We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Garihanna Jean-Louis, comedian, actor, speaker and co-spokesperson for the 2025 Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. Her accent, her choice of words, her infectious laughter—everything about her is vibrant. Although Garihanna’s family is from a country where a strong sense of humour can quickly be confused with flippancy, she wholeheartedly embraced a career as a comedian. In our interview, Garihanna described her not-so-typical journey and talked about her roots, which she strives to cultivate every day.
Her “mango-maple” flavour
Born in Quebec to Haitian parents, Garihanna grew up travelling back and forth between Quebec and Haiti, and thus found it difficult to forge an identity. While she was trying to find herself, Haitians thought she was too Québécois, and Quebecers thought she was too Haitian. But it was by navigating between these two cultures that she was able to find her true self—her “mango-maple” flavour, as she likes to call it. Don’t even ask her which flavour is stronger. Being bi-cultural is what fuels and inspires her, to a large extent. Here’s how she explains it: “Haiti is clearly my cultural heritage: it’s my connection to my family values and to this invaluable, extraordinary empathy between human beings. Quebec is my anchor: it anchors me in a more open society that allows me to explore many aspects of life. [Translation]”
Unexpected twists and turns
In 2025, Garihanna is proudly celebrating her 10th year as a comedian. But her path to comedy wasn’t a linear one.
After finishing her studies in economics and criminology, Garihanna got a job with the Montreal police service. But the sudden death of her father had her questioning everything: Had she made the right decisions? Was she in the right place? Was she heading in the right direction? With her head full of questions, she went to Haiti for her father’s funeral and decided to stay there—with no clear plan. She felt drawn to theatre, since she had done acting as a child. At her old theatre school, she passed on to young students her life-long passion for acting. At that time, a group from Quebec came to Haiti to put on a comedy workshop lasting a few days. Garihanna’s older sister encouraged her to take part. And just like that, Garihanna was chosen from among the budding comedians to represent Haiti at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal. Her jokes on cultural duality were such a success that she was offered a full scholarship to the École nationale de l’humour that very night. But she had to give an answer right away. In a mere 15 minutes, she decided to say yes to comedy.
Garihanna had taken on a tremendous challenge! But by fully embracing a career as a comedian, she was able to make her family and her community understand that “laughter can seriously change the world. [Translation]” The various awards that she has received—including ZOOFEST’s Artist of the Year award in 2022, a Gémeaux award in 2021 and the title of Comedian of the Year in 2019—are proof that she has found her calling.
Belief in oneself and in one’s journey
For young people who are ready to take the plunge, Garihanna has the following advice to offer—advice she wishes she had received earlier in life: “Believe in yourself and in your journey. [Translation]” According to Garihanna, “Being true to yourself is an asset, probably the greatest asset you can have. [Translation]”
The call to cultivate her roots
The theme of the 2025 Rendez-vous de la Francophonie is “Cultivate your roots!” For Garihanna, cultivating your roots is something you need to work on every day. Garihanna cultivates her roots through music, cooking and the traditions that are passed on from generation to generation in her family. This self-proclaimed citizen of the world is still curious about the many cultures she discovers while travelling for work: “I see myself as a palette of colours, soaking in all the cultures I’ve had a chance to explore, yet all the while remaining true to who I am as a person [Translation].”
Her legacy
You can sense that Garihanna belongs to two cultures. It’s as though her roots are planted in a mix of soil from Quebec and Haiti. But although firmly grounded, those roots don’t stop her from spreading her wings and discovering other cultures, in which she finds a wealth of diversity. In fact, when we asked her about the legacy she wants to leave behind, she had only one thing to say: “Inclusion!” Through her work, Garihanna hopes to help create “a more inclusive and diverse Francophone culture, where every person, every voice, every accent and every story finds its place—a culture where conversations between different cultures and generations nourish our creativity. [Translation]”
Translated by Denise Ramsankar, Language Portal of Canada
