Boukman Eksperyans "Gran Bwa" ( kanaval 1991 ) (Haiti)

Jan
19
Submitted by webmaster on Tue, 01/19/2010 - 10:49

Boukman Eksperyans "Gran Bwa" ( kanaval 1991 )

Posted by emmanuel2008read
January 06, 2009
"kanaval 1991"

Video Description:
Haitians men and women are shown singing this uptempo song outdoors, waving their flag, and dancing joyfully in a congo line.

3 comments

webmaster
Tue, 19 January, 2010 - 11:52

Help our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are experiencing such devastation as the result of the January 2010 earthquake. Give to relief efforts such as http://doctorswithoutborders.org/  and http://www.shelterboxusa.org/ .

webmaster
Tue, 19 January, 2010 - 11:06

Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia page for Boukman Eksperyans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEoCjczttbg&feature=related

"Boukman Eksperyans is a mizik rasin band from the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The band derives its name from Dutty Boukman, a vodou priest who led a religious ceremony in 1791 that is widely considered the start of the Haitian Revolution. The other half of the band's name, "Eksperyans", is the Kreyòl word for "experience", and was inspired by the band's appreciation of the music of Jimi Hendrix. The band was at the height of its popularity in 1991 when the presidency of Jean Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a military coup d'etat. Like many other artists and performers, Boukman Eksperyans fled the country to live in exile. During their time abroad, the band performed and spoke out against the military dictatorship of Raoul Cédras. In 1994, after Aristide was restored to power, the band returned to Haiti, where they continued to play concerts, record albums, and perform at the Carnival celebrations...
 
Boukman Eksperyan first became famous in 1990 when they presented their song "Ke'm Pa Sote" at the Carnival celebration in Port-au-Prince. The song included the refrain "My heart doesn't leap, I'm not afraid". This song was a protest against the living conditions under the post-Duvalier interim military government of General Prosper Avril. After a young girl was shot dead by a soldier, this song became an out-and-out battle hymn admonishing the government. The band continued to write and perform rebellious songs. The band members were never directly threatened, but were advised 'never go out at night'. When the military junta overthrew president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991, the band decided to leave the country for their own safety.
 
 Just before the second coup d'état against Aristide in 2004, Lolo joined with many others in protesting the abuses at the very least condoned by the President.
 
Nowadays, Boukman is not associated with any political party. Their songs depict the reality of today's Haiti as they see it."
webmaster
Tue, 19 January, 2010 - 10:58

To date, there are no viewer comments for this video besides this comment:

"Thanks for posting this video!

I'd love to know what the song means.

It's so sad to know that years after this performance was filmed so much devastation has occurred in Haiti-even before the January 2010 earthquake.

I hope that people will give and continue to give to humanitarian efforts that will help our Haitian brothers and sisters survive and then help them help themselves."
-azizip17

-snip-

If anyone at jambalayah.com understands Creole, please send a summary of the song's lyrics to jambalayah17@yahoo.com 

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