This past Saturday, members of the Haitian Student Association (HSA) celebrated their heritage with an evening of food, dance, music and culture.
The show, called "Tribute to Haiti: Resurrection of Love," featured an ethnic dance, the singing of the Haitian national anthem by HSA member Louise Calixte, a performance by the UB Step Troupe and a comedic play about love lost and found.
According to HSA President David Louis, "Tribute to Haiti" helped raise money for a school in Haiti. Louis said he will be delivering the funds personally.
"Our goal is to provide educational, cultural and social enrichment to the students of the University," Louis said. "HSA's ultimate goal is to dispel myths, stigmas and stereotypes faced by people of Haitian descent."
The centerpiece of the night's festivities was a skit about Christophe, a young Haitian man (played by Louis), who must leave his native land and his loved ones to study engineering at UB.
In the first scene, he tearfully bids farewell to his girlfriend, Sophie.
The next two scenes detail the main character's difficulty adjusting to American life. Christophe is horrified when his new Haitian-American girlfriend mispronounces the names of traditional Haitian dishes and dances inappropriately when he wants to slow dance with her. He also expresses disgust at his friend's ostentatious displays of lust for attractive women.
In the final scene, Christophe returns to his hometown to attend an international fashion show and reunites with Sophie after he sees her walking down the runway.
The audience enjoyed the play, clapping at the end of each scene and laughing at jokes.
"I loved the skit. It was very funny, and I think it addresses problems faced by many international students," said Lisa Flowers, a senior communication major. "I know some people who came from overseas and had trouble getting used to life over here."
Tishana Daniel, a junior biomedical sciences major, found the evening both educational and entertaining.
"I learned a lot about Haitian culture and music, (and) the food was really good," Daniel said. "The play was comical. My favorite character is Christophe's mother who squeals when she talks. I think I even picked up some French words just from listening to the play."
According to Louis, the play had a deeper purpose than making the audience laugh - it was designed to disprove numerous stereotypes about Haitians through comedy.
"When you mention Haiti, people often think of voodoo. But that cannot be further from the truth. People also tend to think that we are all living in poverty," he said. "The exaggerated accent and comedic parts (of the skit) show that we are relaxed and comfortable with ourselves."
Louis believes that many Haitian students are reluctant to reveal their heritage because of negative stereotypes surrounding their country.
"My goal is to see every Haitian student take pride in being Haitian and come out to join the HSA. It's a beautiful country with a great history," he said.
According to HSA Publicity Coordinator Samantha Charles, the idea for the play came from the HSA executive board.
"The executive board wrote the idea for the script of the play. Then all the members had their input," she said. "We were fortunate that so many people decided to participate in this event. Without them, this really wouldn't have been possible."
She emphasized that the play was drafted to fulfill a goal to create something unique and interesting for the audience.
"We wanted to get our message out, but we also wanted to do something different this year - something everyone can laugh to," she said. "The accent, the straw hats, the vending scene all gave the play a cultural feel."
Charles considered the event a success despite the delays and despite minor difficulties.
"We had to postpone the show a little and had some problems here and there, but overall it was a great success," she said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
