Haiti Chérie - Meringue from Haiti

In the crowded streets of Port au Prince and other Haitian towns, ti bands - groups of between four and six musicians - strike up the first note of méringue and a crowd gathers round.

The music creates a street party where couples dance belt-buckle to belt-buckle to a rhythm that they recognize as their own. This music is the roots of the sound produced by Haiti's international stars: groups like Tabou Combo, Caribbean Sextet, Missile 727 amongst others.

Haitian meringue has a sweeter, more nostalgic melody than the merengue of the Dominican Republic although some rhythmical patterns are common to both genres.

CO 107 ©, (p) Discos Corason, 1989. Produced by Eduardo Llerenas