Overview:
Sounds of Little Haiti, Miami’s signature Haitian music and tradition pageant, celebrates 10 years of resilience with a particular efficiency by Tabou Combo. Founder Sandy Dorsainvil displays on its beginnings, challenges, and hopes for the long run.
For the previous decade, each third Friday has introduced the heart beat of konpa and the soul of Haitian tradition to Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood. This weekend, Sounds of Little Haiti celebrates its tenth anniversary with a particular efficiency by the legendary band Tabou Combo on the Little Haiti Cultural Advanced.
What started as a small, intimate program contained in the complicated has grown into one among Miami’s most vibrant group traditions. “Sounds of Little Haiti started as an intimate, behind-the-music type occasion,” mentioned organizer Sandy Dorsainvil. “The concept was to provide the group a uncommon likelihood to ask their favourite Haitian bands questions on their music and the historical past of their teams.”
This system’s evolution was born from necessity. When the Rhythm Basis ended its Large Evening in Little Haiti sequence after 5 years, Dorsainvil and her colleague, the late Sandra Morrisseau, stepped in to maintain the music alive. They remodeled Sounds of Little Haiti right into a free out of doors pageant.
“We wished to make sure that Little Haiti and its cultural middle wouldn’t lose such an important gathering,” Dorsainvil mentioned.
Since then, the month-to-month occasion has drawn between 800 and 1,200 individuals, with crowds swelling to greater than 3,500 every Might throughout Haitian Heritage Month. Through the years, Dorsainvil estimates greater than 250,000 individuals have attended.
“You get to deliver somewhat of Haiti to us,” mentioned one Haitian American attendee eventually month’s Sounds of Little Haiti.
“It retains us grounded, linked to the group, to the tradition and makes certain we always remember the place we come from,” mentioned one other attendee of Jamaican ancestry.
Reaching a decade has been each a celebration and a check of endurance. “Making it to 10 years means the whole lot,” Dorsainvil mentioned.
“It has not been simple—there have been instances when metropolis help disappeared, sponsors got here and went, and private losses hit onerous. The most important of these losses was Sandra Morrisseau, my good friend and co-founder, who handed away.”
Even by means of challenges, the occasion has thrived with the help of the group and companions like Pure Power Group, which helped develop its digital presence. Dorsainvil describes the milestone as “a triumph of affection, tradition, and perseverance.”
Holding the pageant alive has required sacrifices. Rising prices for safety, cleanup, and technical providers usually outpaced sponsorships.
“Many months, we’ve put in our personal cash to ensure the occasion went ahead,” she mentioned. Distributors prolonged credit score, and nonprofit collaborations made the productions attainable.
About three years in the past, Dorsainvil created Route 1804 Foundation to maintain the pageant and associated cultural programming. That construction has allowed for grant functions and new ventures, together with L’Heritage Rhum, a Haitian rum whose gross sales assist fund occasions.
Wanting forward, Dorsainvil hopes Sounds of Little Haiti will stay a everlasting fixture in Miami’s cultural life. Her imaginative and prescient is to welcome 3,000 individuals every month and 10,000 in Might, whereas conserving tickets reasonably priced. “My want is for Sounds of Little Haiti to be absolutely funded and by no means greater than $10, so that everybody can proceed to rejoice our music, tradition, and group collectively,” she mentioned.
With Tabou Combo’s anniversary efficiency, the pageant not solely honors its previous but in addition indicators its dedication to the long run. “With God’s grace, I hope it would nonetheless be standing sturdy 50 years from now,” Dorsainvil mentioned.
“Carrying the sounds, tales, and soul of Little Haiti ahead for generations.”
For one Haitian American Gen Z attendee, Sounds of Little Haiti is a reminder of his childhood and roots.
“If you wish to have time with individuals of Haitian descent, you possibly can all the time come right here,” he mentioned. “It’s a enjoyable place to reconnect along with your roots.”
For extra info or tickets, click here.