![\"during](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779088037_193_MIA_2026-05-16AD5756Haitancompasfestcopy_1.JPG\" "\\"Festival")
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Festival goers celebrated Haiti\u2019s return to the FIFA World Cup after 52 years during the 28th Annual Haitian Compas Festival at The NoMI Village while celebrating May 18 Haitian Flag Day in North Miami, Florida, on Saturday, May 16, 2026.<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY AL DIAZ<\/p>\n
adiaz@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
There were dancing soccer balls, musicians in Haiti national soccer team jerseys and flags \u2014 lots and lots of Haitian flags.<\/p>\n
As Haitians once more poured into North Miami on Saturday for the annual Haitian Compas Festival,<\/a> they used the occasion to not just celebrate the culture and cuisine, but also the country\u2019s return to the FIFA World Cup<\/a> next month for the first time in 52 years.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a dream that Haiti beat Brazil,\u201d said Roberto Martino, lead singer of T-Vice, while waving Haiti\u2019s bicolor flag during the band\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n The comment, which drew a loud roar from the crowd, referenced what is expected to be Haiti\u2019s biggest World Cup matchup: a June 19 game against Brazil at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Brazil\u2019s national team enjoys a large following among Haitians.<\/p>\n While Haiti\u2019s anticipated appearance on soccer\u2019s biggest stage has become a source of national pride and unity, this weekend\u2019s celebration ahead of May 18, Haitian Flag Day, also carried mixed emotions.<\/p>\n Alongside the red caps and blue-and-red T-shirts in the crowd emblazoned with \u201c1974\u201d and \u201c2026,\u201d commemorating Les Grenadiers\u2019 two World Cup appearances, were also shirts expressing frustration over the deadly violence engulfing their country, which remains cut off from the world.<\/p>\n T-shirts read \u201cNou Bouke\u201d (\u201cWe\u2019re Fed Up\u201d) and \u201cKite Peyi-m Mache\u201d (\u201cLet My Country Function\u201d), reflecting the sentiments of Haitians who, while celebrating Haitian pride and the founding of their flag, are doing so under great difficulties and immigration threats.<\/p>\n Prayers and TPS<\/p>\n \u201cHaitians, our pride is in who we are; our pride is our flag,\u201d said North Miami Councilman Pierre Frantz Charles, who is from Arcahaie, the Haiti city where the flag was created on May 18, 1803, during a gathering in which Blacks and mixed-raced rebels united against French colonizers to fight their last battles before the country gained independence on Jan. 1, 1804.<\/p>\n Charles, who represents the district where the festival was held, urged the crowd \u201cto continue to pray and raise your voices on behalf of our brothers and sisters who are in difficulty\u201d \u2014 those with Temporary Protected Status, TPS, and those who came to the United States under a humanitarian parole program established by the Biden administration. Both groups face possible deportation after the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow it to end protections for Haitians.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause at one point we were in a similar situation,\u201d Charles said. \u201cThere was a moment when we didn\u2019t have papers; a lot of you, your parents didn\u2019t have legal status. Let\u2019s work so they can remain because they contribute to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd let\u2019s pray for the people of Haiti,\u201d he added in Creole, \u201cbecause Haiti is in a nightmare. What is happening in Haiti is not the Haiti I knew. A nation cannot remain on its knees; a people cannot remain on its knees. Let\u2019s pray for Haiti because this has to change.\u201d<\/p>\n Battle isn\u2019t over<\/p>\n Charles\u2019s message was echoed by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Marleine Bastien and Miami-Dade Mayor Danielle Levine Cava. Before the two officials showed off their dance moves onstage to Haitian roots rhythm, Levine Cava told the crowd that not only was Compas Fest \u201cthe best party in town,\u201d but \u201cwe stand with you. We stand with Haiti.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe know we are living through a difficult situation,\u201d Bastien said, noting that TPS protections \u2014 which the organization she founded, Family Action Network Movement, and others fought hard to secure \u2014 are now \u201con life support.\u201d<\/p>\n Many did not believe, she said, that the Haitian community would succeed last month in securing a House vote to extend TPS protections for Haiti<\/a> for three years. Although the bill passed with support from South Florida Republicans and other lawmakers who crossed party lines to join Democrats, it still requires Senate approval.<\/p>\n \u201cThe battle isn\u2019t over. We need another vote in the Senate,\u201d Bastien said, appealing to U.S. citizens in the crowd to contact their congressional representatives. \u201cYou know Haiti cannot receive more than 250,000 people with TPS, or thousands upon thousands of people from the Biden program.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: North Miami celebrates Haitian culture at the Compas Festival. Take a look<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCan I count on you?\u201d she asked before ending on a note of encouragement. \u201cDon\u2019t be discouraged. Stay strong. Yes, we are going through a difficult moment. Our country needs leaders \u2026 who represent us.\u201d<\/p>\n Haitians to shock at FIFA World Cup<\/p>\n In the meantime, she said, the festival was a moment to celebrate Haitian culture and cuisine \u2014 and to dream of surprising the world on soccer\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dream is to shock everyone at the World Cup,\u201d Bastien said. \u201cI know we are going to represent.\u201d<\/p>\n Haiti\u2019s World Cup qualification s<\/a>erved as a backdrop throughout the festival. Bands including Vayb and T-Vice incorporated soccer balls and flags into their performances, while members of Disip wore national team jerseys.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat country will win at the World Cup?\u201d Mickael Guirand, who introduced his set with girls dancing with soccer balls, asked from the stage as the crowd yelled in enthusiasm, \u201cHaiti.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat country will crush at the World Cup?\u201d he then asked.<\/p>\n \u201cAyiti,\u201d the crowd chanted back.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Latest World Cup roster news, Neymar\u2019s possible return, Haiti squad announced<\/a><\/p>\n The festival, which marked its 28th year, was again held at The NoMi Village in North Miami for its second year. Vice Mayor Kassandra Timothe told the crowd the city had invested more than $2 million to bring the production to North Miami, which has a majority Haitian-American-led City Council.<\/p>\n Haitian Flag Day, a moment of reflection, frustration<\/p>\n With parties continuing on Sunday and Monday, Haitians will undoubtedly display their pride. Yet, the moment also carries reflection, frustration and anger \u2014 sentiments shared not only by attendees but by the musicians themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing into May 18,\u201d Martino said, \u201cis going well for us in terms of parties and celebrating. But we have that bitter taste in our mouths because it feels like we\u2019re celebrating what we did in the past; we\u2019re celebrating what we had. It\u2019s like we\u2019re going backwards all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow much is it going to take for us to wake up as a people and say, \u2018We don\u2019t want to stay like that anymore?\u2019\u201d said the artist, whose band has been performing since Monday at various May 18 events. \u201cWe want to rebuild; we want to be a country that\u2019s moving forward, that\u2019s creating jobs, that\u2019s secured, that has security; encouraging investments from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a conflicting feeling, Martino said, celebrating the flag and Haitian heritage while also feeling stuck due to the country\u2019s reality.<\/p>\n Richard Cave, lead singer of KAI, is equally frustrated.<\/p>\n \u201cI am annoyed that I feel like every year I am saying the same thing,\u201d he said after his high-energy performance. \u201cWe still have a big problem that our elite of Haiti still do not want this country to be open to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The country\u2019s spiraling gang violence, which led to roughly 6,000 deaths last year and continues to drive hunger and displacements, has forced the United States, France and others to issue aviation bans, leading to the suspension of international commercial flights into Port-au-Prince\u2019s Toussaint Louverture International Airport.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the way for people to come and invest in the country,\u201d Cave said. \u201cA country that doesn\u2019t have an airport is excluded from the world. The only thing you\u2019re doing is feeding people, and it\u2019s pissing me off to see that our limits are just to feed people and not evolve and make this country like our neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen are we going to stop?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 1:49 PM.<\/p>\n![\"Terry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MIA_2026-05-16AD0078Haitancompasfest.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2026-05-16AD0078Haitancompasfest.JPG\\"")
Terry and Yolvanie Maximilien wear Haiti World Cup attire while attending the 28th Annual Haitian Compas Festival at The NoMI Village celebrating Haitian Flag Day in North Miami, Florida, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"North](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MIA_2026-05-16AD1478Haitancompasfest.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2026-05-16AD1478Haitancompasfest.JPG\\"")
North Miami Councilman Pierre Frantz Charles, North Miami Beach Commissioner Daniela Jean and North Miami Vice Mayor Kassandra Timothe, left to right, on stage during the 28th Annual Haitian Compas Festival at The NoMI Village celebrating Haitian Flag Day in North Miami, Florida, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"Miami](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MIA_2026-05-16AD5119Haitancompasfest.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2026-05-16AD5119Haitancompasfest.JPG\\"")
Miami-Dade Commissioner Marleine Bastien and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, left to right, dance to the music during the 28th Annual Haitian Compas Festival at The NoMI Village celebrating Haitian Flag Day in North Miami, Florida, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"Haitian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779088039_907_MIA_2026-05-16AD6230Haitancompasfest.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2026-05-16AD6230Haitancompasfest.JPG\\"")
Haitian singer Anie Alerte and her band Zile perform during the 28th Annual Haitian Compas Festival at The NoMI Village celebrating May 18 Haitian Flag Day in North Miami, Florida, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n