Let me just say that if you don’t feel like reading my heartfelt musings, I invite you to skip right on to this link that goes directly to my episode of On Being with Krista Tippett ( http://onbeing.org/…/nathalie-joachim-song-of-haitis-women…/ ), but today is special to me for so many reasons:
- It’s International Women’s Day.
- It is now officially less than one week until the world premiere of Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), the passion project that has fed my heart and soul over the course of the last several years. A project about Haiti’s most inspiring women and girls – from icons like Toto Bissainthe and Emerante de Pradines, to my beautiful late grandmother Ipheta Fortuma, and the women and girls of my family’s farming village of Dantan, Haiti. A project commissioned and made possible by a woman with an incredible curatorial vision and passion for supporting artists: Kate Nordstrum of Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music series. A project that’s being carried across the finish line with the help of my best friend and one of the greatest women I know, Allison Loggins-Hull (aka my Flutronix partner).
- Today, the episode of On Being that I was so lucky to have been featured on is out in the world! The show, hosted by Krista Tippett, a woman whose work I idolize fiercely, is an intimate conversation between us about Haiti, the loving generosity and beauty of its people, and more on Fanm d’Ayiti, including a sneak peek of the performance. Head on over to the On Being website, iTunes or your preferred podcast platform to have a listen. You can also tune in to over 400 (…!!!!) NPR stations nationally, where it will air live this weekend.
To see the work of so many admirable women coming together on this International Women’s Day makes my entire heart swell. And looking back on all of the incredible women who have made me the person that I am is what gives me the strength to continue moving forward in this crazy life each and every day. I can’t name them all here, but their beauty. Their intelligence. Their power. Their resilience. These are the things I am most grateful for.