the school according to the old I see so we have a cola to the other I see so the school so we have young people and then we have adult - okay so do young people they are very very amazing they love cooking okay they make cooking like a passion they they do everything with passion so that that's what we need in Haiti and in the gastronomy so we need when the student cook okay they have to do it with passion I'm bloody dosa and chief operating officer of one bubble core and so I'll tell you a little bit of operations why is the company so important well first of all it's one of the oldest companies in the in the country it's over 150 years old it's a fifth-generation run we use a lot of sugar cane that comes from the farmers so we give a lot of a lot of work because it's manually cut and grow in the area that we that were working in so we have about every day close to 300 tons of sugarcane that comes into the plant a goat comes in it has to be milled and then it goes to the fermentation process where alcohol were the juice the sugar cane juice gets converted into alcohol and then goes to the distillation process where alcohol is separated from the juice and then it goes into aging after it spent all the years that like we saw and in the VATS in the wooden vats it goes to the bottling plant where it's a bottle it's cased and then sent out to the different parts of the world or the country we have about nine to ten warehouses of aging warehouses and nothing moves but the liquid so the master blender goes around with chalk knowing what is what and what did it go in he has a bunch of webs of pipes I don't know how he does it but he does it he has it all down with valves that he knows what is being sent where so it gets in there age and then sent to the bottling plant and nothing moves but the liquid yep so I can tell by the smile on your face you're very passionate about it there's very proud absolutely absolutely ahh this has been a wonderful visit thanks for coming thank you so much this was just a great hobby I'm glad that you had a great time thank you so also mes executive aterna do yoga messy parsley a veritable the journalists of the local customers come see keep our home in New Mexico it was awful a people who know to su ke Newman tuna vfc opinion yep listen get me so ecology and far so good have a wacom achievable and we are very grateful to you for being here and we have to say thank you for that because most of the time only the negative side of hate is shown and on TV things like that so we have to say thank you and we wish you good luck with your project merci [Music] special thanks for the warm hospitality of the Marriott port-au-prince hotel for information about this is America and the world and to watch all of our programs visit our website this is America dotnet and look for us on Facebook and Twitter you can listen to all of our ambassador interviews on our podcast the Ambassador series it's available on our website and iTunes this is America and the world is brought to you by Whittle school and studios the us-china Education Trust & FY Chiang foundation guided by julia chiang block president the League of Arab states the wrote and I wrote family trust Japan history hospitality and advanced technology sharing tomorrow the forerunner foundation dedicated to forward-thinking public policy and the embassies series uniting people through musical diplomacy presenting international artists in diplomatic settings [Music]

Channel: ThisIsAmericaTV

Views: 379,216

Rating: 4.5954199 out of 5

Keywords: Republic of Haiti, Haiti, Voodoo, Vodou, Tourism, Travel, Caribbean, Port-au-Prince, Sans-Souci, Citadelle Laferrière, Citadelle, Cusine, Haitian, food, Culture, Jessie Menos, Tour Haiti, Cyril Pressoir, Dennis Wholey, PBS, thisisamerica.net

Id: a6EiqoBpkJk

Length: 26min 45sec (1605 seconds)

Published: Fri May 25 2018