If some people wonder if there are Christmas carols in Haiti, the answer is yes. The proof, for several years now, Lionel Benjamin has been keeping this tradition alive by performing on stage or in television shows his numerous compositions (“Embargo de Noël”, “Le Père Noël me dit que tu passes”, “Noël c’est toi” etc.) which celebrate the birth of the Child Jesus and the year’s end holiday season, with a Haitian touch. A biologist by profession, Lionel Benjamin has also had a career as an artist for some fifty years.
Michaël Benjamin Mikaben’s father – and more broadly the artist’s family – is keen to carry out all the projects that his son had undertaken before his tragic death on the stage of the Accor Arena in Bercy, Paris, last October 15.
Thus, a four-CD box set and a USB key called “Abdenwél” has just been released. It contain the 25 Christmas songs by Lionel Benjamin with the participation of more than 50 artists and 15 producers. This was a great project that Mikaben was working on to honor his father since December 2020, on the occasion of his 75th birthday. These songs are also available online on all digital platforms.
Lionel Benjamin also decided to do the “special Christmas” tour planned with his son to pay tribute to him. Four concerts outside of Haiti – in the United States and Canada where a large Haitian diaspora lives – have been scheduled starting next Saturday. The concert entitled “Lionel Benjamin and Friends” will feature Lionel Benjamin’s daughter, Melodie, as well as a host of artists who knew Mikaben and most of whom had worked with him.
After Atlanta on Saturday, December 17, this show will be presented in New York on Sunday, December 18, in Montreal on Wednesday, December 21 and in Miami on Friday, December 23. This tour is, among others, produced by “Ti Souf”, the foundation that Michaël Benjamin had created in order to help the poorest people in Haiti.
