Public Story
Images from Haiti's First International Surf Competition
Over the past 2 years, Surf Haiti has slowly grown both in reputation and in size, while Haiti itself continues to struggle (with the recent election crisis another example of the ways the state has failed). In April, Joan contacted me with news that Surf Haiti would be hosting the country's first international surfing competition - an historic event by any measure, but perhaps made more interesting given the "international" component featured a surf team from the Dominican Republic. Internal tensions not withstanding, the often contentious relationship between the two countries that share the island has deteriorated further as changes to immigration policy risk creating a new class of Haitian refugees.
Against this backdrop, I returned to Jacmel mainly to help out and support the organization, but also to document the competition itself. The images are a mix of color and b&w, mostly film shot on an old Nikonos underwater camera and reflect an eclectic crowd (featuring, for example, Alain Maximilien, a DJ who goes by the name of the "Haitian Hillbilly" and has the words "MORE BEER" tattooed on his knuckles).
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