By Heike Wollenweber

Although RiseUp is essentially a Jamaican documentary film that spotlights Reggae, it transcends genre and niche, seamlessly weaving three distinct stories into one inspiring feature film that is both dramatic and vibrantly explosive. Some are saying that RiseUp is like a Jamaican ‘Hoop Dreams’ and the best movie to come out of the Caribbean in many years- a potential Best Documentary nominee for the 2011 Academy Awards. The film features appearances and performances by both arising and legendary artists.

Directed by Luciano Blotta, a native of Argentina, and produced by Darrin Holender (‘Sorority Row’), the film is the winner of the 2009 AFI/DISCOVERY SILVERDOCS Best Music Documentary Award, and was an audience favorite as an officially selected film at fifteen international film festivals, including IDFA Amsterdam and the Bahamas International Film Festival. Recently, RiseUp was chosen by the Lincoln Center’s Film Society to celebrate Black History Month on its way to a theatrical release in Jamaica and the U.S. in October. A one-hour version of the film will be broadcasted by BBC Storyville and many other television networks worldwide have ordered the film for their upcoming programming schedules, including the PBS series AfroPop.

Not since the Harder They Come and Rockers has a reggae film been able to reach worldwide audiences like RiseUp. In a recent interview with Australian press, Blotta stated, “I saw how much talent there is [in Jamaica],how flamboyant, different and creative all these people were, and it really inspired me.” He is excited to finally share his six-year project with audiences in Boston, that can, in his words, “appreciate this priceless portrayal of a uniquely proud country”. Having screened to full houses in nine countries since November, 2008, RiseUp has indeed connected to men and women, young and old, from all backgrounds. Audiences have been dancing, laughing and crying in their seats. Core reggae audiences and music doc fans have lauded the film for its authenticity and entertainment value, while general audiences have praised the film for its original storytelling, inspirational tone and beautiful images and sounds.

Entertainment industry veterans who have viewed the film have commended Blotta’s efforts as an invaluable contribution to both the Jamaican culture as well as the medium of documentary cinema. Excited about the upcoming Boston screening, Holender stated, “Boston will definitely connect with RiseUp the way other cities have- we just need to put it on the screen in the city and a RiseUp movement will organically develop from there.” The Boston Premiere of “RiseUp” will be held at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) on Friday, August 27th 2010. The event will start at 7 pm followed by a session of Q & A with the director and will be moderated by Karen Holmes Ward, who hosts “CityLine,” Channel 5′s award-winning urban news and feature magazine program.

Source: The Bahamas Weekly

Better Mus Come, set in the suburbs of Jamaica, dabbles in the politics of the island and the harsh realities of the 1970s. The lead actor in the movie is Sheldon Shepherd, of popular dub poetry group No-maddz. With a cast of stars, Shepherd acts out a tale of love, violence, hope and optimism and takes us 30 years back in time, unveiling aspects of Jamaican history that rarely make it into household education.

The movie also features internationally acclaimed actor Guenveur Smith, who played roles in American Gangster and Malcom X, among other Spike Lee films.

Smith takes on the role of the Jamaican prime minister in the 1970s, while Karl Williams plays the leader of Opposition.

According to Saulter, who spoke of his fascination with historic events, the movie came at the right time. The ‘right time’ being while an incursion into Tivoli Gardens by security forces is still fresh in the minds of Jamaicans.

“I did not have any idea things would turn out this way, because the script was started three years ago. Now it ties in perfectly with the current situation the country is experiencing,” Saulter told The Sunday Gleaner.

According to Saulter, the film is the perfect example of life imitating art, and art imitating life.

Break down barriers

Saulter says that he hopes that his film will break down barriers for the Jamaican film industry, which he described as unproductive.

Having written, directed and edited the script himself, Saulter believes that local film directors should be more proactive: “They need to stop complain about money and get some work done, there are avenues to get good information online, on ways to make an effective film at affordable costs,” he said.

“And productivity needs to go up; other poor countries are doing it, so we can do it, too,” said Saulter.

The film-maker also expressed an interest in putting the movie into the international market after covering ground in Jamaica.

Saulter said that the film was shot in high definition and will be projected digitally.

“We want Jamaicans to appreciate watching the film in the cinema same as how we watch international films,” said Saulter.

Shepherd, who plays the protagonist in the movie, has played roles in many Jamaican films. According to the young actor, Better Mus Come was the best production he had seen.

Source: Gleaner

The organizers of the Mid-Atlantic Black Film Festival (MABFF) have announced a final call for submissions for the 2010 festival. The premiere African-American short film festival returns for its fourth year from October 7 – 9, 2010 with three days of screenings and workshops at the historic Crispus Attucks Theatre in Norfolk, Virginia. During the three-day festival, veteran TV and film stars Ted Lange (“The Love Boat”, “That’s My Mama”, and “Friday Foster” with Pam Grier), Judy Pace (“Cotton Comes To Harlem”, “Brian’s Song”, Spike Lee’s “Sucker Free City”) and Beverly Todd (“Crash”, “The Bucket List”, “Lean on Me”) will attend as celebrity guests and will each be honored with MABFF’s Living Legend Award.

As in previous years, the MABFF is accepting entries in the categories of Short Film, Animation, Documentary, Music Video, and Student Film. This year, the festival is also introducing exciting new categories, including a Screenplay Competition, an Original TV Pilot Competition, and a Web Series Competition. Submission forms and general requirements for all categories can be downloaded online at www.mabff.org or www.withoutabox.com.

The festival will kick off on Thursday, October 7th with a selection of opening day screenings and workshops followed by an Opening Night Ceremony Gala hosted by Beverly Todd and Judy Pace.

Beginning on Thursday, October 7th, Emmy-winning producer/LAWEBFEST founder Michael Ajakwe, Jr. will conduct a two-day Web Series Workshop with informative sessions on Writing, Producing, Marketing and Monetizing Your Web Series.

As part of the festival program, members from the Organization of Black Screenwriters (OBS) will join MABFF in hosting a three-day TV and screenwriting workshop and will also judge the festival’s screenplay and Original TV Pilot competitions. On Thursday, October 7th, OBS will conduct an Intensive half-day TV Writing Workshop followed by an Intensive half-day Screenwriting Workshop on Friday, October 8th. On Saturday, October 9th, the workshop will culminate with a special screening of “For Love of Amy”, veteran actor Ted Lange’s feature film directorial debut. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with both Lange and the film’s screenwriter/producer/star, Vincent Alston, who will share how he raised the money to complete his first feature film. During the award ceremony later that evening, the two filmmakers will be presented with MABFF’s inaugural Outstanding First Film Award for their achievement.

On Friday, October 8th, celebrity honorees Ted Lange, Judy Pace, and Beverly Todd will join award-winning filmmaker Monty Ross (Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X”, “Do the Right Thing”, “Mo’ Better Blues”, “School Daze”) and Michael Ajakwe, Jr. (“Martin”, “Soul Food”, “Sister, Sister”, “Eve”, “Love That Girl”, “Talk Soup”, “Entertainment Tonight”) for ”Black Hollywood Then and Now,” a blue ribbon panel of industry veterans discussing the state of Black Hollywood and how it has evolved over the last forty years.

Closing night festivities on October 9th will feature finalist screenings of the short film and web series competitions, culminating with the MABFF Award Ceremony at which winners for the various festival competitions will be announced along with the recognition and presentation of awards to this year’s distinguished VIP honorees.

About Mid-Atlantic Black Film Festival (MABFF)
October 7-9, 2010 at the Historic Attucks Theatre in Norfolk, VA. The Mid-Atlantic Black Film Festival (MABFF) is an annual juried competition showcasing independent films from some of the most talented, established and up-and-coming independent filmmakers of color from all over the world. The 2009 MABFF screened over 50 independent films from all across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the Caribbean, Uganda and Zimbabwe, including 15 Virginia premieres. The MABFF is a core program of Crispus Attucks Cultural Center, a non-profit cultural arts organization dedicated to presenting artistic, educational and multicultural activities with an emphasis on the African-American and African Diaspora experience. The festival’s lineup highlights various categories of film competitions as well as premieres, international cinema, tributes, and workshops facilitated by leading figures in the film and entertainment industry.

For more information about MABFF, please visit www.mabff.org.

For press inquiries, please contact Ngozi Mba of MINC Media at 323.422.1450 or email info(at)mincmedia(dot)com

Media Contact:
Ngozi Mba
MINC Media for Mid Atlantic Black Film Festival
323.544.1450
info(at)mincmedia(dot)com

Festival Contact:
Gail Mathieu Easley
Executive Producer, Mid Atlantic Black Film Festival
757.622.4763
info(at)mabff(dot)org

The Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, 11 years and running, has become a highly anticipated annual event. This year’s festival may not have lived up to its expectations but was far from a disappointment.

Blues music has always been a way for us to dance and sing away our sorrows. My uncle calls it complaining with a melody. Not surprisingly there was some complaining on Saturday as the blues festival landed on one of the hottest days of the year. The sun viciously beat down on the audience at Deer Lake Park. The park has some areas of shade but is mostly open air and exposed. Attendees hid in the shade and kept cool by visiting the misty tent and many free water stations. Due to factors out of my control, I arrived around 4:45p.m. lucky for me the sun had lost some of its momentum.

Apparently it was also a time that the festival was gaining momentum. I was greeted by the end of a joyful performance by Serena Ryder. The audience seemed to be digging her and the parks energy felt high. My family friends had been saving a spot for me in the shade. After I shuffled in I unloaded my stuff and mixed into the crowd to determine what I had missed. The crowd demographic was mixed in age, lots of families and lots of long grey goatees. Folded chairs, picnics and coolers littered the park grounds.

As I made my way though the crowd I heard enough sorrows to fill a complete blues record. According to many veteran blues festival attendees this years openers were too “folky.” Jim Haynes – three year festival veteran – complained that he was bored with the openers that were far more entertaining in past years. I was surprised by that response as I expected the openers to kill it.

Looking at my schedule I saw the earlier performers included: Zaac Pick, who won Shore 104′s “Sounds of Summer Song Search” contest and a spot on the festivals bill, Yukon Blonde, Lil Miss Higgins and Lukas Nelson, who later I learned had been wonderful and set the stage for the festival with his high energy performance. Unfortunately I did not see any of this for myself.

After hearing the blues of members of the crowd I wasn’t sure about the blues I was about to hear from the next act, bluesman Colin Linden. He came out onto the back garden stage wearing a large fedora and a large grin. The one man band sang the happiest blues I’ve ever heard. Grinning and grimacing as he bounced in his stance.

revious disappointments had vanished as people clapped along with Colin. This is the first moment I realized that no one was dancing. The front of the stage was full of people and maybe three were dancing. Huh? This isn’t nod your head hip hop people this is get down turn around dirty blues. I was baffled — and dancing alone.

After two lemonades and a family feast I made my way to the main stage to catch Kenny Wayne Shepherd. This guy is a wizard with the guitar and I believe most were there to see him — I know I was. He is self taught and began playing when he was seven, proving himself to some of the greatest blues musicians alive before he was 20. He took the stage in that cool guitarist way – extremely dorky – and immediately unleashed his fingers on his guitar. I have never seen anyone play a guitar like that and with ease. Effortlessly he tickled the strings, his fingers moved like mini tasmanian devils. The first guitar solo set the stage on what was to come. Kenny’s lead singer was good but unfortunately I caught myself simply waiting for the guitar solos. Ol Kenny could not have lived up to his hype any more and the crowd was in awe.

After two more lemonades (the ones in the plastic cups from the big lemon stand – why do I love these?) I headed back to the main stage to catch Harry Saint Clair Fredricks aka Taj Mahal before he came out. A man with four names like that reeks blues. He has incorporated South Pacific, Caribbean and African influences into his music.

Taj has been playing blues for over 50 years and has done a lot to foster it’s growth. I really wanted to see this legend get down. Taj Mahal walks out onto the stage and stops and another man joins him. I wasn’t surprised to see Steven Seagal posing for a picture with Taj. Mr Seagal is a blues man himself, with two albums under his black belt. His band, Thunderbox, have sold out shows around the world. This guy is the only Aikido master, deputy, writer, producer and blues guitar player to have films grossing over 900 million dollars. Taj Mahal showed him his respect and moved to the stage.

Taj instantly broke into some stanky guitar chunky blues. Ironically he screamed to the crowd, Are you ready to dance? Well come on baby lets dance. Unfortunately Taj didn’t know that of the several thousand of people in attendance a handful would take him up on his offer.

Side rant: Why do we not dance in this city? This is some of the best music to dance to and nearly everyone sits in their stupid chair and nods their head. This reminds me of the jazz festival when I experienced the same thing. Is there something wrong with us in Vancouver?

Anyhow… Taj performed with the old time skill of the past. The kind of musical energy that old people always tell me that us kids today know nothing about. His eyes were as much a part of his performance as his guitar as he emphasized chords by bulging his eyes. He shot out sweet serenading looks to the audience as he belted out, Won’t you do me good baby? Taj must have sensed he had to do something to get people to dance so he offered advice to those that were worried about being embarrassed (I am not making this up) Just grab the girl you came with, or just met and are going home with and rock side to side. Taj Mahal was surprsingly able to convince a larger handful to dance. He finished off by breaking out the banjo and offering a little river music.

Before he was finished members of the audience did that thing that I hate. They started to pack up to leave before it was over. How is your ten minute early retreat going to save you any real time? You simply disturb people around you, obsturct views for what, to get a jump on the crowd? It is almost as though we do not know how to relax and enjoy something in Vancouver. Got to keep moving unless the show is on — then we must sit! Infuriating!

By the time he was actually done I had given up begging people to dance and was lemonaded out. The Blues + Roots festival was a unique experience and I had a blast. I love that so many families have made it into a tradition, coming year after year packing cousins, aunties, picnics and all. Next year I’m bringing my aunties (so I have dancing partners) and I’m going to try to catch it all.

Photos courtesy of Alicia Grunert.

Among the artistes set to hit the stage over the two-day period are dancehall’s ‘certified diva’ Tifa, dancehall’s resident ‘hot girl’ D’ Angel, fast-rising singer D’Major and the six finalists from the 2010 Digicel Rising Stars show.

Tifa will bring a scintillating performance to the first day’s show; after that, the six Digicel Rising Stars’ finalists, will hit the stage to woo patrons.

On Sunday, attendees can expect thrilling performances from D’Angel and D’Major.

As title sponsor, the telecommunications company has touted this year’s staging of the Digicel CES as “truly magnificent showcase that should not be missed”.

That’s the word from the company’s senior sponsorship manager, Shelly Ann Curran.

Curran explained that, “Our customers have become accustomed to us doing things bigger and better, and this year will be no different. Jamaica has made significant strides in areas such as communication, technology and entertainment – all areas that Digicel has supported wholeheartedly since our launch in 2001. It is therefore only natural that we bring entertainment and technology together for another successful year”.

Now in its 10th staging, the much-anticipated show is set to feature some of the finest and latest technological innovations as exhibitors show off their wares at the largest technology expo in the Caribbean.

Source: Gleaner

To limbo, one must be limber. Shemika Charles knows that, and the 17-year-old realizes in order to set the world limbo record, she must train daily and maintain her focus. “Let’s just say I don’t have a regular teenage life,” said Shemika, a native of Trinidad. She will be a senior this year at Cardinal O’Hara High School. “No Dave &Buster’s, no outings with friends to the mall. No boyfriends. I don’t get to do those things because they are a big distraction, and I agree. I don’t like it, but I agree.”

Shemika –known as Princess Shemika when she’s performing on stage with her family in the Caribbean Extravaganza steel drum band –does much more than limbo. She dances, sings and –at one point during the family act –twists her body into poses that could grace the cover of Yoga Journal magazine.

Her flexibility and determination are critical to her family’s goal of Shemika setting a world limbo record. While the record-setting date has not been scheduled, the family hopes to travel to New York City next month to meet with Guinness Book of Records officials and to schedule an appearance on a nationally televised talk show.

“All I do now is perform,” said Shemika. “Wind me up and I’m set to go. When I don’t perform, I practice.”

Camp Limbo

The road to the record started four years ago at the Florida State Fair, when Caribbean Extravaganza’s limbo dancer bolted for Jamaica. The family was left scrambling, and turned to Shemika, who was 13 at the time. She desperately wanted to follow in the footsteps of her mother, Sherrie Charles.

“We didn’t panic. We had six weeks, and I told Shemika we would be training hard,” said Bobby Diaz, 70, Shemika’s uncle, coach and the band manager. “So she trained every day for four hours after school.”

In performing the limbo, a dancer moves to a Caribbean rhythm, leans backward—way backward — and dances under a horizontal pole without touching it. Upon touching the limbo pole or falling backward, the dancer fails.

Their target in Florida was to clear a pole 15 inches from the ground, an “acceptable” goal for serious limbo dancers. Within three weeks, Shemika cleared 10 inches.

“It was a breeze,” Diaz recalled. “One thing Shemika has that other limbo dancers do not is grace. Most of them twist or bend their heads to get under the bar. She does not. She goes in straight with nose pointing in the air.”

Diaz, family members confirm, is obsessed with making his niece a limbo star. He monitors her workouts. He plans her diet. He composed the pulsating rhythmic island beat that has become Shemika’s stage signature. When she hears it, she limbos.

Shemika trains at her uncle’s home in Lancaster, where he lives with his wife, Mary. So far on this day, Shemika has consumed one banana and a home-made Caribbean milkshake the family calls Sea Moss. Jamaicans call it Irish Moss. Algae is its main ingredient. Mixed with milk, a dash of bitters, a dollop of heavy whipping cream and a hint of vanilla extract, it is Shemika’s natural energy drink.

Shemika can hold her breath for 120 seconds, Diaz proudly pointed out. It takes a fraction of that time to clear the bar — 15 seconds — depending on the floor. Resistance slows Shemika. She prefers to perform on a low-pile rug with rubberized backing.

“It’s all timing,” said Shemika. “When I go under the bar, I take a deep breath, and then as I go under, I let it out. Once I clear, I take a deep breath again so I can thrust myself up.”

The art of the dance

Conditioning is the most difficult part of limbo training, Shemika will tell you.

The fitness skills required to dance the limbo include core strength, balance and low back flexibility. Legs play a huge role with a handful of muscles — glutes, quadriceps, calves and hamstrings — combining for the series of power surges necessary for the dancer to drop down, under and spring back up.

“Doing the limbo you don’t necessarily need upper-body strength, but you need core strength to hold your body in position under the bar,” said fitness trainer Pat LaDuca, who compared the skill set to that of a trapeze artist. “You need strength and flexibility everywhere, and your feet absolutely have to be involved.”

The exercises Diaz dreams up to strengthen Shemika’s core and legs are anything but traditional. On some days, she will go to a local mall, where Shemika will climb the rock wall under the supervision of Diaz.

“She has to be suspended horizontally, and being female she has a little more weight on the upper part of her body,” Diaz explained, in a lilting island accent. “Her whole body is being supported by the muscles from her knee to her ankle.”

Conquering the bar

Shemika’s 15-second trip under the limbo bar is a testament to her strength, sense of balance and body awareness.

First comes the meditation, followed by Shemika addressing the pole. She’s gauging the distance between pole and floor, looking to the left, then to the right to ensure the pole is secure on two Labatt Blue beer bottles that anchor either end.

Shemika, who is 5-foot-9, centers herself, planting her long legs an equal distance between the bottle on the left and the bottle on the right. Her “nose point” is located at the middle of the bar.

As she makes her approach, weight transfer and breathing come into play. Like a snake Shemika undulates, holding her breath under the bar, and releasing it as she clears the bar— all the time “crawling” on the sides of her feet. She moves her head from side to side to let everyone know it is not touching the floor.

When she finishes, the power of her legs raises her body to a standing position, and she breathes again.

“I’m taller,” she said, “so I have a lot more to fit under the bar.”

Source: Buffalo News

The organizers of Southwest Florida’s first ever Caribbean Music Festival announced two separate musical artists, each having earned at least a Grammy Award, will be performing at the event Oct. 16 and 17, at Riverside Park Bandshell in Bonita Springs.

Puerto Rican-born Nestor Torres and his Latin Jazz ensemble will headline the Sunday performance, while Jamaican roots-reggae band Inner Circle will be the headliner for the Saturday performance.

This festival will combine the many sounds of the tropics into two days of music, food and fun.

Musicians from Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, South America and Spain, as well as Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the U.S. will all leave their musical impressions on those hoping to hear the finest in Latin, reggae, jazz and combinations of the above.

Torres plays a flute and combines many types of Latin rhythms into his music. Nominated four times for a Grammy, Torres won his latest Grammy for one of his many albums featuring a Latin/pop feel.

Torres is also an international ambassador, bringing his music to all continents as an expression of harmony for the world.

Inner Circle is probably best known for their Grammy-winning album, “Bad Boys,” which became the theme song for the hit TV series, “Cops.”

Around since the 1960s, Inner Circle has circled the globe with Rastafarian lyrics and rhythms. Recently, Inner Circle toured with Beres Hammond, Jamaica’s Frank Sinatra, and another super reggae band, Culture.

The purpose of this festival is twofold, according to its organizers.

The primary purpose is to bring a unique style of music to all of Southwest Florida, music that everyone loves and that has the feel of the tropics or the Caribbean.

Secondly, and more importantly, it is to raise money to give back to the community.

And that is why the Bonita Springs Assistance Office has been targeted as the primary charitable organization.

In 2009, the assistance office fell thousands of dollars short of their Annual Christmas Stocking Fund goal.

This year, with more persons than ever in need, festival organizers hope to help boost the Stocking Fund and possibly help other charities as well.

Along with sponsorships, applications are also available for a limited amount of corporate or food vendors, arts and craft vendors and nonprofit vendors.

Source: News-Press

LEOGANE, Haiti (AP) — Street star. Scandal-plagued aid director. Ex-Fugees hip hop frontman. The moment he filed his candidacy, Wyclef Jean became the most famous — and thus potentially most powerful — candidate in Haiti’s critical post-earthquake presidential election.
But for all his renown as a musician, charity provider and above all Haitian-born success story, a stark fact remains the morning after: Few in this impoverished and often rudderless country know who he really is, what he stands for, or what is driving him to seek the presidency.

Jean has compared his candidacy to that of US President Barack Obama and says he wants to build Haiti’s economy, principally by attracting foreign investment; yet his campaign borrows songs, style and support from the populist liberation theologian and exiled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
And before these questions even come into play in his celebrity-driven campaign — Jean has promised to bring 50 Cent to Haiti — must deal with the biggest question surrounding the 40-year-old singer: Has Jean, whose parents took him to Brooklyn as a young child, lived long enough in Haiti to claim its most important job?
“I started coming to Haiti after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was taken outside of Haiti (in 2004),” Jean told The Associated Press in an interview after filing his candidacy Thursday. “What I did was I went into the slums and started with kids inside of the roughest communities.”
Haitian presidents must have lived at least five consecutive years in the country leading up to election day, slated this year for November 28. By nearly all measures, Jean has not. As the eight-member provisional electoral council spends the next 12 days verifying candidates’ credentials, the singer’s campaign will argue his 2007 appointment as an ambassador-at-large exempts him from the requirement.
Some on the streets of this seaside, sugar-growing town west of Port-au-Prince are
not convinced.
“The constitution says you have to spend five years in the country. Did he? I don’t think he did,” said Billy Francois, 38, who sells sundries from under a roadside tarp in Leogane, which was almost entirely destroyed by the devastating January 12 earthquake that left a Government-estimated 300,000 people dead.
The father of three said he was not opposed to Jean, but that neither he nor other potential candidates appear ready to tackle Haiti’s rampant unemployment and crime.
“I’ve been voting since 1990 and nobody has done anything for me,” he said.
Jean’s outsider status — he speaks English far better than Creole and left the country Friday to take his wife and five-year-old daughter home to New Jersey — lends itself to debate.
Some say an outsider would introduce a new style of politics; others that it would guarantee a weak, out-of-touch head of state. Jean fuelled dreams by making it out of Haiti and striking it very, very rich — he makes up to $18 million a year, some of which he brought back through his charity, Yele Haiti.
“I will vote for Wyclef because he will develop this country. I’ve seen what he’s done before. Whenever the country is affected by something, he is always present,” said Eric Keatant, a 24-year-old engineering student relaxing in a Kobe Bryant jersey.
But after years of skating by with little scrutiny, the post-quake attention turned up a string of alleged improprieties at Jean’s Yele charity, including allegations that it paid Jean himself to perform at fund-raising events, bought advertising air time from a television station he co-owns and gave lavish salaries to staff.
Jean resigned as the group’s chairman on Thursday, hours before formally starting his candidacy. He has denied intentional wrongdoing and said the aid group hired a new accounting firm to oversee $9 million in post-quake fund-raising, of which $1.5 million has been spent.
There are questions about his personal finances as well. The Smoking Gun website reported Jean owes $2.1 million in back taxes to the US Internal Revenue Service. He told The Associated Press that the money would be repaid and his finances made public within days.
In a country where corruption is always a concern, those matters are not likely to go away soon.
If the singer gets on the ballot, he will face a crowded and sharp-elbowed field.
Another front-runner is expected to be ex-Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, who served under President Rene Preval until being sacked by the Senate during riots fuelled by high food prices. He has the backing of Preval’s newly formed Unity Party.
Many of Jean’s own advisers within the Viv Ansanm party also support the candidate of an allied party: architect and reconstruction master planner Leslie Voltaire.
Former Prime Minister Yvone Neptune is expected to run, as is former First Lady Mirlande Manigat.
Already registered is a musician of almost equal popularity to Jean in Haiti, Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly, who secured the endorsement of Jean’s former Fugees bandmate Pras Michel.
For two decades after the 1986 fall of the dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, Haitian politics was essentially defined by the split between pro-elite and business candidates and the populism of Aristide, an ex-priest who won elections in 1990 and 2000 only to be ousted twice, first by a coup and then by a rebellion.
Jean does not fit neatly into either category.
After Aristide’s 2004 overthrow, the singer positioned himself as a peacemaker between gangs who supported Aristide and heavily armed rebels. Two years later, he supported Preval, seen at the time as the pro-Aristide candidate. Preval later broke with Aristide’s supporters.
In his interview with The Associated Press, Jean praised former US President Bill Clinton’s vision for Haiti’s economy and said he would also work to attract foreign investment in agriculture, mining and the garment export industry — positions which Clinton readily admits will make Haiti’s elites richer while growing a middle class.
But Jean’s rally earlier in the day resembled nothing so much as a pro-Aristide demonstration, with supporters given gas money to come up from the slums. The crowd even broke into a standard Aristide protest song with Jean’s name substituted for the exiled leader.
Clinton, who co-chairs the international commission overseeing a pledged $5.3 billion in reconstruction aid to Haiti, praised Jean but said he wanted to stay out of Haitian politics as the campaign season heats up.
“I consider him a friend of mine,” Clinton, who as president restored Aristide to power, told The Associated Press on Friday. “I also have a high regard for the former prime minister (Alexis)… I just want them to have a good election and I want it to reinforce, not undermine the reconstruction of the country.”
Aristide, who lives in South African exile, has not endorsed a candidate. His Fanmi Lavalas party is expected to be banned from the race.
For people on the streets of Leogane, such political debates pale in comparison to their immediate needs for food, security and post-quake shelter.

Excellence Silvianise, a 36-year-old mother of two, said the Government must lead the way if Haiti will escape poverty.
“Our parents didn’t leave us anything at all. We have nothing to work with,” she said.

Source Photo: Gleaner

Following their excellent showing at the Guinness-sponsored Reggae Sumfest last weekend, the likes of Aidonia, I-Octane, Elephant Man, Bounty Killer, Agent Sasco, Wayne Marshall and Konshens rocked thousands who turned out at The Jungle.

On Saturday, Aidonia picked up where he left off by reaching for greatness at Reggae Sumfest as he continued to display maturity and growth in his performance. Konshens had the female fans screaming right throughout his set, while the lyrically-conscious I-Octane ‘blessed’ the venue, his performance including a cameo by Iyaslice. Elephant Man closed the show with his usual high energy.

After the performances, Firelinks closed the show with a rapid-fire mix of dancehall’s best and he was well received.

Guinness Brand Manager Gary Dixon said the brand wanted to ensure strict dancehall patrons were included in the weekend activities.

“Guinness wanted to provide that alternative entertainment from the party weekend for the dedicated dancehall fans. By all indications, the patrons were appreciative, as the event went well and the vibes was great,” said Dixon. “The performers also displayed what it means to reach for greatness as the young artistes keep getting better at their craft and the veterans like Elephant Man showed why he is one of Jamaica’s greatest entertainers.”

Promoter Dean Wallace said the execution of the event went according to plan.

“The show was great and the performances were excellent. I-Octane and Aidonia were really awesome and everybody had a great time,” said Wallace.

Source: Gleaner