Rice is a major food staple in Haitian culture. It’s been grown, cultivated, and eaten since being brought to Hispaniola (the island Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic) by enslaved Africans. But, by the 1980s, it was the beginning of the end for the Haitian rice industry.
Faced with the expulsion of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who is notoriously known for raiding the Haitian treasury, and rising food insecurity, Haiti’s people found itself in a dire situation. Western institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank offered a loan with a cost: the reduction of tariffs on rice to just 3%. This led to imported rice, like that from America, to be cheaper than anything grown locally. With Miami, Florida being the closest American port to Haiti, many rice bags were marked with the words ‘Miami, Florida, leading to the nickname of “diri Miami” or “Miami Rice”.
Being born to Haitian parents, rice has always been a big part of my diet. It never occurred to me to look into the intricate history until I spoke with my dad. As he was having dinner, I asked him what sorts of produce his family grew in Haiti, and somehow, he began to tell me stories of this deep colored rice that was a shade of purple when milled and prepared. I found myself reminiscing and questioning my own relationship to rice. I also found myself dumbfounded to realize that I’ve never had true Haitian rice despite growing up and buying rice from West Indian and Haitian stores in Florida.
Living in California has forced me to confront elements of my culture I tend to overlook when I am “in the thick of it”. To me, there is this unshakeable urgency to learn, but also to share. Throughout the creation of this show, I found myself grappling with the realities and consequences of colonialism, while simultaneously grieving for my family, for my motherland.
Miami Rice is a body of work that continues my interest in layering, multiplicities, identity, and memory through interdisciplinary methods.
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With many thanks to
Fanmi m (my family); I love you with all my heart times infinity
My amazing cohort
My dearest friends
My lovely mentor
My thoughtful professors
Those with open hearts ready to listen and learn
Angie Emily Joseph
Faced with the expulsion of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who is notoriously known for raiding the Haitian treasury, and rising food insecurity, Haiti’s people found itself in a dire situation. Western institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank offered a loan with a cost: the reduction of tariffs on rice to just 3%. This led to imported rice, like that from America, to be cheaper than anything grown locally. With Miami, Florida being the closest American port to Haiti, many rice bags were marked with the words ‘Miami, Florida, leading to the nickname of “diri Miami” or “Miami Rice”.
Being born to Haitian parents, rice has always been a big part of my diet. It never occurred to me to look into the intricate history until I spoke with my dad. As he was having dinner, I asked him what sorts of produce his family grew in Haiti, and somehow, he began to tell me stories of this deep colored rice that was a shade of purple when milled and prepared. I found myself reminiscing and questioning my own relationship to rice. I also found myself dumbfounded to realize that I’ve never had true Haitian rice despite growing up and buying rice from West Indian and Haitian stores in Florida.
Living in California has forced me to confront elements of my culture I tend to overlook when I am “in the thick of it”. To me, there is this unshakeable urgency to learn, but also to share. Throughout the creation of this show, I found myself grappling with the realities and consequences of colonialism, while simultaneously grieving for my family, for my motherland.
Miami Rice is a body of work that continues my interest in layering, multiplicities, identity, and memory through interdisciplinary methods.
—----------------------------------------
With many thanks to
Fanmi m (my family); I love you with all my heart times infinity
My amazing cohort
My dearest friends
My lovely mentor
My thoughtful professors
Those with open hearts ready to listen and learn
Angie Emily Joseph