Haiti Guide: International Jazz Festival of Port-au-Prince

The International Jazz Festival of Port-au-Prince is the biggest, and by far the best, music festival in Haiti. Since 2007, the Haiti Jazz Foundation has been putting on this week-long event that is jam-packed with concerts and all sorts of activities for music lovers. It features musicians from countries such as Brazil, Canada, Chile, Switzerland, the USA, and of course, Haiti. In addition to the main concerts, there are after-hour jam sessions, workshops, conferences, and classes with the musicians. The events take place at multiple venues located all over the greater Port-au-Prince area, including the luxurious Hotel Karibe, the public park Place Boyer, the campus of Université Quisqueya, and the Royal Decameron Resort, located on the beautiful beaches of Côte des Arcadins. 

As their website states, the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival, a non-profit event, features an unprecedented cultural assembly to a local and international audience and is one of the best examples of successful partnership between the international community via embassies of Belgium, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Mexico, Panama, Spain, Switzerland and the United States of America, the public sector through Haitian Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and local private institutions and sponsors such as Prestige (Heineken), Rhum Barbancourt, Sogebank, Mercedes-Benz, Air France and Delta.

I had the chance to speak with Milena Sandler, the General Manager of the Haiti Jazz Foundation, who is very excited about this year's event. First, unlike the past two years, there have been no interruptions in planning due to presidential elections. Preparations have been going very smooth and there should not be any interference, aka protests, that impede attendees from traveling through the city to get to events. (This is a huge plus for the organizers and for concert-goers!) Ms. Sandler is also excited as, for an added bonus this year, the festival will feature two events in Jacmel: Tuesday, January 23rd at Alliance Français, and Wednesday, January 24th at the Jacmel Wharf. Most importantly, Ms. Sandler wants to remind people that nearly all of the 40 concerts are free and that she and her team have been working extremely hard to ensure attendees will have a great time. 

Université Quisqueya. All photos credited to the PauP Jazz Festival

Have an inkling to attend part of or all of this year's festival? Then start making your plans now! This year's event, featuring 30+ artists from 14 countries, runs from January 20th to the 27th…yes, that's just a few days away! To make your plans and/or secure tickets in advance (which is recommended), simply check out the event's website, http://papjazzhaiti.org/, or Facebook page, https://web.facebook.com/papjazzhaiti/. They even have an app called, PapJazzHaiti, with android and ios versions. (The website is very well organized and has all the information you will need…it even includes a countdown timer to the event!) 

If you can't decide on which event to go to, Ms. Sandler recommends either the opening or closing night. Both concerts will have Grammy Award winning performers, and, as she puts it, "they are not to be missed." 

My friend Betsy, who has been living in Haiti for many years and has attended the event multiple times, also recommends checking out some of the smaller event venues, aka the after-hour jam sessions. You will be rewarded with a more relaxed and intimate concert experience, and will also be in a great environment to meet new people and save a few bucks on entry fees.

I have not yet had the opportunity to attend this seemingly amazing event - I didn't even know about it during my first few years in Haiti...hence the blogpost. If you do indeed attend, please share your experience with me, and for that matter, your friends and family too. I am very interested in seeing/hearing about your experience, and in light of recent events, I am sure lots of other people are interested too.

Oh, and one last note. If you plan to stay at the same hotel where the festival is that night, bring your earplugs. The hotels will most likely be more interested in catering to the live music rather than their guests!

"If you want a festival experience that feels like an adventure, a trip, a step into the unknown, one that mixes star names with sounds you've never heard before, you should come. And if you do, I expect you'll find it a hard place to forget." 
- Thomas Rees, JazzWiseMagazine.com. 

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Many thanks to my friend Betsy Sherwood for her insight and encouragement for this post.

For the music lovers out there, here is a professional review of last year's event: Danilo Pérez, Christian Scott and Gonzalo Rubalcaba majestic and magnetic at Haiti’s Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince

You might be thinking I have some invested interest in this event, but I don't. My only interest is supporting a great event in Haiti and making sure people are aware of it.