VODOU IN THE DIASPORA: KEEPING THE SPIRIT ALIVE – NONFICTION

CAREL PEDRE is a Haitian media personality, journalist, and digital storyteller with more than 25 years of experience. Born and raised in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, he began his career in radio and moved to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he hosted programs on stations like Radio Planet Kreyol and Radio ONE. He is widely known for Chokarella, a multimedia platform and radio show that blends music, cultural commentary, and social conversation. As a media entrepreneur, he also leads projects covering Haiti’s carnival (PleziKanaval) and supports creative and educational causes through philanthropy and outreach. He gained international recognition during Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, when he used scarce communication channels to alert the world to conditions on the ground. Over the years, he has been honored with awards such as the 2010 Humanitarian Shorty Award and the Change Maker Award. He is also active in governance and advocacy, serving on boards like PRODEV Haiti and Groupe de Support Contre le Cancer (GSCC), and supporting education and public health initiatives.

CAROLE DEMESMIN is a celebrated Haitian singer, storyteller, and cultural advocate whose repertoire honors rara, folk, and devotional song. Born in Léogâne, Haiti, and raised in Port‑au‑Prince, she moved to the U.S. as a teen and later earned a music degree from Berklee College of Music. In the early 1980s she returned to Haiti to deepen her work with traditional arts, studying Vodou and ultimately being initiated as a priestess. Guided by poet‑lyricist Jean‑Claude Martineau, Demesmin’s recordings span decades – from early classics like Min Rara to recent projects including Maroulé – and her performances have carried Haitian heritage to stages in the Caribbean, North America, and Europe. She teaches, records, and curates programs that connect music with healing, memory, and civic pride, encouraging audiences to value Creole language, women’s voices, and ritual knowledge. She continues to collaborate with community groups and media to amplify Haiti’s living traditions and the artists who sustain them.

Dr. JERRY M. GILLES, M.D., is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and educator whose career bridges high‑risk obstetrics, research, and Haitian cultural scholarship. A Columbia University graduate with a medical degree from Stony Brook University, he later co‑directed the Division of Maternal‑Fetal Medicine at the University of Miami and served as a principal investigator with the U.S. Public Health Service. He has published in journals including The New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, with his work on miscarriage management cited widely in medical references. In 1997, Guinness World Records recognized his role in enabling a heart transplant for a newborn performed just 45 seconds after birth. Beyond medicine, Gilles edits Literati Boukmann – founded by his late wife, Ivwoz S. Jil – and co‑developed Sèvis Ginen: Rasin, Rityèl, Respè nan Vodou while curating the mobile Lakou Lasyans museum in Pestèl, Haiti. His scholarship engages Africa‑in‑the‑Americas legacies and family lineages (Banbara, Kongo, Mede). He now advises clinicians and teaches residents across South Florida, advancing culturally responsive, evidence‑based perinatal care.