As the area has experienced an increase in Haitian immigrants, this was a way to show some of the culture of the Caribbean island. Donovan Geer, SAC education and logistics coordinator, said the show was booked about 18 months ago.
“It was especially powerful to see the kids so engaged. Kids love education and the performing arts. It was beautiful to watch it happening onstage,” Geer said.
Inez “Tati Nuzi” Barlatier, of Miami, is of Haitian heritage and put together the act with bandmates Gerald Zilas and Natalie “Nay Roze” Richard to celebrate Haitian culture and educate people about things they may not know, such as how Haiti became the world’s first free black nation.
They’d heard about Springfield’s Haitian population and the national exposure that developed over the last year and admitted they weren’t sure what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised.
“Everybody has been really nice to us, very friendly,” Barlatier said. “We’ve had a great, hospitable time.”
She acknowledges that Haitian culture and customs are often misunderstood and the show shines a positive insight.
“The Haitian people didn’t win a revolution by being lazy. We’re a hardworking people and very grateful people. We’re here like every other human being trying to continue our legacy.” said Barlatier. “This show is to show how beautiful our culture is.”
Dressed in colorful outfits and playing drums, guitar and violin, Barlatier led the group through songs reflecting solidarity and togetherness, including “Love is a Verb,” a lullaby and one with a theme of welcoming people into your home.
The music had the students bopping along in their seats, on their feet and singing along with Tati Nuzi and chanting “an ansanm nou fo,” which translates to “together we are strong.”
“We feel so welcomed here,” Barlatier told the audience.
Zilas, who plays drums, said the group has enabled him to travel everywhere to share music, and he isn’t surprised when the audience reacts positively.
“Music takes over everybody, it gets in everybody’s soul,” he said. “When it comes to Haiti, we have so much to share.”
To complement the music, Springfield Museum of Art educator Amy Korpieski worked with third graders to create a collaborative artwork tessellation mural featuring geckos, a Haitian symbol for good luck and resilience as a way to prepare for the concert.
“The gecko tessellation is like a puzzle where all the pieces are the same shape, coming together to create an impressive artwork where individual pieces join to make a whole,” said Korpieski.
She said some of the students excitedly pointed to their art upon entering the lobby. It will be up through Thursday for the community to view.
Ridgewood School students were still energized by the performance filing into the lobby. Many of the third graders found different aspects interesting: Kavya Kathuria liked the instruments, Emmarie Frazier preferred the dresses and drums and Lilly Harbaugh enjoyed the dances, while the majority said music.
Teacher Kelly Biers also picked up some knowledge, recognizing some of the French words rooted in the Creole language and planned to use a map during geography class to locate Haiti and discuss what they experienced.
“It’s great to get to know a different culture and valuable as one of our standards at Ridgewood as we have a diverse group of students at our school,” she said.
Geer said the second BrightLight series is in planning and SAC wants to collaborate with local school districts, staff and students to bring meaningful programs they can learn from and enjoy and make it bigger and better.
“The mission of the Arts Council is to provide different opportunities to as diverse a population as possible. Things like this are a benefit to the community,” he said.
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