From October 30th  to November 2nd 2018 , RAM band of Haiti and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band of New Orleans are coming together for the first edition of GEDE FEST in Port-au-Prince ,  a festival that mixes history, music, gastronomy and the arts. 

With an ambitious and varied program, GEDE FEST 2018 will offer cultural immersion through concerts, folkloric dances, RaRa and second line parades, conferences, luck bath, master classes, cemetery visit and art exhibits.   Chef  Donald Link of The Link Restaurant Group of New Orleans together with Haitian Chef Stephan  will offer their culinary skills to gourmets participants. 

This multicultural event around the celebration of the DAY OF THE DEAD / FETE DES MORTS / GEDE, will be an excellent opportunity for artists, guest speakers, chefs and revelers  to network and strengthen the links between Haiti and New Orleans while valuing the origins they share in common. For having known the French colonization, Haiti and New Orleans (NOLA),  are linked by their historical past and their cultural wealth based on music,voodoo, gastronomy and creole culture.

PRE and POST BASIC PACKAGE OPTIONS

Participant wishing to arrive prior to Oct 30th in order to attend lectures, master classes  as well other GEDE FEST activities as of Oct 25 can request a quotation for the optional hotel's extra nights.

Participants wishing to depart after Nov 2 for the optional Jacmel trip and concert or other options can also request a quotation .

RAM is a group of mizik rasin / roots music founded by singer and songwriter Richard A. Morse, from whose initials the band takes its name. He began playing in 1990 and recorded his first album in 1993. His musical style is described as "voodou rock" resulting from a combination of modern rock and traditional voodoo instruments and vocals, such as rara horns and Petwo drums. https://ramhaiti.com/

https://twitter.com/RAMhaiti?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

NEW ORLEANS PRESERVATION HALL  was established in 1961 to honor one of America’s truest art forms – Traditional New Orleans Jazz. Operating as a music venue, a touring band, and a non-profit organization, Preservation Hall continues its mission today as a cornerstone of New Orleans music and culture. https://www.preservationhalljazzband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/preservationhalljazzband/

The 1791-slave revolution, which occurred in the French Colony of “Saint Domingue”, modern Haiti, triggered multiple waves of migration toward Cuba and New Orleans. Many French creole families, occasionally with numerous slave servants, settled in New Orleans and brought with them cultural aspects whose influences are still felt in many aspects of today’s New Orleans.

Slavery was eventually abolished in “Saint Domingue”, in 1794 but, once in power, Napoleon wanted to reestablish it as of 1801. The Indigenous army won the last battle in “Vertières” on November 18th 1803, which resulted in the official declaration of Independence of the new Nation of Haiti, on January 1st 1804. 

The loss of France’s richest colony in the America’s persuaded Napoleon to quickly finalize what is known as the Louisiana Purchase, selling the Port of New Orleans and a large swath of land to both its north and west to the United States.

In the aftermath of the revolution, the population of the city of New Orleans doubled with refugees from Haiti; the ensuing effects on the cultural of the newly American port city were, and still are, palpable.

Nowadays, the Creole food, the Voodoo religion, the Mardi Gras celebration, the architecture, the music, the “Joie de vivre”, the “laissez-faire” attitude among others, are unique to NOLA in the USA yet so similar to Haiti…

 The concept “TWIN SISTERS REUNITED |SOEURS JUMELLES REUNIES | REYINYON MARASA” is a new umbrella BRAND for all previous and future recurrent activities allowing the implementation of a bridge between New Orleans and Haiti. Initiatives involving cultural, sport, commercial, religious, professional, academic, political etc. encounters and events in Haiti as well as in New Orleans will be encouraged to use this branding.  This should allow both communities to share and/or  “discover” their cultural and historical common past as well as to explore multiple reasons to not only interact on disaster or charity basis, but also on investment, trade and tourism for a brighter future.   

Mission Statement: 

Established in 1946, Agence Citadelle’s objective is to provide the best travel related services available from Haiti to the rest of the world and from the whole world to Haiti. With a team of qualified staff members using the latest equipment, Agence Citadelle wants to satisfy and even go beyond the expectations of customers and suppliers. Agence Citadelle is determined to be socially active, good citizen, protector of the Environment and ready to meet the future’s ever changing challenges.

 Thru its  INCOMING DIVISION  Agence Citadelle  as a DMC (Destination Management Company) offers MICE services (Meeting, Incentives Congress and Events),  multilingual guides for excursions and roundtrips (Circuits)  using  company owned air conditioned chauffeur driven vehicles , licenced for tourists transportation by the Ministry of Tourism.

  Throughout these past 72 years of DMC, AGENCE CITADELLE’S has handled individual travelers, groups, charters, cruise ships, incentives and events in Port-au-Prince, Cap Haitien, Jacmel, Cote des Arcadins etc. The whole staff of about 40 collaborators is ready to welcome you.