Gros Moteur rara band keeps the rhythm of resistance alive in Gonaïves after 96 years 

GONAÏVES — On a recent April afternoon, men dressed in traditional karabela shirts and alfò or straw hats and women adorned in long, colorful embroidered dresses and skirts, the Gros Moteur Rara band marked its 96th anniversary in the historic city of Gonaïves, in the Artibonite region.

Founded in 1929 in the Souvenance locality, Gros Moteur has grown into one of the city’s most enduring cultural institutions—an emblem of spiritual continuity, rural pride, and collective resilience that has carried its legacy for nearly a century.

“I’m sacrificing myself so that the Gros Moteur rara can continue to exist in the Souvenance locality,” said Thony Diogène, the band committee delegate and one of its founding members.

Gros Moteur’s nearly a century of existence stands as a powerful symbol in a country where institutions are collapsing. While over the years, many of Haiti’s state structures struggle under the weight of crisis, this rara band continues to draw people into the streets—young and old, rural and urban, local and diaspora—bound together by music blending rhythms like Nago and Congo Dahomé, linking musical form to ancestral identity. 

On April 6, hundreds, including children, from across the city, attended this year’s anniversary festivities, drawn by the vibrant parades, hypnotic beats, and call-and-response chants echoing through the streets leading to the sacred Lakou Souvennace. There under a large tent, members alongside family and supporters of the band sat around a table adorned with flowers to share a meal and continue the celebration.

The band’s anniversary day coincided with the country’s Rara festivities month.

Across Haiti’s region, like in Gonaïves, Holy Week, coinciding with the Catholic rituals, marks one of the most anticipated times of the year, as the bann rara or street bands fill the streets each Sunday beginning in mid-March. These processions build to a sacred crescendo during Easter Week, when music, movement, and spiritual energy transform long stretches of streets, public squares into living ceremonies.

Gros Moteur members have their special cue to signal to members the start of their celebration. Members honored what organizers call the “twin spirits” that guide the band. According to Diogène, the group sends out a spiritual figure called ‘Brave’, dressed in black and purple, who signals the start of their celebration. 

Additionally, as a tradition, each Good Friday, Gros Moteur’s members circle the sacred Lakou Souvenance seven times in a symbolic procession. Then, on the last Palm Sunday that falls in the Rara season, they all dress entirely in white, heeding the spiritual instruction passed down through a servant of the Lakou Souvenance, Fernand Bien-Aimé, said to be inspired by his deceased father.

“This is what was revealed by his [Fernand] late father, he requested that every last Palm Sunday, we dress in white,” Kénold Diogène, another leader of the group, said.

The family behind the near-centenary legacy 

The longevity of the near-century rara band has come not just from its remarkable musical act, its rural base, but from members of the Haitian diaspora, many of whom once marched with the band and now contribute financially to ensure its survival.

Gros Moteur was founded by Saurel Diogène —its primary founder— alongside Carmelot Diogène and Dieuferne Corvile. The founders invested significantly in instruments and structure. Corvile also served as “samba,” or lead chant singer, and subsequent committees shaped the group’s evolving leadership.

Today, the Diogène name remains central to the group, with descendants continuing to serve and support Gros Moteur, ensuring that the group’s spiritual and artistic vision endures across generations.

“Each time the community faces problems—even family conflicts—we respond with musical messages that speak to the situation,” said Tony Diogène, musician and composer.

Locals near Souvenance and around Gonaïves see Gros Moteur as a musical force with deep social roots. 

“Gros Moteur gives unforgettable pleasure to its fans and reflects the spiritual trends of our Vodou traditions,” Jean Baptiste Aldajuste, a musician from rival group Vierges Miracle, said, acknowledging the band’s influence in its community. “The rivalry between the two bands, in the past, had created tension between fans, which is common and part of the competitive spirit that defines Rara.”

Gros Moteur is also a training ground for the youth. Through oral tradition and mentorship, younger musicians learn instruments such as the drum, piston, cymbal, trumpet, and bamboo.

“ I was first captivated after watching a rehearsal. From that day, I knew I wanted to be part of the band,” Wilvens Limage, a young musician who plays the bamboo, a woodwind instrument, said. “Now, each time I play, I feel that connection.”

“I never get tired of performing during the Rara season,” Eric Lacaussade, a multi-instrumentalist in Gros Moteur* said.

“The joy of playing comes from the energy of the crowd.  It’s about entertaining the fans and making the spirit of the band shine.”

Anchored in Vodou practice and local spirituality, Gros Moteur’s performances are not mere entertainment—they are acts of communal reaffirmation, especially important in the locality, where state support for such a music genre remains limited. 

Gros Moteur rara, a cultural inheritance, sustained by diaspora devotion

Historically associated with the Catholic figure of Saint Jacques, Gros Moteur has also weathered political interference. The 96 years of existence of the Gros Moteur group in the Lakou Souvenance community were marked by internal divisions, political setbacks, and economic hardship, but the group continues to perform, to parade, and to pass on its legacy.

In the 1990s, government officials suspended the group following a conflict with another Rara band, Toulimen. After sustained pressure from Bien-Aimé—and despite opposition from a former army captain—former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide authorized Gros Moteur to resume its cultural activities.

The longevity of the near-century rara band has come not just from its remarkable musical act, its rural base, but from members of the Haitian diaspora—many of whom once marched with the band and now contribute financially to ensure its survival.

Much of Gros Moteur’s modern endurance has been supported by Haitians abroad. Many Gonaives natives in the diaspora once played in the band or have family members who did. Their financial support—particularly for the 96th anniversary celebrations, has kept the tradition alive. Significant funds were invested in purchasing musical instruments, underscoring the group’s commitment to its craft.

“Each year, we spend over USD 100,000 to provide food, clothing, and drinks for all members of the Gros Moteur group,” Kénold said , the group’s president. 

This year’s celebration was organized with the support of a grandson of one of the founders, Colaba François, whose son contributed significantly to fund meals and attire for the hundreds of performers.

“He [Colaba’s son] gave us everything we needed to make this anniversary a success.”

Its endurance is also a message to the broader Gonaives community—including those in the diaspora—that even amid instability, Haiti’s deepest cultural roots are still alive and marching.

“Each time the Rara festivities arrive, the spirit of life is reignited in the band,” Thony said.

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