Punta

Punta is an Afro-indigenous dance and cultural music of the Belizean, Guatemalan, Honduran and Nicaraguan Garífuna people, originating from the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Origins and historical context#

In their culture, the people refer to themselves as both Garinagu and Garifuna, with Garifuna mainly pertaining to their culture, music, and dance rather than using it to identify their people. There are a variety of possible origins of the puntas intended meaning for the Garifuna dance and music it represents. The word punta is a Latinization of an ancient West African rhythm called bunda, or “buttocks” in the Mandé language. They begin facing each other and the figure varies with the ingenuity of the dancers, but always represents the evolution of a courtship in which first the man pursues, and then the woman, while the other retreats; and ends only when one of them, from exhaustion or from lack of further initiative, admits defeat by retiring from the ring, to have his or her place immediately taken by another. More commonly were the religious or ancestral rituals, as those seen on the ninth-night wakes by anthropologist Nancie Gonzales during her fieldwork in Central America. If a death occurred at night, then the wake would begin early the next morning and continue all day, ending with a burial in the late afternoon. However, if the death were during the day, an all-night wake would ensue with people coming and going throughout, with prayers and drinking being a familiar sight.

Role of women#

During her field study in southern Belize from 1974 to 1976, Virginia Kerns witnessed the women’s roles and participation in punta first hand. She recalls: “During the course of the singing, one woman distributes rum to the others present. Later, feeling the full effects of several drinks, the women begin to dance punta and the atmosphere grows increasingly festive. Outside, the inevitable crowd of spectators gathers, mainly young adults and children, who hover on the periphery at such ritual events.” She also notes that the length of the dancing can go on as long as the next afternoon, depending on the supply of rum and the enthusiasm of the dancers. In a more recent study done in 2009, Amy Serrano took a closer look at Garinagu roots and influence within New Orleans. She notes that during some performances the men partake and the women watch, while others involve both men and women interacting and dancing or solely women performing. These influences can be seen in the call and response aspect of punta, as well as the dancing and playing of the instruments. While men in the Garifuna community tend to learn their customs through informal apprenticeships in New Orleans, women consciously conserve and pass on the cultural dances and songs to the younger generations through storytelling. This continuing practice resembles the past, like when the Garifuna first arrived in Honduras and the women cultivated the homes where West African and indigenous spirituality merged with the Catholic religion into their emerging Garifuna folk expression, and above all, within family, ritual, and celebration. To clarify this statement from Serrano’s research, “Juan M. Sambula, a former community activist from Honduras who recently came to New Orleans for reconstruction work shares the following: ‘For us, the women are dedicated to the children and the church because customs we have are based on the Gari tribe of Africa, mixed with Arawak. So I think that the mother’s role in this case is different because she is dedicated to the children and the church while the man is dedicated to his friends.’ "

Instruments#

The music of punta involves responsorial singing accompanied by indigenous membranophones, idiophones, and aerophones. Idiophones are instruments that produce sound through the vibrating of a solid material that is free of tension, commonly found in shakers, scrapers, and xylophones. The punta ritual for a wake is sung in Garifuna, with a soloist and a chorus. Although punta music may sound happy, the words can often be sad. One song can be translated as, “Yesterday you were well. Last night you caught a fever. Now in the morning you are dead.”

Evolution and changes in punta#

From its original context, punta has been transformed by time and modernity. Before, punta consisted of a dance between a man and woman, where they competed against each other by shaking their hips and moving their feet to the beat of a drum. Another change that has been developing in the past century has come in the increasing role of women as singers and drummers, which were thought to be solely male roles and women were only allowed to play if there were no men available. Andy Palacio, a homegrown Belizean artist, believes that punta rock is “a mix of Garifuna rhythms with a little bit of reggae, a little bit of R&B, and a little bit of rock and roll”. Although punta rock has achieved national attention for the modern Garifuna youth, it has not replaced the original punta music. Punta is believed to coexist with punta rock, and maintains its significance as the primary musical genre of social commentary.

Popular punta and punta rock bands#

“Punta served as a paradigm for a new language of musical expression (punta rock) as well as a continuum for the revolution of popular contemporary Garifuna music in general”. Cayetano’s style caught on quickly in Belize and from there spread to Garifuna communities in Honduras and Guatemala. Young progressive Garifuna men and women who looked to American style and did not carry on traditions experienced a resurgence of their culture. More artists began composing Garifuna songs to traditional Garifuna rhythms. Their lyrics gave the political, social and economic issues of Belizean Garifuna people a global platform and inspired a new generation to apply their talents to their own ancestral forms and unique concerns. Punta musicians in Central America, the US, and elsewhere made further advances with the introduction of the piano, woodwind, brass and string instruments. Punta rock has grown since the early 1980s to include other electronic instruments such as the synthesizer and electric bass guitar as well as other percussive instruments. Punta, along with Reggaeton music are predominantly popular and influential among the entire population in Honduras. Often mixed with Spanish, punta has a widespread audience due to the immigration of Hondurans and Guatemalans to the United States, other parts of Latin America and Europe, notably Spain. Honduran punta has caused Belizean and Guatemalan punta to use more Spanish due to the commercial success achieved by bands that use it. When Banda Blanca of Honduras sold over 3 million copies of “Sopa De Caracol” (“Conch Soup”), originally written by Belizean Chico Ramos, the Garifunas of Belize felt cheated but celebrated the success. The genre is continuing to develop a strong following in the United States and South America and the Caribbean. Belizean punta is distinctive from traditional punta in that songs are usually in Kriol or Garifuna and rarely in Spanish or English. calypso and soca have had some effect on it. Like calypso and soca, Belizean punta provides social commentary and risqué humor, though the initial wave of punta acts eschewed the former. Calypso Rose, Lord Rhaburn and the Cross Culture Band assisted the acceptance of punta by Belizean Kriol people by singing calypso songs about punta – songs such as “Gumagrugu Watah” and “Punta Rock Eena Babylon”. Prominent broadcasters of punta music include WAVE Radio and Krem Radio.

Punta and Garifuna culture beyond Central America#

Garifuna culture has grown and transcended national borders through punta’s integrative expression of ethnic identity through music, dance, and language in Central America and the United States. Currently, the largest population of the estimated 200,000 transnational Garfiuna people can be found in Honduras (90,000), with smaller populations in Belize (15,000), Guatemala (6,000), and another several thousand scattered in South America and almost 50,000 living in North America. Three areas of larger Garifuna presences include New York City, Miami, New Orleans and mainly Houston. Though sometimes they go unnoticed in the larger aspect of their communities in America, the Garinagu continue to preserve their language, customs, cuisine, and renowned storytelling through their diverse and unique music and dance styles. In 2001, UNESCO proclaimed the Garifuna language and culture to be “a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity”, in recognition of the risk of an endangered status and loss of such an interesting culture. The Garifuna communities use punta dance and music to continue their culture and to teach younger generations of their ancestry. This tradition instills a sense of pride and gives the younger generation a tangible identity to cling to in an environment where globalization can overpower smaller cultures.

Genre family: Garifuna music
Region: the Caribbean