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This post was originally written in Kreyòl.
Sunday seemed to be a sacred day for Alcibiade: a day for one last prayer, a day to sing one’s libera, a day to live life to the fullest.
Actor and comedian Alcibiade, born Nicolas Pierre Rolin, was an actor from the National Theater, back when its name was Théâtre de Verdure. He spent more than 25 years producing Détente Théâtrale, a popular Haitian radio comedy series which aired on Radio Télévision Caraïbes every Sunday. His unfortunate passing was made known to the public on Sunday, January 23, 2022 although he had passed away two days prior. Sunday seemed to be a sacred day for Alcibiade: a day for one last prayer, a day to sing one’s libera, a day to live life to the fullest.
Alcibiade began producing Détente Théâtrale in 1994 on Radio Caraïbes. According to René Antoine Lerebours, producer of many Alcibiade sitcom episodes, in 2016, they stopped producing new episodes due to Rolin’s health issues. Since then, only reruns of the show are played on 94.5 FM.
Many young people can recall waking up on Sundays to their parents listening to Alcibiade. My own father made a ritual of sitting right in front of his radio to listen to either a new episode of Détente Théâtrale or a rerun on 94.5 FM. Along with many folks in our neighborhood called Fort Mercredi, it was a weekly rendez-vous, and my father would rush home to be there every Sunday after church.
On many Facebook posts, you can read moving testimonies about Alcibiade. Eberline Nicolas, a journalist for Loop Haïti, shared the following words, “When I was a child, every Sunday, this man’s voice let me know food was ready. I enjoyed listening to him because I loved the food that was made on Sundays. Safe travels Biade.” I recall similarly allowing Alcibiade’s sitcom to help me pass the time while waiting for food to be served on Sundays. It is as if entertainment is able to suppress all dire needs we might have. Alcibiade’s sitcoms were not only able to make us laugh, they were also able to make us forget our urgent needs, even our impatient bellies awaiting a delicious Sunday meal.
In addition to providing laughter and entertainment, Détente Theatrale helped us think about social realities. The character named Alcibiade is one that is always hustling. You could say he was a wise-guy or a trickster. He is comparable to Malice of the Haitian tales, “Bouki et Malice.”
In Haiti nowadays, traditional media (television and radio stations) produces very few artistic programs or any form of entertainment programs such as sitcoms, chronicles and cultural shows. Simply flipping through radio and television channels, this reality is hard to miss. The absence of such programs says a lot about what value the media gives to culture and entertainment. However, this empty space left by traditional media is being filled in alternative spaces mostly found on the internet. Through platforms such as Facebook, Youtube and TikTok, many young women and men are creating programs of all types. We even find consistent trends and standards in these series. We can name a few comedic productions like Jeff Oka, Aurelie, Cantave-K, Gaëlle Bien-Aimé, amongst others. These artists have succeeded in attracting a large and diverse audience.
However, not so long ago in the 1980’s and 1990’s, there used to be many radio and television shows on both private and public media outlets focused on entertainment in Haiti. We can name “Lavi nan Bouk” by Papa Pyè’s theater group, “Languichatte au 20e siècle“, which is Theodore Beaubrun’s creation, that started playing on public television (TNH) in 1982. “Woy! Les voilà” was a sitcom created by Mona Guérin, which played on Radio Métropole and “Meli Melo”, with its main character Dubréus (We all remember the catchy tune for that show). “Pè Toma” was a beloved television series created by Sidney Louis that played on Télévision Nationale (National Television). VIP (Vanités, Intrigues, Passions) was a radio drama that was aired on Radio Métropole. And then there was the beloved “Détente Théâtrale” (Theatrical Relaxation) created by the Alciabiade Theater Group, and is the only sitcom among all those named that continues to be broadcasted on FM radio today.
Why is laughter so important? Laughter is therapeutic, but also possesses a social function. When can we laugh? The passing of a comedian such as Alcibiade could be a great occasion to think on the link between life, laughter, and death. But death is no laughing matter. Even for Alcibiade, a very funny character, who spent more than 40 years making people laugh through his numerous sketches and radio sitcoms, no one would dare crack a smile during this time. Paradoxically, Alcibiade surely created his skits to help us through our toughest moments through laughter, through times like these.
We will never truly know what Alcibiade would have wanted us to do during his funeral. What we can do, however, is take this time of mourning to think of Nicolas Pierre Rolin’s heritage to us. We can try and understand the causes behind the absence of sitcoms on the radio and on television, and look at the dynamics of new artists entertaining us via new media. As we wish Alcibiade a good crossing, we also wish for these beautiful artistic practices not to be buried in traditional media in Haïti.
