ANDRÉ “DADOU” PASQUET • AUG 18, 1953 – NOV 23, 2025
The final farewell to legendary Haitian musician André “Dadou” Pasquet will take place on Saturday, November 29, 2025. A viewing will be held from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Vans Orsdel Funeral Home, 11220 N. Kendall Drive, Kendall, FL 33176. The funeral service will follow at 1:00 PM at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 14260 Old Cutler Road, Miami, FL 33158, where family, friends, colleagues, and admirers will gather to honor his life, his legacy, and his monumental contribution to Haitian music.
Hall of Fame Tribute
The Haitian Music Industry is preparing to bid a solemn and heartfelt farewell to one of its most luminous and influential figures. André “Dadou” Pasquet, iconic singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer, and the founding spirit behind Magnum Band, will be laid to rest in Kendall, Miami, surrounded by loved ones, musical peers, dignitaries, and thousands of admirers whose lives were transformed by his artistry.
Dadou’s passing cast a profound silence across Haiti and the global Konpa diaspora. His funeral now stands as both a moment of grief and a historic celebration of a man whose music became part of Haiti’s cultural identity and the soundtrack of generations.
A Life That Became a Soundtrack for Millions
For more than fifty years, Dadou Pasquet served as a musical beacon, an architect of sound whose innovation, sensitivity, and mastery earned him a place among the Caribbean’s most revered artists.
From his early rise with Tabou Combo to the creation of Magnum Band with his brother Tico in 1976, Dadou charted a creative path that was uniquely his own. His voice, warm, soulful, unmistakably Haitian, and his guitar, capable of both tenderness and thunder, became instruments through which the Haitian experience was expressed and remembered.
Songs such as “La Foi”, Pa Ka Pa La,” “Liberté,” “Ou La La,” “Jehovah,” and “Experience” defined entire eras, while Magnum Band’s signature Konpa Ambulans fused elegance, intelligence, and rhythmic vitality. Dadou’s lyrical depth brought emotional power to love ballads, social reflections, and philosophical meditations, securing his place as one of the HMI’s great innovators.
A Funeral Rooted in Honor and Legacy
The funeral will unite family members, lifelong collaborators, and musicians who shared the stage with Dadou throughout his international career. Fans from Haiti, New York, Boston, Montreal, Paris, and beyond are expected to travel to pay homage to a legend whose influence transcended borders.
Planned tributes include:
- Musical performances inspired by Magnum Band’s pioneering sound
- Personal reflections from family and close colleagues
- A historical retrospective of Konpa through Dadou’s contributions
- A traditional Haitian homage honoring his spirit and dignity
This farewell is anticipated to be one of the most significant gatherings in recent Haitian music history, a moment when sorrow meets gratitude and legacy rises above loss.
A Loss Felt Around the World
Across Haiti and the diaspora, an outpouring of grief continues. Musicians, from veteran Konpa pillars to new-generation artists, have expressed a shared conviction:
Dadou Pasquet was not merely a musician; he was an institution.
To many, he was:
- a teacher
- a cultural guardian
- a son of Haiti whose music carried the nation’s heartbeat
- a symbol of artistic integrity
- one of the purest expressions of Haitian creativity
His influence shaped countless guitarists, vocalists, arrangers, and composers. Dadou built bridges between eras and communities, creating harmony where there was division. His work remains the gold standard of Haitian artistry.
A Final Bow, But an Endless Legacy
As the Haitian Music Industry gathers in Miami, one truth resonates:
Dadou Pasquet’s physical journey may have ended, but his legacy is eternal.
His compositions will continue to ignite dance floors.
His lyrics will echo through stories of love, migration, faith, and perseverance.
His guitar will remain one of the defining voices of Haitian music history.
To young musicians, he leaves not only unforgettable melodies but a model of discipline, innovation, humility, and pride in Haiti.
A Nation’s Gratitude
On November 29th in Kendall, Miami, Haiti will honor a man who gave the world some of its most beautiful songs, its most unforgettable performances, and its most cherished musical memories.
André “Dadou” Pasquet leaves this world as he lived in it:
with grace, mastery, and an unshakable love for Haiti.
His funeral is a farewell, but also a proclamation:
The legend lives on.
By the HMI Magazine Cultural Desk
New York City Branch
