The Holidays in Haiti

- a performance of Handel's Messiah in Port-au-Prince

Someone paid the electric bill

"While the photograph may be accompanied by text, the immediacy and accessibility of the image makes it central to the journalistic endeavor."

-Toni Pressley-Sanon, "Lucid Cameras: Imaging Haiti After the Earthquake of 2010" in Journal of Haitian Studies 17:2

Port-au-Prince at night, a view from The Observatoire

On Voice

I was going to begin this post with "the voice," but was quickly distracted by the abstraction of that phrase. While wondering about how I wanted to come off (after all, this experiment in representation includes me), I came to a few conclusions about the shape into which I'd like this space to form:

- personally appealing, non-academic writing (for personally AND professionally appealing academic writing, please see my academia.edu page)

- short posts that allow a primary focus on the photo of the day

That said, here it is - Melodie FM 103.3 in Port-au-Prince

Starting in the middle of the story

Hey there!

I am an ethnomusicology graduate student, and this blog is an experiment. An experiment in representation, but also dissertation procrastination and reminisce-ation (not a word, don't worry, I know). So here is the deal: I research music scenes in Haiti, a pursuit commonly viewed by family and friends as doing research on a beach. Which I do. But Google Images doesn't really reflect my complex, yet awesome experiences. So here we are. A picture a day keeps the poverty porn away. Maybe. Hopefully.

Take everything you see here with a grain of salt. I am not Haitian, but neither are a lot of Associated Press photographers. Don't come at me with your crazy. I'm not interested. We can, however, discuss the pictures.

First up, live music (jazz standards) at Quartier Latin in Port-au-Prince.