Pulling Down the Palace
Right now in the middle of Port-au-Prince, the earthquake-shattered remains of the Haitian National Palace (see photos below) are being demolished.
Who’s taking them down? In one of history’s lovely ironies, Sean Penn’s humanitarian group, JP/HRO, is breaking up and carting away what was surely one of the most memorable and symbolic constructions of the Marines who ruled Haiti during the U.S. occupation of the country, from 1915 – 1934. As a friend of mine who is only a casual observer of the Haitian scene wrote to me today: “[This gives] US enterprises bracketing positions as the palace’s midwife and undertaker.” (Georges Baussan, a Paris-trained Haitian architect, designed the building.)
After the earthquake: Haitians observing (photo courtesy of Gael Monnin)
The National Palace before
The veve design for Erzulie, love goddess in voodoo, on which many voodoo flags have been based.
Voodoo Flags
Voodoo flags are not my area of expertise, but I’ve spent a good deal of time around them and the artists and craftsmen who make them. For the cover of my new book, Farewell, Fred Voodoo (to be published in January, 2013), I’ve used a voodoo flag, and the positive and interested reaction to this flag has made me think about the flags in general.
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