Even as Haiti’s political and economic crisis deepened in 2019, the country’s beloved tap-tap buses continued to roll through the capital’s streets, their brilliantly painted bodies serving as moving canvases for Haitian folk art, religious expression, and political commentary. The tap-tap — Haiti’s iconic decorated public minibus — is far more than a mode of transportation; it is one of the most distinctive expressions of Haitian visual culture.
Artists who paint tap-taps described working through the crisis with the same dedication they brought to calmer times. Several had incorporated images and slogans from the PetroCaribe protest movement into their designs, turning the vehicles into rolling billboards for the accountability message that had galvanized the country. Portraits of protest leaders and phrases like “Kot Kòb PetroCaribe a?” appeared alongside traditional images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Haitian heroes.
For passengers, the tap-tap offered both transportation and a moment of cultural immersion. Packed tightly into seats decorated with brightly colored fabric, riding past the murals and art installations that dot Port-au-Prince’s walls, travelers moved through a city that never stopped expressing itself regardless of the circumstances.
Cultural preservationists expressed concern that the economic crisis was threatening the tradition, as tap-tap owners struggling with fuel costs and reduced ridership cut back on the elaborate painting commissions that kept the art form alive. They called for greater recognition and support of tap-tap art as a form of national cultural heritage.