Peacetones celebrates "Wanito," winner of "Haiti Sings"
An American Idol style competition, "Haiti Sings," shines a light on the country's musical gifts.
This story was originally covered by PRI's The World. For more, listen to the audio above.
"We wanted to show the world, and tell the world a story about Haiti that wasn't one of victimization -- it was a positive story. And we wanted to showcase the talent that was there," says Ruha Devanesan, the organizer of a contest called "Haiti Sings." The project, created by the organization Peacetones, was held last October in Haiti.
The celebration of Haitian talent was an international competition. Devanesan explains how it worked:
We decided to hold a contest much like American Idol, where musicians would come and audition. And we did video recordings of all of their performances, and put them up on Facebook for people to vote on, and this was a way to reach really the broadest population we could think of.
All the contestants were Haitian, though more than half of the voters who helped select the country's newest talent were from abroad.
One of the musicians who auditioned was Beaubrun “Wanito” Juanitho. While watching TV, Wanito saw a promotion for the contest. Unable to attend university, and without access to a recording studio in Haiti, Wanito had been frustrated by his limited opportunities. That changed when he was voted the winner of "Haiti Sings."
As the winner of the competition, Wanito was awarded a three-week trip to the United States and the opportunity to record his first album. Ninety percent of the profits of his music go to him, but Peacetones works with all of their artists to identify community development projects that they would like to support with their earnings.
Wanito hopes to start a music school and set up a recording studio in Haiti, he says, "so that those young people can use their talent and take advantage of it in the way I wasn't able to."
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PRI's "The World" is a one-hour, weekday radio news magazine offering a mix of news, features, interviews, and music from around the globe. "The World" is a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston. More about The World.
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