Jacmel celebrates 327th anniversary with culture, parades and poetry | PHOTOS

JACMEL — Poetry, music, masks and memory lit up Haiti’s Jacmel as the historic and southeastern port city marked its 327th anniversary with two days of cultural celebration under the theme: Jacmel, a city, a history.

The festivities began on July 27, with a beach festival on La Saline, followed by a thanksgiving mass at Notre-Dame de la Vierge chapel attended by local leaders and city dignitaries. A colorful parade of masked groups and marching bands animated Jacmel’s streets, as residents gathered to honor the southeast coast city’s artistic heritage.

On Monday evening, the celebration culminated with a cultural showcase at the tourist port, where traditional dance troupes and musical ensembles delivered a high-energy performance. 

People fill the streets in celebration of the city’s founding during the masquerade parade on July 28, 2025. Photo courtesy of the Departmental Directorate of the Ministry of Tourism.

But the two-day event’s anniversary was just one part of a month rich in cultural activity.

From July 18 to 20, Jacmel hosted the first edition of the Walking Islands Festival (FIM), a unique artistic gathering dedicated to memory, poetry and dialogue. Held in creative spaces across the city, FIM invited artists and writers to reflect on the Caribbean islands’ common identity, shared histories and the role of art in shaping the future. 

On July 19, the city turned into a vibrant space for exchange, reflection and discovery. Words took shape, ideas bloomed and responses emerged as writer Inéma Jeudi, the festival’s guest of honor, presented a major work as part of the Made in Kay Vwazen series. Alongside Ernst Dimitry Cadet and Derby Stanley St. Fleur, Jeudi took part in a conversation that explored memory as compass and rootedness as resistance.

Throughout the day, voices like Jhonny Vyles, Ar Guens Jean Mary, Richardson Jean, Max Renaud Lubin and Wilson Edmond—known as Ti Lanp—led a poetic discussion on insularity and the visceral bond between artist and territory. The day closed with a roundtable on plural memories and Caribbean historical unity, featuring contributions from Guillaume Robillard, Carlos Dimeo, Miguel Ángel Fornerín, Kesler Bien-Aimé, Gino Sitson, Leticia Franqui Rosario and Marie Séguin.

The festival wrapped July 20 with a night of live Caribbean jazz, as Darlin Johancy Michel, Gougou Zachary Compère, Edner Roméus, Stanley Gué, Richecard Ciné and others performed in front of a packed crowd. Blending traditional rhythms with improvisation, the event underscored Jacmel’s reputation as a creative capital—one where music and memory intertwine.

This first edition of FIM reinforced what Jacmel has long demonstrated: that culture is more than celebration—it’s collective memory in motion.

Here are photos sharing a glimpse of the vibrant cultural celebrations in Jacmel during its 327th anniversary and the inaugural Walking Islands Festival

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