Haitians adjust to a new pride

When Daniel Castin told people he was from Haiti, the response was always the same.

"Isn't that the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere?" they would ask.

So at some point, Castin -- who emigrated to escape poverty at home -- stopped telling people his nationality.

"It's like I was drowning and you were describing the water to me," said Castin, who lives in Pasadena. "Give me a break already."

Roughly 5,750 Haitian immigrants live in California, according to the 2000 U.S. census. But because they are scattered throughout the state and some are reluctant to identify as Haitians, they lack the cohesion of other expatriate communities.

George Laguerre, owner of the popular Haitian restaurant Tigeorges' Chicken, is trying to change that.

Each month at his Echo Park restaurant, Laguerre hosts a gathering for immigrants. By unifying Haitians throughout the Southland, Laguerre believes he and others can help reduce poverty in their homeland by forming organizations to donate food or clothing or to start development projects back home.

At the most recent celebration, several dozen Haitians spent hours dancing to traditional music, eating goat meat and fried plantains and reminiscing.

"What Tigeorges' is doing is unbelievable," said Marc Calix, 36, who came from Santa Monica. "He is bringing Haitians together."

Calix, a neurophysiologist whose grandparents were killed under the dictatorship of Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, said he used to hide his accent. As he matured, Calix said, he realized the need to recognize the problems that exist in Haiti.

"Yes, we have bad roads and we don't have the best politicians," he said. "In order for Haitians to rise to the top, us Haitians are going to have to do it."

After a recent move from the East Coast, Calix looked up "Haitian food" on the Internet and discovered Tigeorges'.

"I don't care how much you deny it, you are only lying to yourself," he said. "You are always going to crave the food. You are always going to crave the culture. It's something that's in you."

Some say that Haitians' reluctance to embrace their identity stems from the persecution by Duvalier's brutal dictatorship. Others attribute it to an embarrassment about the nation's poverty, crime and corruption. Still others cite the myth that HIV came from Haiti.