Garifuna Music

Wednesday night, I had the great experience to listen to a Garifuna group play and sing at the hotspot in town called Tipsy Tuna. Tipsy is a nice place. They have one building that is a Sports Bar complete with big screen TV's and an outside seating area and bar with a small stage. This group, consisting of five men and four dancers, played for a solid hour. Throughout the performance they changed songs without missing a beat. Three men shake gourd rattles, with one man beating a bass drum and a second man beating a rhythm drum in perfect syncopation, never missing a beat. There were two women and a young girl, all in brightly colored Garifuna garb, and a boy of about 12 looking like he really didn't want to be there, singing and dancing in place, sometimes pairing up for a song. It's quite high intensity music with a very fast beat.

Before the event began at seven I was waiting for a beautiful woman who agreed to accompany me.  While sitting on the boardwalk, this guy came up to try to sell me a CD of Garifuna music for $20.00 BZ. I refused and so he changed tactics and tried to sell me a gourd shaker. Again I said no thanks, so they he whispered softly (into my bad ear) if I wanted to buy some, I suppose, weed. Again,  I declined. So he returned to the CD and said he would give me a 2 for 1 deal. One CD of just drums and the other a CD of the group itself. I decided to take him up on his 2 for 1 offer. Afterward, I asked him if he was a Garifuna and if he could tell me where the Garifuna came from. Unfortunately, I don't remember  all the influences, but West Indies, Africa (including slaves), and a few other countries in South America totaling eight different geographic locations. (here is a link to wikipedia for more accurate info on the Garifuna people)

Then he told me he was part of the group. Quite a spirited fellow and a hustler! He was actually quite pleasant and gracious. When Heather arrived, I gave the CD's to her as a parting remembrance as she left for the States the following morning.

We went in and I introduced Heather to the 'hustler' (I use that term endearingly, he really was a nice guy.) The place has a several rows of picnic tables and there were a good number of folks there. I attempted to take a few pictures with my new little phone and did not get a good one out of the bunch. I tried to take a video and I needed a memory card, so Heather took out her phone and took at least a ten minute video and said she would email a copy to me. I completely forgot to bring my good camera. I was able to audio record several snippets of the performance.

(Heather, when you read this: thank you for an enjoyable couple of days. You are such a sweet and lovely person, inside and out. I wish you the best as your journey unfolds.)