Julia Alvarez has been called “a one-woman cultural collision” by the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and that has never been truer than in this story about three of her most personal relationships—with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti. A teenager when Julia and her husband, Bill, first met him in 2001, Piti crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage, charmed by his smile, has over the years come to think of him as a son, even promising to be at his wedding someday. When Piti calls in 2009, Julia’s promise is tested.To Alvarez, much admired for her ability to lead readers deep inside her native Dominican culture, “Haiti is like a sister I’ve never gotten to know.” And so we follow her across the border into what was once the richest of all the French colonies and now teeters on the edge of the abyss—first for the celebration of a wedding and a year later to find Piti’s loved ones in the devastation of the earthquake. As in all of Alvarez’s books, a strong message is packed inside an intimate, beguiling story, this time about the nature of poverty and of wealth, of human love and of human frailty, of history and of the way we live now.

Leaving her native Haiti, young Sophie journeys to New York, where she grows up and marries, always tormented by her Haitian past and other problems, problems that lead her to a Santeria exorcism. A first novel.

Much more than beach resorts, the Dominican Republic is one of the Caribbean 's most geographically diverse countries, with an evocative colonial history and warm welcoming people. Michael Grosberg, Lonely Planet Writer Our Promise You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, and you can rely on us to tell it like we see it. Inside This Book 3 authors15 weeks of research1900 miles of tropical coastlineExclusive coverage of post-earthquake HaitiInspirational photosClear, easy-to-use mapsIn-depth backgroundAt-a-glance practical infoComprehensive planning toolsEasy-to-read layout

The essential terms you need to communicate with the nation’s 8-plus million Haitian Creole speakers If you are travelling to Haiti to help with the relief effort or to aid in its rebuilding, Haitian Creole Phrasebook is your must-have resource. In addition to featuring content specifically related to relief and rebuilding, this book also covers the basic topics such as introducing yourself, asking for directions, giving instructions, or asking for information. A separate section is devoted to key words and phrases related to relief efforts from communicating with medical personnel to construction and engineering terminology Features: A mini-dictionary includes essential vocabulary for quick reference An 30-minute audio download that features key words and phrasesVital vocabulary and phrases relevant to relief and rebuilding processes McGraw-Hill will donate a percentage of sales to the Haitian rebuilding effort. Topics include: Basic Vocabulary, Basics of Haitian Creole, Greetings and Wishes, Expressing Preferences and Opinions, Numbers, Time, and Weather, Family, People, and Description, Communication, Living and Working in Haiti, Transportation and Directions, Money and Shopping, Accommodations, Food and Drink, Specialized Vocabulary, Earthquake, Construction Rebuilding, Relief Effort, Medical Vocabulary, Security, Resources

Based on acclaimed author Zora Neale Hurston's personal experiences in Haiti and Jamaica—where she participated as an initiate rather than just an observer during her visits in the 1930s—Tell My Horse is a fascinating firsthand account of the mysteries of Voodoo. An invaluable resource and remarkable guide to Voodoo practices, rituals, and beliefs, it is a travelogue into a dark, mystical world that offers a vividly authentic picture of ceremonies, customs, and superstitions.

The clothes we wear invariably telegraph information about our identity, our place in society and the stories we wish to convey about ourselves. The fantastically colorful costumes specific to African and Caribbean rituals and celebrations go several steps further, transforming ordinary people into mythic figures and magicians, tricksters and gods, and symbolizing the roles their wearers play in the ancient dramas that form the cornerstones of their cultural heritage. Phyllis Galembo began photographing the characters and costumes of African masquerade in Nigeria in 1985, and since then she has continued developing her theme throughout Africa and the Caribbean. This volume collects 108 thrilling carnival photographs from Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Zambia and Haiti. In magnificent color shots, Galembo's subjects pose in striped bodysuits that cover the entire body, including the face; or outfits made entirely of bunched greenery; or a lacquered wooden mask topped with a headdress featuring full-body models of other characters; or an oversize misshapen animal head and plywood wings. The carnival characters, rooted in African religion and spirituality, are presented in chapters organized by tribal or carnival tradition and are accompanied by Galembo's personal commentary, shedding light on the characters and costumes portrayed, and on the events in which they play a pivotal role. Maske is a serious contribution to ethnographic study, a photo-essay about fashion and an assembly of superb images.

More than two centuries since enslaved laborers of West African descent evicted French colonials from Haiti's troubled republic, the lot of rural Haitians has changed little. Life is tied to the exhausted land, worked with a hoe to the cycle of seasons. Inhabitants in the Artibonite Valley, who survive on subsistence forms, live with dignity in the face of deprivation, and find solace in a spiritual synthesis of voudoun and Christianity. Andrea Baldeck came to know this world as a volunteer physician at the Valley's Hôpital Albert Schweitzer during the 19080s, returning as a photographer in the mid-'90s. Her images reveal hope, resignation, forbearance, pride, strength, and love. These unforgettable portraits are mediated only by trenchant Creole proverbs, a distillation of the Haitian experience.

In After the Dance, one of Haiti’s most renowned daughters returns to her homeland, taking readers on a stunning, exquisitely rendered journey beyond the hedonistic surface of Carnival and into its deep heart.Edwidge Danticat had long been scared off from Carnival by a loved one, who spun tales of people dislocating hips from gyrating with too much abandon, losing their voices from singing too loudly, going deaf from the clamor of immense speakers, and being punched, stabbed, pummeled, or fondled by other lustful revelers. Now an adult, she resolves to return and exorcise her Carnival demons. She spends the week before Carnival in the area around Jacmel, exploring the rolling hills and lush forests and meeting the people who live and die in them. During her journeys she traces the heroic and tragic history of the island, from French colonists and Haitian revolutionaries to American invaders and home-grown dictators. Danticat also introduces us to many of the performers, artists, and organizers who re-create the myths and legends that bring the Carnival festivities to life. When Carnival arrives, we watch as she goes from observer to participant and finally loses herself in the overwhelming embrace of the crowd.Part travelogue, part memoir, this is a lyrical narrative of a writer rediscovering her country along with a part of herself. It’s also a wonderful introduction to Haiti’s southern coast and to the true beauty of Carnival.

Voodoo, sex, death and revolution are the main ingredients of the street theatre carnival of Jacmel, Haiti, where the men wear drag, black up, wear cow horns, throw lassos and dance with snakes in their mouths. In Haiti, carnivals offer an opportunity for people to come together-to hang out, sing, dance, laugh and to generally let go. Light years away from the government- sponsored, tourist inspired carnival floats of so many other cultures, the Haitian carnival is particularly notable for its more sober political dimension, as a venue for Haitian peasants to discuss local politics, or older, nagging, historical problems dating back to the slave revolts-and as an occasion to commune with ancestors both personal and historical. With oral histories from participants, Karnaval is a fascinating combination of photography, cultural analysis and anthropology.

Five decades ago, award-winning author Herbert Gold traveled to Haiti on a Caribbean version of the Fulbright Scholarship. The journey proved to be a turning point in his life. Fifty years later, his attachment to the tiny Caribbean nation-his second home-remains as passionate and powerful as ever. Now, in Best Nightmare on Earth, he explores the secret life of this vibrant, volatile, violent land. "Beautiful...bizarre...dangerous...exotic, a Garden of Eden fallen into despair, a tiny nation of unimaginable misery and unpredictable grace, an island where life is a kind of literature, a world of "unlimited impossibility." This is Herbert Gold's Haiti, a country of extraordinary paradox and remarkable extremes-of gingerbread dream houses and wretched slums, of brutal repression and explosive creative energy. Where else, he asks, can you run into evil spirits on the back roads, or find the goddess of fertility and orgasm represented by a photo of a tap-dancing Shirley Temple? Where else is there such generosity amid such corruption, such humor in the midst of such desperation? In his many Haitian travels, Gold has dined with Graham Greene and chatted with the hated Duvalier oppressors. He has traded stories with CIA saboteurs, former Nazis, rum-soaked diplomats, and voodoo priests. He has taken in the cockfights and hunted for pirate treasure. He has nearly died of malaria; he has faced machete-wielding gangs of Ton-Ton Macoutes. He followed the traffic in Haitian blood to American hospitals and watched the AIDS epidemic take its toll. He listened to the steady beat of drums rolling down mist-shrouded mountains, and shared in the flirting, drinking, and laughter of the streets. He has captured the essence of this land where tragedy is the music the people dance to. Herbert Gold reflects on the country's history and politics, culture and folklore, but sees much more. He sees Haiti through the eyes of a lover: impassioned, jealous, probing, ever alert, and alive. This book will be of interest to travelers to, and people interested in the problems of, Haiti and the Caribbean; and collectors of Haitian art.