Rara Bel Poze
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Rara Bel Poze- Church St lot, Harvard Sq (2of2)
Rara bel poze live Official video at Boston Caribbean Carnil Festival 8/26/17
About
With their giant horns, driving drums, and colorful costumes, Haitian rara bands are a loud and proud display of Creole Carnival culture. In just four short years, Boston’s Rara Bel Poze have spread the sights and sounds of rara all around New England.
In Haiti, roving bann rara (rara bands) take to the streets during Lent and engage passers-by in a unique version of carnivalesque masquerade and song, a tradition which dates back to the days of colonial slavery. Rara bands are typically from working-class neighborhoods and often aim to take over public spaces—controlled by the powerful—to clog traffic and to compel audience participation. Musicians play traditional instruments like the kone, an exceptionally long, painted tin trumpet; the vaksin, a single-note bamboo trumpet; and the tanbou drum.
Rara Bel Poze was founded in 2016 by a group of Haitian-American friends who wanted rara to be represented in New England the way it is in other diaspora communities like those in New York, Montreal, and Miami. Founder and leader Bob Francois admits that “when we first started it was very hard, because a lot of the guys weren’t really experienced on the instruments that they’re playing now, but when you do something positive, you want to keep practicing.”
With their color-coordinated outfits and a sound that can be recognized from blocks away, the band quickly found itself in great demand. It has become an annual participant in numerous Haitian and Caribbean-American community events, as well as the Honk! festival and the Patriots’ Super Bowl victory parade.
Rara Bel Poze, which ranges at any given time from 15 to 20 members, holds weekend rehearsals that double as social gatherings. In keeping with rara’s legacy of social commentary, the band released an original song for the 2018 Haitian Carnival season called “Immoral” that criticized corrupt politicians. For 2019, it offered “Nou Leve Defi A,” whose lyrics dispel any notion that rara hasn’t survived in modern era. “We’ve done so many things in the community, so we wanted a song that says that rara is here to stay,” says Francois.
