Synopsis

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Coumbite is a form of collective fieldwork in the Haitian countryside in which the participants improvise songs.

Presented in 1971 at New York University, Coumbite is a montage of songs and skits all denouncing the dictatorship in Haiti. Staged by Hervé Denis assisted by Jacky Charlier.

  • The first skit opens with popular songs against oppression.
  • A storyteller tries to find a new way to welcome the public. He is interrupted by the arrival of Uncle Sam and his dog: a Tonton Macoute.
  • The storyteller continues his commentary. He is interrupted again by a religious procession. His voice drowns the whimpering lamentations of the worshipers. The story teller and the worshipers band together in a chant against oppression: ‘Chwal la galonen”.
  • Humorous skit on the daily life of Haitian communities abroad.
  • Western Union Telegram: Duvalier is dead- American marines supporting son in power. Everyone cracks up laughing, bitterly.
  • Haiti’s plight told on the carcass of a decaying sailboat: “Back home, every night the moon slakes it thirst for blood at Fort Dimanche…”
  • Remembrance of the streets of Port-au-Prince: “Ri Lanteman, Ri Kapwa, Lali, Ri Pave, Gran Ri…”
  • “The Holy Ghost”: a young man is killed by a Tonton-Macoute priest inside a church.
  • “We raise our voices”: a chant to remember and celebrate all those who died for the liberation of Man.
  • “We will never forget”: Hymn to the memory of the Latin American Freedom Fighters.

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