In a City Under Siege, the Music Still Plays
In the heart of Port-au-Prince, a city battered by gang violence, political collapse, and fear, a rare moment of cultural light broke through the darkness. The 18th edition of the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival, better known as PapJazz, unfolded this year not with fanfare and foreign acts but with soul, courage, and determination.
For two nights only, in tightly secured venues, Karibe Hotel and Quartier Latin restaurant, music lovers gathered to experience a brief yet powerful escape. Jazz, rara, slam poetry, and Haitian rap echoed through the rooms, offering an emotional refuge in a city many described as “under siege.”
A Festival Reimagined
This year’s festival was far from the multi-day, multi-venue, internationally recognized event it once was. PapJazz 2025 was a stripped-down but defiant celebration, marked not by its scale but by its symbolism. Following a 2022 postponement and a relocation to Cap-Haïtien in 2023 due to rising insecurity, the festival’s return to the capital is both sobering and significant.
As slam poet and actor Eliezer Guerisme—dressed in a crown twisted from barbed wire—took to the stage in the haunting performance “Les amours. Balles perdues” (Love affairs and stray bullets), he delivered this chilling truth:
“Speaking up has become an act of resistance.”
And yet, speak up they did, artists, organizers, and audience members alike. “This is exactly the power of art,” Guerisme told another news network. “Overcoming even the most formidable barriers.”
Art as Resistance, Music as Breath
Despite the airport closure since November 2024 and the absence of international performers, the festival’s emotional resonance was profound. Local artists, including musician and co-founder Joel Widmaier, transformed the festival stage into a space of remembrance, defiance, and spiritual healing.
“For us, this weekend is like coming up for air,” said spectator Arnoux Descardes. Another, Charles Tardieu, emphasized the importance of cultural unity: “Haitians need to meet and celebrate music and the culture that brings us together and defines us.” Milena Sandler, Executive Director of the Haiti Jazz Foundation, echoed the need for this artistic breath: “We can’t just endure what’s happening. We must create, celebrate, and resist—together.”
A Stark Contrast: New Orleans vs. Port-au-Prince
It’s impossible to view PapJazz without drawing comparisons to its American cousin, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. In New Orleans, jazz thrives in a celebration space, supported by large-scale sponsors, stable infrastructure, and global tourism. There, jazz pays homage to its roots with a joyful look back.
In Haiti, jazz has a different role.
There, jazz is a lifeline—a cry for identity in a nation crumbling under instability. While both festivals share African rhythmic heritage and celebrate cultural fusion, PapJazz is jazz forged in fire, not nostalgia. It is, above all, a form of civil resistance, a cultural declaration that says: We are still here.
A Country That Still Sings
That the festival happened at all is, by many standards, a miracle. With UN estimates saying gangs now control over 85% of Port-au-Prince, and with daily reports of kidnappings, murders, and displacement, PapJazz is not just a concert; it is a cultural act of survival. Every song played was more than entertainment; it was testimony. Every audience member was more than a spectator; they were survivors.
As spectators sat among themselves, they were reminded of what jazz has always been: a rhythm rising from pain to power, struggle to celebration. While the rest of the world may see jazz as a genre of the past, Haiti needs jazz to survive in the present. And that makes PapJazz more than a music festival; it makes it a symbol of spiritual endurance.
A Salute to the Heroes Behind the Scenes
Congratulations to the incredible team behind PapJazz, whose unwavering passion and perseverance made this year’s edition possible despite unimaginable odds. Joel Widmaier, Milena Sandler, and the entire Haiti Jazz Foundation exemplify the soul of Haitian artistry, undaunted, unbreakable, and deeply committed to keeping the spirit of jazz alive in a nation that desperately needs it.
Their efforts brought music, hope, connection, and resistance, the essence of Haitian resilience. In these moments of unity, Haiti found a reason to sing again.
