'Kanaval' Chronicles The History Of Haiti And Its Influence On New Orleans

We're bringing you something special today. A documentary called Kanaval: Haitian Rhythms & the Music of New Orleans. It chronicles the history of Haiti and explores that nation's influence on the music, culture and identity of the Crescent City: New Orleans.

You'll hear the first two hours of the documentary produced by WXPN, where we make World Cafe, and it's hosted by Leyla McCalla, a Haitian-American musician and songwriter based in New Orleans. You might know her from her work with the Carolina Chocolate Drops or Our Native Daughters. She's also been a guest several times, so we're excited to welcome her back to tell this beautiful story.

You can also listen to the documentary in a special four-part podcast series here.

Kanaval has been supported by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support from the Wyncote Foundation.

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