Posted inArts & Culture
Haitians and friends of Haiti recall nights of music, culture and connection at the Oloffson
Overview:
Haitians and friends of Haiti share vivid memories of the Hotel Oloffson—a cultural hub where music, history and community intertwined—now lost to fire.
Daniel Foote, Former United States Special Envoy for Haiti
From my first sweaty, rum punch-filled Thursday night at the Oloffson for RAM, I knew it was a special place to gather, regardless of how you got there. The energy was high, the band was rocking, and I met 200 people who embraced me warmly as I lost track of my punch intake. In a surprisingly short time, I forged several lifelong friendships. My family and I will forever hold the Hotel Oloffson—and its people—in a special place in our hearts.
Darlie Gervais, Founding member of The Haitian Times | CCM, ABI Director
I could not believe it.
I grew up with the Oloffson, just a short walk from where I lived. Every day on my way to school at Saint-François d’Assise in Pacot, I passed by its intricate gingerbread architecture and lush gardens. For me, the Oloffson wasn’t just a hotel—it was like the Champs-Élysées of Carrefour-Feuilles. It stood as a landmark, a place of shade and respite where I could pause in the courtyard to escape the harsh June sun before continuing home.
Alain Martin, Director, The Forgotten Occupation
The burning down of the Oloffson is heartbreaking for many reasons. Too many to list here.
When I was working on our documentary about the U.S. occupation and filming in Haiti, the Oloffson was where we shot our final interview. Of course, the hotel has many ties not only to the era of the American occupation but also to the decades of U.S. political influence that followed. When Hollywood flirted with Haiti during the 1960s and 1970s, many celebrities stayed there.
Jonathan Katz, Author, The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster
I have so many memories of the Hotel Oloffson that it is impossible to process them all. They’re just there, scattershot, splayed across my psyche like lines in a Stevenson Magloire painting. The first time I went was for dinner, a few days after moving to Haiti, to start work as the correspondent for the Associated Press. I remember being awestruck by the architecture, intrigued by the statue of the Baron Samedi, and strangely at home on the grounds. On the way home, my car stalled and started rolling downhill backward on the Route du Canape-Vert. In retrospect, this may have been something of a sign.
Pascale Solages, Human Rights Advocate and Coordinator of Feminist Organization Nègès Mawon
I can’t hide this. Losing Hotel Oloffson hurts!
When I heard it had burned down, I was devastated. The loss was personal. It wasn’t just about the building. It was about Richard and Lunise Morse, my friends, and everything that space represented.
Starting in 2014, I worked at the Oloffson for many years as a journalist and producer of the show Quinze Minutes Pour Vous for Radio-Télé Caraïbes (RTVC), alongside presenter Gaëlle Bien-Aimé.
Macollvie J. Neel, Special Projects Editor, The Haitian Times
I first heard about the Oloffson as a rookie reporter at The Haitian Times because so many people I interviewed would mention an unforgettable night they had there, a gig that was pivotal in their career. For a girl who grew up mostly an deyò (countryside)— whose memories of Port-au-Prince revolved around pre-dawn trips to the American Embassy, smoke from burning tires signaling there’d be no school that day, and tap-taps loaded up with factory workers — their joyful recollections were a stark contrast.
Fritznel D. Octave, Haiti Editor, The Haitian Times
I used to live nearby in Carrefour-Feuille. That’s where I would go to study during my high school years, commuting between my home at 2ème Ruelle Fouchard, Place Cadet Jérémie across, and an American pastor-missionary’s suite. He lived there for nearly a decade with his family of six, including his three boys and one girl, who grew up in the iconic castle in the 1990s. The American Baptist missionary was my father’s friend and spiritual advisor. On weekends, I would come for the music, food, and the gorgeous swimming pool.
Michele Wucker, Author, “Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the Struggle for Hispaniola”
I visited the Oloffson Hotel for the first time during the Namphy regime in 1988. I was on a summer travel grant to study Dominican-Haitian relations from the Dominican Republic and was not supposed to go to Haiti, but the pull was too strong. Sipping a rum punch and having a lanbi (conch) dinner on the nearly empty Oloffson veranda felt like traveling back in time decades to the pages of a Graham Greene novel.
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