How many spectators were there last Sunday November 18 at the Memorial ACTe in Pointe-à-Pitre in front of the podium of the 11th edition of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe? It’s difficult to say, but what is certain is that they were thousands of young people and adults. The band that was scheduled that night was “Vyab” whose album was released last April. So, all lovers of kompa (music from Haiti) had made an appointment for this concert scheduled between 8:30 pm and 10:00 pm. In this crowd, we also noted the presence of Haitian nationals living in Guadeloupe who came to applaud the children of the land because the musicians of this musical formation are young… For nearly three weeks, it rained heavily on Guadeloupe and the very bad weather of this Sunday did not stop the audience.
At the appointed time, the concert began with an adoring crowd. The singer of this new band “Vayb” is none other than the well-known Michaël Guirand, the former singer of the famous band called “Carimi” which made the heyday of the Haitian kompa over the last twenty years and which unfortunately broke up in 2016. The hits started to “rain” to the delight of the spectators who were dancing and singing… But, it also started to rain cats and dogs and those who thought people would quickly flee to shelter somewhere or the band or the organizers were going to cancel the concert were very much mistaken. During most of the show, it rained a lot but the crowd was stuck in front of the stage, the most far-sighted people had their umbrella, others their raincoat but after a few minutes everyone was soaked to the skin… On their side, the technicians rushed to shelter certain devices and to evacuate the water of the stage while the musicians continued to play.
Finally, nothing could stop kompa, and the phrases that are often repeated in the kompa tracks like “lésé kompa maché” (let the kompa music walk) or “kompa kay maché, maché, maché” (kompa will walk, walk, walk) were perfectly adapted to the situation. Like all good things come to an end, at 10:00 pm they had to end the concert but at the request of the organization, Michael Guirand and the talented musicians of “Vayb” came back on stage to play one of the great hits by “Carimi”, “Sensible à la gâchette”. Even if the audience was not tired, it was necessary to finish this memorable concert, in other words “dépozé kompa!” (put down kompa), as often say the Haitian bands…
