Author Archives: makandal1758

About makandal1758

Makandal channels multiple media to educate and enlighten the public about Haiti, the Haitian diaspora, and all those touched by the rich legacy of Haiti. The company's activities include research, archiving, theatrical productions, and the promotion of artists.

Tales from the Archive: Vodou in the Voodoo Theatre*

Posted on 09/12/2015

She was planning the program with good intentions. “Do it just like you do it at home,” Verna Gillis told Frisner as we met with her in the run-up to our first performance at Soundscape, her loft in the Manhattan … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Archive: A Day for Frisner, a Day for Haitian Culture

Posted on 02/12/2015

“Because of the drum, that’s why I can be here today. “I remember the time I struggled in Haiti. A lot of people used to talk bad about the culture, the roots. But today is going to be my day, … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Archive: The Fire Tape

Posted on 25/11/2015

His hands gripped the steering wheel as he cut his eyes off the road to fix them on mine. “The tape.” I didn’t have to wonder what Frisner was talking about. In the summer of 1986 Makandal had been hard … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Archive: Take Your Time

Posted on 18/11/2015

Frisner Augustin’s drum students knew his “Take your time” as a mantra, but few could articulate what he meant by it. Most assumed he was talking about tempo, or speed. For example, the tempo is sixty beats per minute, and you’re … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Archive: Drumming in Praise of Karen McCarthy Brown

Posted on 11/11/2015

So many things we think we understand! I, for example, have long told myself that the separation of the mind and the body—a notion basic to modern thought—is a lie. True knowledge springs from a marriage of mind and body. … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Archive: The People’s Hall of Fame

Posted on 04/11/2015

Even silence reverberated off the walls of the auditorium as Frisner Augustin took his award. The New York Academy of Medicine, a 1926 Art Deco interpretation of the Romanesque on the Upper East Side’s Museum Mile, could hold more than … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Archive: Behind the Cemetery

Posted on 28/10/2015

M te rete nan dèyè simityè, nan Ri Flèry Batye. Ou konprann? M te rete nan mitan dèyè simityè a. M te rete nan mitan katye a. I lived behind the cemetery, on Rue Fleury Bathier. You understand? I lived … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Archive: I Love You, Èzili!

Posted on 19/10/2015

She’s a coquette, a spirit woman reportedly of fair complexion, although she’s been known to inhabit every hue. When she leaves the luster and magic of Ginen to take possession of a human medium—to the heartbeat of drums, the sweet … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Archive: The Spirits Ride the Boroughs

Posted on 14/10/2015

January 24, 1981. At last! I’ve gone to my first Voodoo [sic] ceremony….I met Frisner and Ken in the building Frisner used to live in in Manhattan….Ken had a pair of claves for me to use during the ceremony. I … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Archive: One Haitian Worm

Posted on 07/10/2015

Any other time, the rain twinkling like Christmas lights across the windshield would have enchanted me. Now, as we rode uptown toward Manhattan’s Columbia University, the image warned of trouble. Ten of us had crammed into Frisner’s green mini-van for … Continue reading →

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