Friday, Oct. 29 was Kweyol Day, a celebration of island identity and culture. While the official language of the Commonwealth of Dominica is English, 80 percent of the population speak Kweyol, a legacy of early French settlement. Kweyol language and folk culture, after being sidelined, dismissed or denigrated during the British colonial period, has played an important role in forging the identity of independent Dominica since 1978. People's irritation with a late start was quickly dissolved. After the Stars, the Vodou rhythms of Haiti's seminal roots music band Boukman Eksperyans reverberated through Festival City. Named after the Vodou priest who presided over the ceremony that ignited Haiti's slave rebellion, Boukman Eksperyans has been at the forefront of taking the Vodou beat into the arena of world music. Tabou Combo, the most famous and long-lived Haitian Konpa band, seemed reluctant to leave the stage, but from 5 a.m., Festival City was overrun by WCK, [Dominica]'s marathon bouyon band, with whom I was still chipping at breakfast time. Not even a large pot of extra-strong Dominican coffee could revive me, and I retired battered and rambling in Kweyol, to recover in Trinidad.
This year's Miami concert is a continuation of this ongoing goodwill project, bringing together a host of internationally renowned celebrities, reggae, R&B, and hip-hop artists in an all-day Carnival event with food, arts, crafts, and a vast array of entertainment. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Wyclef Jean Foundation and be donated to charitable organizations. Proceeds from last year's Miami Carnival were given to VHI's "Save The Music" and Oeuvres de Petites Ecoles de P. Bohnen (through Fondation Artistes Creation, a not-for- profit Haitian organization). "Guantanamera," a single from "Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival," featuring Celia Cruz and Jeni Fujita, was nominated for the Best Rap Performance By A Duo or Group. The following year, Wyclef Jean's single, "Gone Till November," was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rap Solo Performance category.