Friday, July 23, 2010

We are live from the Food for Souls Tour showcase in Petit Goave (Tigwav, in Creole), Haiti. The show is underway, and the crowd is a happy one. They're participating, loving the opening that Michou and Welele performed for them, she on the guitar, he on the drum. We visited the team's camp site earlier. It's waterfront and appears safe, although we heard the "hotel" grounds they're staying in is actually a house of ill repute, if you know what we mean. A FastForward Haiti team member told us the owner and chief pimp was nearby, watching the team's men for interest. That type of activity is off-limits in the Sinema Anba Zetwal (SAZ) world, though. The crew's just happy to have a safe and dry place to camp in.

We had an animated ride from Port au Prince to Tigoave, care of Claudi and the Food for Souls tour's three emcees for the weekend: Maritza, Steve and Gregory. We spoke about life in general, what we knew (or didn't know) about Tigoave, and the beautiful scenery that was just outside our truck windows.

We saw a man selling a rooster on the side of the road in Carrefour. The animal's right leg shook as he was presented to the potential buyer. After a "no sale," the rooster's owner placed a dirty sport sock over its head. Commerce on Haiti streets can be a little harsh.

On our way to the Sinema anba Zetwal location we passed a funeral procession. It was like what you can imagine seeing in New Orleans, complete with brass band and mourners walking woefully behind the hearse that holds the coffin. Except instead of a hearse, a Suburban did the dead the honors on this late afternoon. The mourners were in their best black outfits. We took no photos out of respect, of course.

The people of Petit Goave are a lot more easy going compared to residents of the capital. Tatiana from FastForward Haiti tells us that people from the provinces tend to be more laid back than those live in Port au Prince. The children we met were boisterous and unafraid to say hello. No begging and not a lot of staring, just a flash of amazement every time we showed them their photo on our digital camera. We met a great group of girls through the fence. They posed for our camera like pros, first one then the next. We were happy to run into them during the screenings later that night.

Read more: BLOG DAY 2: Tigoave Screenings Begin