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This is a diary of my photo-documentary of Haiti:
Port au Prince, Jacmel, Carrefour, Leogagne, The Massif de la Selle region,
Mt. Jacmel, Sacre Ceour and Petionville.

Hugeaux is an artist and photographer. He is the creator of ARTE MECCO.

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Hugeaux

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www.hugeaux.com

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Day #4 / Part #4


(continue Day #3)

6:00 pm
At dinner tonight I was surprised that the only people eating in the hotel restaurant were African Americans. There was 3 women from New York City, a elder gentleman from Philadelphia, a woman from North Carolina and myself from Florida. I ordered spaghetti with meat sauce for the second night. We had polite conversation. We all exchanged friendly welcomes and asked each other are we enjoying our stays and how long we are staying. This is the last dinner I shall have in Haiti. I shall be returning to the United States of America tomorrow in the evening, however I shall be checking out of the hotel after breakfast, tomorrow. At this point I have created over 250 photographs of a part of this beautiful Black Republik Haiti. Its architecture and beauty is very renowned. Haiti is a brilliant diamond buried in the earth. To view its brilliance you must dig and dig deep. My walking these les rue (streets) and socializing with the Haitian people has taught me a lot about patience. Things unfold in time. You must wait and let God show you his strength and beauty. I have nothing negative to say about this beautiful Black Republik: Haiti. Its beauty is everywhere, in the people, the architecture, the flora and in its language. It is getting late and I must get some rest. I had a beautiful and exhausting day. However, that is the purpose of the trip. Tomorrow I return to the United States of America……Good Night, and my God Bless…Hugeaux.


August 19, 2009
Wednesday / Mercredi
Final Day

I couldn’t sleep last night. I believe it is because I know I am returning back home today. I watched a lot of Haitian television last night, mainly news commentaries and some of a little league soccer game. This is the last entry of my Haiti trip. I am writing this entry while in the The International Aeroport de Toussaint L-Ouverture. I walked more of The Capital neighborhoods this morning. The Capital is bustling with people very early in the morning. As I walked up and down the mountainside roads I am overwhelmed by all the art work on buildings here. Every corner has art. The murals of the Hatian artist Kabel, is the majority of murals I photographed. Kabel’s murals are large, full of fantasy and very colorful. Kabel is a pillar to the Humanities of Haiti. I do not know if he/she is alive or dead. The one most interesting site I photographed today was a sculpture of the famous Haitian freedom fighter: Yaya (a woman) with Kabel mural in the background. Yaya is to Haiti as Harriett Tubman is to the United States of America. Each corner opens up to alley-road neighborhoods. It is 6:00 am in the morning and people are moving as if it is 12:00 noon. Port au Prince is a large city. People are coming out of everywhere. Another captivation for me was to see all the Coca cola advertisement which exist here. My Creole has definitely improved. I heard an elder madame say to me in passing that “ my photographs will make beautiful posters”. In a whisper I said “Oui!, Oui Madame”. I walked more this morning because I knew I was leaving. Another incredible observation was that I kept hearing opera from a building. I first looked at the cars and tap-taps to see if it was coming from them. I then learned that it was coming from a building I was passing. This was an interesting change from the Creole-Kompas blasting from the city. I continued to walk. Many children were out of school, due to summer and running along les rues and helping their families sell their products. I photographed several artisan at work. I photographed a tailor, who smiled and wave, but continue to work. I photographed a knife / machete sharpener. The sparks were flying everywhere. I photographed a furniture maker who didn’t look up but was intense in his craft. It is not 6:30 am and le soleil is hot and one of the best artisan photographs I photographed was a man pulling a cart of 2 huge basket, as if an oxen. The streets are crowded with people. Some of the fried foods smell good, however I have breakfast waiting for me at the hotel. At one point I found myself walking in a circle. It is funny, I now know how to get around The Capital. There are no street signs, so you must remember landmarks and marking. The Jean-Bertrand Aristide monument was my focal point. It is the highest of the monuments and can be spotted from various spots. This is truly a proud nation. Bon Jours! and Saluts! are present everywhere in the morning. One of my major observations is that the people go to worship (church) every morning. I happened upon a Holiest church this morning. People where shouting, on their knees praying onto the pews. This truly reminded me of the good ole Southern Holy Ghost churches. The preacher was going on and on, and the congregation mainly women were shouting, hands raising and worshiping God. This diary is different from all my other diaries, because I totally must rely on my Humanitarian skills and communicate in order to survive. It has definitely worked. People stared but that is what people do. A simple Bon Jour or Salut goes a long way. I made it back to the hotel in time for breakfast. I discovered by breakfast companion Monsieur. Joseph Guyto had started without me. He mentioned that he was leaving in about 4 days and I told him I was leaving right after breakfast. We said our Au Revoirs and I gave him my business card. We both vowed to stay in touch. Monsieur Guyto is definitely Haitian business oriented. He mentioned that my photographs are worth a lot of money, and we both laughed. We said our good byes again and I departed for the airport. I drove by myself to the aeroport with no problem. From the hotel, Avenida (Avenue) Martin Luther King Jr takes you to Toussaint L’Ouverture International Aeroport. Talking about a truly Black Republik
( Martin Luther King Jr to Toussaint L’Ouverture…Right On!!!). As I sit in the terminal, heavy Creole is heard everywhere. Some French tourists are speaking French and a little Caribbean English is heard. I walked up stairs to the Duty-Free store and purchased 2 bottles of Haitian rhum: Berling‘s Vieux Labbe to take back to the United States of America. Haiti is a country where you must come with plenty cash. Credit cards are fine for hotels, etc., but to purchase things you must have cash. I came to Haiti with credits cards and 20 - one dollar US bills, 4- 5 dollar US bills, and 6 - 10 dollar US bills. With in a day and a half all the one dollar US bills were gone. That left me with 5’s and 10’s, and THEY DO NOT GIVE CHANGE. I really had to do some maneuvering. I didn’t want to change my money to the Haitian gourd, because the vendors like US dollars. This helped because when I filled up the car it came to US$25.00 for 6 gallons. However the first time to a country is always an experience. I may not have many gifts to bring back, but the now over 300 photographs of this beautiful Black Republik: Haiti is priceless. ….my flight is ready to depart.

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