Hoping for Haiti: Dadou Pasquet and "New York City"

An artist friend recently tried a business venture. Working with Haitian artists, she developed with them designs for papier-mache animals that she felt would sell in the United States. Her hope was to establish a business model that would not only help her earn a living but would give employment to Haitian artists and give them fair compensation for their talents. After a few months, the initiative failed. It wasn't the resolve of the artists or any of the people she worked with - it was the state of infrastructure and transportation that still suffers in Haiti years after the hurricanes and earthquakes that devastated much of the country. Despite the fact that Haiti is the oldest independent country in Latin America and the Caribbean, the only country in the Western Hemisphere to defeat three European powers, and the only country successfully founded as the result of a slave revolt, Haiti is the forgotten child of the West. We throw a little money at it, and then try to forget the suffering under the mantra that Haitians must take care of their own problems. But ruined infrastructure and transportation systems are problems that do not go away easily, and without them, businesses large and small are not going to take root and help the Haitian economy, leaving Haiti a beggar state that other countries will occasionally, like people on their way to work in large cities who encounter homeless on the street, will hand a few bucks and then move on.

One thing that keeps Haiti on my mind is its music, and it has a rich musical tradition that most of us are not aware of. Today's random tune is by Dadou Pasquet. Born Andre Pasquet in Port au Prince, he is also a composer, singer and arranger. Pasquet started his musical career at age 9 and played with Haitian great "Tit" Pascal when he was 12. He first achieved fame with the Tabou Combo from 1970-76. After that, he joined with his brother Tico to form The Magnum Band which achieved popularity in the Caribbean and Europe. He plays in styles as diverse as salsa, jazz, blues, funk and reggae. Supposedly, one of his successful songs with the Tabou Combo was recorded by Carlos Santana as Crazy Crazy. This song, New York City, is from his 2003 album Dadou en Troubador and can also be found on the compilation Les Titres Essentiels Haiti.