BEL AIR IS NOW OPEN TO VISITORS !!
Submitted to HX by Jacqualine Labrom
of Voyages Lumiere
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If like me, you thought that the area of Bel Air was still a gang stronghold, then you would be mistaken. The gangs have gone and now Bel Air, which means Beautiful Air is open and waiting to receive visitors.
They are very sad at what happened in their neighborhood and want to show the world that they can look after visitors and show you their artistic and cultural side.
For those of you who don’t know it, here are some important facts about this the oldest part of Port-au-Prince.:
Bel Air is a very large area – It covers on the South side from Rue des Pompiers, which is the street where the Art Museum is, including the Palace and the Cathedral; over to the North side on Delmas 2-4; on the West side to La Saline and on the East side is Fort National.
Bel Air started with 32 Lakou’s as they call them – little neighborhoods of various families. They have had some famous presidents living there, including François Duvalier, Daniel Fignolé and Hyppolite. The area dates from 1740 and was the first main residential quarter of Port-au-Prince. The old Cathedral dates from around the same time but it burned down, and now the new one dates from 1929.
The very first school in the area was founded by Alexandre Pétion and named after him – Lycée Pétion, in 1816. It is situated just behind the Cathedral. There are plans to develop the old site into a cultural centre.
Several other important buildings are in the area, including the statue of Mme Colo who was supposed to be one of the first Colonial women who lived in the area.
L’Eglise Perpetual Secours dates from 1882 and is considered their mother church. The Lakou Barozie is an old vodou lakou and the descendants of the Houngan are still practicing and also make lovely vodou flags to sell. When you visit the neighborhood, you see why they call it Bel Air - after having climbed to the top, you not only have beautiful views of the Palace, the Cathedral and the sea, but you also get a wonderful cool breeze. The original inhabitants named it well – Beautiful Air.
On the cultural side there are many important authors who were born here – Francketienne, Emile St. Lot, Marcillon Cocou, and Antoine Innocent amongst others. The Masters of Vodou flags are Edgar and Silva.
An old football club, “Aigle Noir” still functions and dates from 1951.
Many music groups come from there, such as Coupé Cloué, Skah Shah #1, Raram, Belair Massif, and Barikad Crew whose deaths hit everyone so badly just recently.
And for those who are interested in artisanat and art and perhaps investing in a cottage industry you will find many different professions here:
Shoemakers, tailors, couturiers, artists, saddlemakers, local jewellery, woodworkers, clothes designers, comedians and dancers and many many more. They are all waiting for you to come and see and buy their creations.
Because the area is so large it was decided to divide it up into different circuits for tours so as to showcase the talented artists of Bel Air.
If you’re interested in taking a Tour then contact their local association…..
Call Mario Calixte of the association CAABEL on Telephone no: 3663-1436
Voyages Lumière SA
email:
Tel: (00 509) 2249-6177
Cellphones: (00 509) 3557-0753/3607-1321
