As Seen in the Miami Herald - Father's Day Feature

Dad and young daughters to talk about writing Sunday at Grove bookstore

By Christina Mayo

Source: Miami Herald

Author and professor Yanatha Desouvre is celebrating Father’s Day this year doing what he does best — inspiring people. 

He’ll be with his family: wife Amy Desouvre, and their four children, daughters Reanna, 10; Danielle, 6; Jolie, 3; and son Antoine, 18 months.

The girls and their dad will be talking about writing from 3 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Bookstore & Kitchen, 3444 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove. In 2013, Reanna and her dad wrote “Big Sister, Little Sister” together and it has become a top seller on Amazon. 

“Reanna, our oldest, co-authored ‘Big Sister, Little Sister’ when she was about 4½. She dictated the words and I jotted them down. Danielle and Reanna co-authored the follow-up to ‘Big Sister, Little Sister,’ called ‘Proud to Be...’ which celebrates our blended Haitian and Jewish cultures,” Yanatha Desouvre said. He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Amy Desouvre is Jewish and from Massachusetts.

But writing is not all that Yanatha Desouvre does. He is also an information technology trainer at the University of Miami and a marketing professor at Miami Dade College Kendall Campus. 

“I love the teaching side,” he said. “I love the light bulbs that come on in the students’ heads.”

He has written 10 books, some adventurous fiction, others more personal and inspiring. He said he gets his drive, compassion, empathy and work ethic from his parents, who raised him in New York after moving from Haiti. 

Desouvre moved to Miami almost three years ago with his wife and children when UM offered him the IT Training job. Amy is an award-winning broadcast journalist known as Cierra on a weekend 102.7 The Beach radio show.

Perhaps his joy of life and energy are the result of learning to cherish every day at a young age. 

In 1987, when Desouvre was 9, he and his dad went for haircuts at a Brooklyn barbershop. They were there during a holdup and shots were fired. His poem “Walk Through this Journey” tells the story.

“The barbershop shooting at a young age taught me that every moment of life is precious. Being positive, not ignoring the negative, but growing and choosing to learn from it, gives me a more balanced life. With all the negative things that come our way, I try to encourage others, including myself, to have a positive core.”

His latest book, “Revelations: Roads to Redemption,” has just been published. He taped a copy on his chest when he went skydiving to celebrate his 40th birthday. 

“It's a great time to be alive and I am grateful for every moment,” he said. “There is a Haitian proverb that says, ‘Throw your rocks everywhere, they will land somewhere.’ I've been throwing rocks for quite some time. The future is bright.

“To me, as long as you are breathing, know that things can and will be better. We all can tap into the most powerful human force, hope. Through my writing, as a father, husband, friend, colleague, college professor, I commit to honing into that uplifting energy of hope every moment that I can.

“No matter what goes on, from surviving a daytime shooting in a barbershop, or much worse. Being a survivor of a life-threatening situation like that gave me strength,” Desouvre said. 

“Right now, all people are survivors of something. Now, go out there and make a difference. Let others know that we are all more than just survivors. We are conquerors because we tapped into that force of hope.” 

To learn more about the Father’s Day event and Desouvre’s other projects visit www.yanatha.com.

Voices with Jawan Strader on NBC 6 Miami

Voices with Jawan Strader on NBC 6 Miami

Miami's Own Unforgettable Moment - The Daniel Coulanges Story is Premiering Thursday, May 4, 08:00 pm on WBEC-TV

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests

Contact : 561-713-0462

Email : yanatha@yahoo.com

http://www.yanatha.com

(When requesting an interview, please provide an email address.)

The Daniel Coulanges story is Premiering Thursday, May 4, 08:00 pm on WBEC-TV

From Mourning to Motivation: Music For a Movement

Miami, Florida – With an album of lost footage from his uncle, Desouvre encourages people to live their lives to the fullest moment. This Haitian Heritage Month, The Daniel Coulanges story Premiering Thursday, May 4, 08:00 pm on WBEC-TV 63/Cable 19. Desouvre hopes to bring to life the music his late uncle Daniel Coulanges. Kendall resident Yanatha Desouvre shares a heartwarming and remarkable story (featured in the Miami Herald, Miami New Times and WLRN’s The Public Story Teller an NPR affiliate) on www.yanatha.com about one of the world’s finest guitarists, Daniel Coulanges. In 1989, two years before Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive, Coulanges lost his life to AIDS; he was a mere 28 years old. Although his life ended far too soon, his legacy will last forever. Desouvre is using Coulanges music to raise awareness about HIV, encouraging everyone to know their own HIV status. This is important everywhere, but especially in Miami-Dade County, which Care Sources indicates is the number one county in Florida for new cases of HIV.

It all started this spring, when Desouvre received a package in the mail. He opened the box, found a video, placed it in his video player, and pressed play. The harmonious sounds of his late uncle and godfather, Daniel Coulanges, filled the room as Coulanges played an unaccompanied classical guitar adaption of “Ne Me Quitte Pas.” As the video continued, Desouvre saw and heard a number of musical masterpieces, including Don’t Cry for Me Argentina and Killing Me Softly; Desouvre felt Coulanges' presence as if they were in the same room.

“When I saw the video, with each guitar string my godfather plucked, I cried and cried. I was 11 years old when I last saw uncle Daniel alive. My godfather was speaking directly to me with each and every guitar string he plucked.”, Desouvre spoke. With tears in his eyes, he continued, “I feel I've been called to do something to keep him alive through his music.”  That is exactly what Desouvre is doing.

You will soon have the opportunity to listen to the smooth sounds of Coulanges’ guitar. His music is being remastered and produced has opened listeners’ eyes, ears, and hearts to the music, while nudging them to learn their HIV status. With selected pledges to the “World’s Finest” Indiegogo project, donors will receive a musical album (mastered digital and limited physical cd edition and vinyl), guitar clips, t-shirts, and a video concert. Join Desouvre in bringing Coulanges’ newly found recordings to life by visiting Indiegogo and searching for “Daniel Coulanges.”

About Yanatha Desouvre

Yanatha Desouvre is a prolific author. He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Philadelphia, Pa. Desouvre now lives in Kendall, Fla with his wife and children. Desouvre has written several books, his latest are To Whom Much is Given, and Proud to Be. They are available on http://www.amazon.com/author/yanatha. Desouvre has two audiobooks: Walk Through this Journey: Volume One and Savor the Moments now available through iTunes and Google play stores. Desouvre earned his MBA in Marketing and Mass Communication and Media Management at Lynn University, and his Bachelor’s Degree in MIS and Marketing at Drexel University

ABOUT BECON

BECON broadcasts educational and instructional programs on BECON-TV (WBEC-TV), an FCC licensed station, owned and operated by the School Board of Broward County, Florida, to air noncommercial, educational programming throughout South Florida.  ###

'Paying tribute to a lost loved one can weigh heavily on our hearts. But Kendall resident Yanatha Desouvre has made it his mission to help the world know and remember his guitarist uncle and godfather, Daniel Coulanges, who died in 1989 at 28 of HIV/AIDS complications.

Yanatha Desouvre Hopes to Raise HIV Awareness With Album of Lost Footage From His Late Uncle

Kendall Man Hopes to Raise HIV Awareness With Album of Lost Footage From His Late Uncle

By Jessica Lipscomb

courtesy of Yanatha Desouvre

On a stage in Staten Island almost 30 years ago, a host grabbed the mike and announced the next performer, a Haitian classical guitarist.

"One of the world's finest guitarists, Daniel Coulanges," he said. "Please welcome Mr. Coulanges."

Wearing a charcoal-gray suit and a black bow tie, Coulanges took a seat on a black piano bench against a backdrop of verdant treetops. Without further ado, he moved his fingers up and down the neck of his guitar, strumming out the chords of "Killing Me Softly."

Coulanges died of AIDS shortly after the performance, in 1989. His godson and nephew Yanatha Desouvre says he wept when he saw footage of the Staten Island performance for the first time earlier this year. Now, Desouvre, a Kendall resident who works in IT at the University of Miami, is raising money to have the audio remastered and released to honor his uncle's legacy and encourage people to get tested for HIV.

Desouvre says another uncle sent him the DVD of Coulanges' performance this past April. He was instantly flooded with childhood memories of growing up in Brooklyn and enjoying visits from Uncle Daniel. 

"I have a wife and three kids at home, so it's normally really loud. But when I popped in the video, it got quiet," he says. "I saw my godfather alive, and with every guitar string that he plucked, I started crying and crying and crying. He talked to me through the music, and I couldn't hold it in. I was like, I gotta do something with this."

Desouvre remembers spending Sunday afternoons with his uncle watching kung fu movies and soccer games in Spanish, because the commentary was more exciting that way. As a boy, he remembers his uncle cutting his hair in the living room and listening raptly as his uncle played guitar. 

"The house was full of music," Desouvre says. "Music is in my DNA."

Photo courtesy of Yanatha Desouvre

Desouvre was only 11 years old when he learned that his Uncle Daniel had died. It was so sudden and his uncle so young — just 28 — that nothing about his death made sense. It wasn't until two years later when Desouvre found a piece of paper indicating his godfather had HIV/AIDS that his questions were answered. 

"We were told that he was sick and he died," Desouvre says. "It was the late '80s, and no one really talked about it. It was taboo."

Desouvre's mission is twofold: He hopes to encourage people to know their status but also to explore their passions and share their talents. 

"Miami, according to the statistics, in 2014 was number one for new cases of HIV and AIDS, so I want to encourage people to know your status and be able to live your life to the fullest. If you're negative, that's great, and if you're positive, there's medicine that can help you live a fulfilled life," he says. "My uncle didn't get a chance to live a full life, and that's why I'm doing this. I want the music to be out in the world and encourage others to live life."