Street roots
7
Nov. 23, 2012
Portland’s
prince of
kompa
A talk with
Eddy Cange
about his
homeland of
Haiti and his
Portland
band, Balans
BY SUE ZALOKAR
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
aiti is the poorest country in the
Western Hemisphere. The
environmental and political travesties
there, coupled with the devastating natural
phenomena that have pelted the country are
documented over centuries. And with the
recent landfall of Hurricane Sandy, it would
seem that there is no end in sight for the
to build houses for the poor people. I think
struggling country.
that is very nice. So, it’s better.
Eddy Cange, a Portland-based musician
I don’t know about the countryside, but
and member of the all-Haitian band Balans,
where I come from in the city (Port-au-
knows about the harsh realities of life in
Prince) that is what was happening. The city
Haiti all too well. He grew up there, leaving
is where the rich people live too. If you go to
when he was 24 years old to come to the
Port-au-Prince — an area called Pétionville,
United States after his parents disappeared
you see nice cars - the same like the U.S.
and were presumably assassinated in the
Big houses. But when you go to Cité Soleil
mid-1980s.
that’s when you are going to see the poor
It has been a long road for Eddy Cange,
people. But if you go to Pétionville it is just
one paved with grief, death, devastation and
like the houses we have in U.S.
joy — experiences that fuel passionate and
S.Z.: How did the earthquake affect you?
political songs. He has found a home in
Portland, where he and his wife can raise
E.C.: I lost a cousin and my little brother.
their children without the constant,
My parents’ house collapsed. All the rest of
unsettling feeling that everything they have
my family is OK.
could be swept away with one horrific event.
S.Z.: I ’m so sorry. Where does your family
Now 46, the Haitian-American musician has
live now?
found an outlet for the feelings he has about
his homeland — making music. Cange’s band,
E.C. The land where the house of my
Balans, will play in a lineup of bands at the
family was, we have still. My cousin lives
Someday Lounge in Old Town, Saturday,
there. We rebuilt the house (after the
Nov. 24.
earthquake).
H
' Sue Zalokar: Tell me about your band,
Balans.
Eddy Cange: We have seven players. All
of us come from Haiti. I’m a singer and a
drummer. I play conga, cowbell and drum
set. At first we started like a gospel band. We
made two CDs. After that, all the players
went to school because they are young
people. They all went to college and the
band kind of broke down. And then we re
group again, so we make the band we have
now. We play Reggae, American music and
Haitian music - but mostly Haitian music.
S.Z.: For those who don’t know what
Haitian music sounds like, how would you
describe your music?
E.C.: The beat is very fast. It is much like
a salsa but it’s called kompa.
We write the songs - me and Jean Claude,
the band maestro.
S.Z.: The songs are written and sung in
different languages.
E.C.: Yes. English, French and Creole.
Some are about love. And then, you know
Haiti is a small country and very, very
beautiful, but we have a lot of problems.
There are very poor people there. So most
(of our) songs we talk about the poor people.
We mostly sing about the Haitian people.
People who are hungry, they don’t have a
place to live.
S.Z.; You were in H aiti this year for two
weeks. When you were back, what was the
situation for people after the horrible
earthquake two years ago?
E.C.: Last year when I went to Haiti, it
was so bad. A lot of people they don’t have a
room to stay. When I went after the
earthquake, I saw people sleeping on the
street. But this year when I went, Haiti has a
new president. The government is starting
S.Z.: A nd your parents?
E.C.: My dad used to work for a radio
station. He was killed by the government.
My mom and my dad were both killed. That’s
why the U.S. government took me and my
sister.
S.Z.: I ’m so sorry.
E.C.: My father was a radio journalist and
that is why they got him. They didn’t like
what my father was saying on the radio.
They grew up in the countryside, my mom
and dad. A place called Jacmel. They came to
Port-au-Prince after they married. My dad
was working and both of my parents went to
school in the city. My dad ended up working
in the radio station. But he didn’t like the
way the government treated the people —
the poor people. That’s why he got in
trouble.
One day in 1986, before we went to
school, my mom and my dad they go to the
market - Eagle Market - to get food for our
family. They never came back. My dad’s car
was outside the building. They were nowhere
to be found. The government said they were
going to give a $25,000 reward for
information about my parents. And we
waited and waited and waited. But we never
heard anything. After a while, like in 1994,
the American government said, OK, we have
to take you guys out of the country because
it is not safe for you.
S.Z.: How did you feel about that?
E.C.: I was kind of young. I was a singer
then too. When I was in Haiti, I was a star,
because I was playing in a big band. So,
everybody knew me. At that point (six years
after my parents died) I was so happy to
come to America. I knew when I came to
America, I was going to make a bunch of
money singing. My dad never wanted to
leave Haiti. His partner told him once, “you
say too much, man. You have to leave” My
dad refused. He felt he was fighting for the
poor people. “I’m not going to leave. I’m
going to stay in Haiti.”
I never thought I would be in the U.S.
But in Oregon, the Haitian community is
kind of small. If I was in Florida or New
York, there are a lot of Haitians living there.
S.Z.: What made you decide to come to
Portland?
E.C.: New York was too big for me. It’s
too busy. I was looking for a small town. I
have a brother in Oregon. He said it was
very nice so I came to Oregon in 1994.
S.Z.: The politics of Haiti are confusing and
violent. What hopes do you have for the future
o f Haiti?
E.C.: I don’t know really, because when I
was in Haiti, any time we have a president, it
seems that they never do anything for the
people. The guy right now we have for
president, he is a singer. His name is Michel
Martelly. He was known as “Sweet Mickey.”
In his band, he used to sing and make jokes
about being the president of Haiti. I’m the
president of kompa (he would say). Now he
is the real president in Haiti. He’s the only
one, my friends and family tell me, who does
good things for the Haitian people. I hope he
is still doing good. He is trying to make the
government in Haiti similar to the
government like we have in the U.S.
S.Z.: I read in the Angola Press that Michel
Martelly is going to appear with Julio Isglasias
in the Dominican Republic for a fundraiser for
a charity Martelly founded with his wife,
Sophia. What about the relationship between
the Dominican Republic and Haiti?
E.C.: When I was there, I noticed it is
very different than it is in Haiti. It is very
beautiful and they have a lot of business. It is
way better there. There are not so many
poor people. The problem in Haiti - at least
when I was growing up in the eighties - is
corruption. For example, my last name is
Cange (kahn-jay). If I am the president, then
you will see all of the Cange family in the
government. That’s the problem.
S.Z.: What role does music play in your life?
E.C.: My dream is to play music. When I
sing, I feel so happy. All of my songs are
about the Haitian people. I have a song
where I ask God, “When are you going to
come to help the Haitian people?” There is
another song I just wrote to all of the
Haitians living in the U.S. I ask them,
Everyday you say Haiti is not going to die,
but why don’t you do something for Haiti? If
all the Haitian people in America gave one
dollar, that can do something for the Haitian
people. So give a dollar. What is the
government going to do for us? We might
have to do it ourselves.
sue@streetroots. org
P H O T O B Y SUE
ZALOKAR
Eddy Cange’s band
Balans will be
playing at Someday
Lounge Nov. 24.