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Escaping to Belize to devote ourselves to the drum

We’ll let the Lebeha Drummers drum us out of our week with the Garifuna….

In case this morning you woke up thinking, “I desperately need to escape my humdrum life, run away to Honduras or Belize and learn Garifuna drumming,” be assured that the Lebeha Drummers will gladly welcome youto their drumming center on the Caribbean coast. If you’re not leaving today at least you can take your kids to an All Around This World music class and drum drum along to “Our Story May Be Sad.”

Umalali making glorious Garifuna music

Make it happen, Umalali…!

One of the most inspiring concerts I’ve seen in recent years was a stunning show by Umalali: The Garifuna Women’s Project as part of Crossroads Music – Philadelphia at Calvary Center for Culture and Community. The ensemble is the result of a collaboration between  Belizean musician and producer, Ivan Duran, who spent over a decade collecting Garifuna women’s songs and stories, and Garifuna female performers who bring hundreds of years of Garifuna history onto stage when they perform. Asumming you’re not going to be in Belize or Honduras any time soon…if Umalali is so kind to play a concert near you, BE THERE.

More Garifuna music — Garifuna Soul!

We know you’ll love Aurelio Martinez….

This week in class we celebrate music from Honduras and Belize, particularly the sounds of the Garifuna. The Garifuna are a distinct Afro-Caribbean group that originated in 1635 when a boat carrying African slaves shipwrecked off of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. The survivors integrated into the Carib population and developed their own West African/Caribbean language and culture. Within two centuries the Garifuna had settled in several locations along the Central American coastline yet, unlike many cultures, maintained their own communities and never fully integrated into the Spanish-influenced mainstream. To get into the groove, les enjoy this video of Aurelio Martinez and Garifuna Soul performing in Belize City Belize.