The Nou Bouke film crew is back in Haiti after eight weeks of editing and production work. This was the longest stretch outside of this nation since the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Jose Iglesias, who is both shooting and serving as director of photography, was dismayed upon arrival to Port-au-Prince this week, his seventh trip to this devastated city.
"It feels as though we never left," he said.
At first glance, little seems to have changed. The streets remain clogged with traffic. Tents and shacks dot a landscape still littered with rubble from collapsed buildings. Masses of people with tired faces dart past with a sense of urgency -- selling, buying, boarding or jumping off Tap Taps to get to wherever they are going in a hurry.
In an on-camera interview with us, U.S. Ambassador Kenneth H. Merten said Haiti was in a "transition phase" -- that is, the phase before recovery from a massive devastation becomes evident. Just how long that gap will last is anyone's guess.
"There is progress," Merten assured.
He's right. Signs of recovery are present, but they are subtle.Several lots that served as temporary tent encampments are now empty of residents. Trucks filled with construction supplies rumble through the streets. Vendors run a brisk business selling food and other items. Today, we saw a man on a ladder with a brush in hand giving a new coat of white paint to a building that had been damaged.
As we continue to document life here, we'll be visiting with some of the people you've come to know through reports by our Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald staff. Tune in to this blog for updated reports.