A few days before the opening of the 16th edition of the PAPJazz Festival, preparations are going well in the city of Cap Haitien, restaurateurs, hoteliers, and transporters, are bust to be ready to welcome all the festival-goers and artists from Cap-Haitien, but also those who will come from everywhere. The organizers and their partners are putting the finishing touches to make this event a success, like previous editions.

Edition in tribute to Toussaint Louverture : According to Unesco "Jazz lends its voice to the struggles and aspirations of millions of people and is a unique symbol of freedom of expression and human dignity...", so it seemed obvious for the organizers to pay tribute to the Capois Toussaint Louverture symbol of freedom, whose year 2023 marks his 280th birthday.

Thanks to its local partners, in particular, the Town Hall of Cap Haitien, the Organization for the Management of the Destination North of Haiti (OGDNH), Historie Haiti, the Departmental Directorate of the Ministry of Culture, the National Police of Haiti (PNH) the Tourist Police (PoliTour) and Fort St Joseph, the Haiti Jazz Foundation is confident in terms of logistics, sanitation and security, that everything will be in place for 3 days of celebration in a friendly atmosphere

Programming :

From January 20 to 22, the city of Cap Haitien will be celebrating, with 7 free artistic trays on the Barbancourt Stages on the 20th and Prestige on the 21st on the Boulevard, 2 "After Hours" stages at the Gwog restaurant, 1 single stag at the Fort St Joseph, 7 workshops, audiovisual screenings at the Alliance française (including a 52 min documentary over 15 years of PAPJazz which received funding from Fokal, the French Institute of Haiti (IFH) and the Swiss Embassy , as well as the "Behind the scenes of the festival", the live facebook hosted by Bibi Nètakole live from Lakay restaurant, in crossposting on Chokarella, Haitian Ladies Network and the French Institute in Haiti and supported by the BRH and Air Caraïbes.

The different stages will welcome artists from 9 countries (Canada, Chile, Cuba, Spain, United States, France, Haiti, Mexico and Dominican Republic).

The Boulevard du Carénage will host the Cuban pianist nominated for the Grammy Awards Alfredo Rodriguez that festivals around the world are snapping up, the exceptional trio We Are by Aaron Goldberg, the eclectic Canadian drummer of Haitian origin Martin Auguste surrounded by local musicians and from the diaspora, the talented Phyllisia Ross, Damien Schmitt trio for jazz fusion to break everything, the Spanish flutist Maria Toro for the flamenco touch, as well as the Mexican singer Ingrid Beaujean who is in her 2nd PAPJazz. The rara Pay Kawàt will take advantage of the stage changes to get festival-goers moving.

The after parties, which will be held at the Gwog restaurant, will be hosted by up-and-coming Capoise musicians, with Friends band feat, trumpeter Amazan Audoine from Port au Prince and Starjazz 262 also from Cap.

And to close this 16th edition in the historic setting of Fort Saint Joseph, a Chili evening with Gwolobo, the musical project bringing together Manito Nation, Paul Beaubrun, Kabysh, Kolo and Ti Tanbou, will invite Amazan Audoine for the jazz touch and Dominican guitarist Amine Rodriguez.

HL/ HaitiLibre