Little Haiti Caribbean Marketplace

Also known as Mache Ayisyen, the nine thousand square foot Caribbean Marketplace is the largest space within the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. The Little Haiti area in Miami is a neighborhood which embodies a rich history concerning Haitian immigration to Florida. Museums and murals alike seek to develop new narratives about the transnational nature of the small neighborhood. The religious institutions have a history of activism and continue to participate in social justice programs that enhance the livelihood of their constituents.

English: The Little Haiti neighborhood is located in the City of Miami’s 5th district and embodies the creation of new spaces of intersectionality. Here, class, race, ethnicity and imperialism meet to generate new narratives and enrich our understandings of what it means to be Haitian-American in Miami and across the US. Furthermore, this neighborhood embodies the transnational routes present in the Atlantic and give us insight into the political involvement of Haitians in the diaspora and the homeland. The buildings, architecture and murals seek to express this unique identities in new and evolving fashion. Together, they form an aesthetic that can’t be duplicated or refashioned due to their unique history and public memory. Sites in Little Haiti continue to challenge boundaries of time and seek to tell their stories in less linear models while continuing to repurpose symbolism from the homeland (and the original homeland of Africa) to maintain connections while forming communities in new spaces. The sites can be broadly categorized into four different groups: religious, secular, murals and public art. 

Creole: se katye a Little Ayiti sitiye nan vil la nan distri 5yèm Miami an ak defini kreyasyon an nan espas nouvo sou intersectionality. Isit la, klas, ras, gwoup etnik ak enperyalis satisfè jenere nouvo narasyon ak anrichi konpreyansyon nou nan sa li vle di yo dwe ayisyen-Ameriken nan Konte Miami ak atravè tout Etazini an. Anplis de sa, katye sa a defini wout yo transnasyonal prezan nan Atlantik la ak ban nou insight nan patisipasyon politik la nan Ayisyen nan dyaspora a ak peyi a. bilding, achitekti a ak epitou travay chèche eksprime sa yo panse sa a idantite inik nan nouvo ak en mòd. Ansanm, yo fòme yon ayestetik ki pa ka double oswa refashioned akòz istwa inik yo ak memwa piblik la. Sit nan Little Ayiti kontinye defi limit nan tan ak chache rakonte istwa yo nan mwens modèl lineyè pandan y ap kontinye repurpose Symbolism soti nan peyi a (ak peyi a orijinal la nan Lafrik) yo kenbe koneksyon pandan y ap fòme kominote yo nan espas nouvo.

Laguerre, M. S. (2005). Homeland political crisis, the virtual diasporic public sphere, and diasporic politics. Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, 10(1), 206-225.