Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Honduran
Aurelio MartÃnez
(
Garifuna Soul
), demonstrating soulful vocals over a rich
blend of Latin, punta and
parranda
rhythms,
and another by
The Garifuna Women's
Project
, featuring wonderful soulful voices from coastal villages in Belize, Guatemala
and Honduras. Another record to look for is
Various Artists
PARRANDA: Africa in
Central America
- three generations of Garifuna incorporating drumming, American
blues, Cuban
son
and West African guitar.
Additionally, several young Garifuna stars from Dangriga have emerged to take the
nation by storm, combining fast infectious punta with reggae dancehall and soca in
highly energized performances. This is punta rock for the young generation, relying
largely on
sound systems
, often at the expense of live musicians. Popular punta rock
artists include
Lova Boy
and
Super (or Supa) G
, who can both be found performing
regularly. Showing an awareness of the wider market potential in Guatemala and
Mexico, Super G now also sings in Spanish and includes
cumbia
numbers on his
albums - a Latin style highly popular amongst young mestizos. You can tune in to
Super G tunes on
W
myspace.com/supagmartinez. Increasingly often these punta rock
stars make the trip across the borders to rapturous audiences in Chetumal and Flores,
demonstrating the position of Belize both as a major regional music producer and as a
bridge between Caribbean and Latin America.
Perhaps the best times to hear and see the full panoply of Belizean musical culture are
the various national
events
that regularly punctuate the social calendar (see p.31)