Haitian Caribbean Celebration for Kids: Taptap Krik? Krak!

Katia D. Ulysse is a fiction writer, born in Haiti. Her work appears in TheCaribbeanWriter.org, TheRumpus.net, HongKongReview.co, and in Haiti Noir and The Butterfly’s Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States, among others. Her critically lauded collection of short stories, Drifting, was published by Akashic Books in 2014; her novel Mouths Don’t Speak was greeted with wide acclaim; and she has also published Fabiola Goes to School, a book for children in English and Haitian Creole. Ulysse received a Master of Arts from Notre Dame of Maryland University. She a songwriter, singer, and educator, and she loves blue bearded irises.

Toto Laraque is a singer, composer, producer and guitarist. Born in Port-au-Prince, but a long-time resident of Montreal, Laraque began his musical career at the age of 11. For Laraque, art was always a part of family life. In 1978, Toto, brother Jean-Jean, and Reginald Policard, founded the Caribbean Sextet for which he wrote several hits including “Cat fifi,”” Jolibois,” and “Toto.” He later embarked on a solo career and has recorded ten albums including Guitarement Votre, Caribbean Groove, and Gitan Creole.

Mahalia Solages‘ fiction has been published by Kalyani Magazine, Momaya Press, Almond Press, and in the trilingual anthology So Spoke The Earth. Her play, A Tale Of Two Mommies was featured in Miami at the Centro Cultural de España. She has also authored two children’s picture books. When she’s not working on her blog SHow-UP-DIfferently (SHUDI), she writes short stories from her home in Fort Lauderdale.

Inez Barlatier is a multifaceted musician and composer born in Miami of Ayisyen (Haitian) descent. She joined her father’s band, Jan Sebon & Kazak International, at the age of 12, and eventually formed her own band, Kazoots, which she led for 6 years. As a performer, Inez’s incredible vocal delivery organically flows between an ancestral guttural bellow to an airy angelic falsetto. She finds inspiration for her music in Africa, and in Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latin cultures. With a L.E.A.P. grant from Miami Theater Center, Inez produced a children’s show entitled Ayiti: Stories & Songs from Haiti, one of the top 30 featured presentations at the 2021 International Performance Art for Youth Conference.

Nadege Fleurimond is a chef, entrepreneur, speaker, author and business strategist. She graduated with a degree in Political Science from Columbia University and utilizing her Haitian culinary background as a guide, Fleurimond pulls a world of flavors from Asian, Latin American and European Cuisines to create events that inspire, motivate and unify. She is the author of Taste of Life, her debut as author which she presented as “part cookbook, part memoir,” and Haiti Uncovered, a culinary travel coffee table cookbook that delves into the art of Haitian cuisine. Taste of Solitude: A Culinary Journal (Nadege Fleurimond) is not your typical cooking book – it’s also an inspirational and therapeutic guide to dare to live your best life. The book features creative images of Fleurimond’s love for color, fashion, and ingredients as she shares the stories, lessons and themes that emerged from this time: Gratitude, friendship, hope, and so much more. She believes that her book can serve as a bridge, connecting and bringing people from different cultures together especially during a time of much division. Food is often a connector, helping us to celebrate our differences as well as our commonalities – it’s all in the pot!