Tonton Bicha - Haiti Observer Blog

Tonton Bicha, an expert in advertising, seems to be getting into some hot water recently. According to some who listen to his latest advertising he did for the Rhum Bakara, the suggested that Tonton bicha went too far in putting down Rhum Barbancourt and the Haitian Voodoo religion.

Tonton Bicha actually never mentioned the name of the competitor Barbancourt in his ad; however, that doesn't stop people from assuming that he was clearly referring to Barbancourt rhum

He stated in the ad "Pa Banm Kou" to refer to the competitor which seem to me very different from "Barbancourt", or is it?

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A firestorm has erupted over a radio commercial comedian Tonton Bicha made for Rum Bakara, an import from the Dominican Republic (DR). The outrage focuses on two elements of the commercial, which tie into each other.

The advertising campaign promoting Rhum Bakara brands the product as "cultural rum". The connection made
by Tonton Bicha between the descriptor and its characterization is the trivialization of Voodoo, a Haitian religious belief that has only been legitimized by the government in the last ten years. The content of the commercial depicts a conversation between a houngan and voudouisant (positions held in Voodoo communities) that caricatures Haiti's Rhum Barbancourt, a venerable 150 year-old company that has passed down its legacy to four generations of rum makers.

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Daniel Fils-Aimé, aka Tonton Bicha, was born in 1973 in the town of Cap-Haitien. As a boy, he joined Young Catholic Patriots Company where he developed his comedic timing. A handsome, young, and refined man of 32 offstage, he is a human cannonball onstage. His character, Tonton Bicha, is a 72 year-old farmer, who dresses in natty peasant attire, and sports white bushy eyebrows and a mustache.

He walks onstage spouting his trademark lines in Créole. A born clown, he is kinetic and juvenile, his jokes side-splitting. The audience's roaring laughter eggs him on with more ridiculous behavior that has people nearly falling out of their seats. In one bit, he strips down to his shorts and struts and poses like he is the sexiest man alive. He easily outshines other comedians on the bill. But it is hard to resent him when they are doubled-over with laughter.

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