Punta
Encyclopedia
Punta is a Garifuna music
and dance style performed at celebrations and festive occasions. Contemporary punta, including Belizean punta rock
, arose in the last thirty years of the twentieth century in Belize
, Honduras
and Guatemala
. It also has a following in Nicaragua
, El Salvador
, Southern Mexico and the United States
. It is a circle dance in duple rhythm: one couple dances in the middle of the circle a while the other participants sing and clap their hands. Punta uses the call and response
patterns in songs. Lyrics may be in Garifuna
, Kriol
, English
or Spanish
.
n rhythm called bunda
, or "buttocks
" in the Mandé
language. The punta dance is also known by the name kuliao (from Spanish culeado). The style has popular links with funeral rites and ancestor worship.
Punta dance is a mimetic cock-and-hen mating dance with rapid movements of the buttocks and hips while the upper torso remains motionless. Couples attempt to dance more stylistically and seductively, with better hip movements, than their competitors. This most popular dance in Garifuna culture is performed at wakes, holidays, parties, and other social events.
Punta lyrics are usually composed by women. A Garifuna elder, Rutilia Figueroa, states; "The Garifuna sing their pain. They sing about their concerns. They sing about what’s going on. We dance when there is a death. It’s a tradition [meant] to bring a little joy to the family, but every song has a different meaning. Different words. The Garifuna does not sing about love. The Garifuna sings about things that reach your heart".
Chumba and hunguhungu
, circular dances in triple rhythm, are often combined with punta.
and the Turtle Shell Band introduced punta rock
in 1978, at 5 Moho Street, Dangriga
, Belize. His songs in the Garifuna language
added electric guitar
to the traditional punta rhythm. 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. His 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.
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".
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.
Often written in Spanish, Honduran Punta has a widespread audience due to the immigration of Hondurans to the United States, other parts of Latin America and Europe, notably Spain. Bands such as Kazzabe,Shabakan, Los Rolands, Banda Blanca, Los Gatos Bravos and Grupo Zambat have appeal for Latin American migrant communities. 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 Belize
an 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
.
Garifuna music
Garifuna music is quite different from the music of the rest of Central America. The most famous form is punta. Its associated musical style, which has the dancers move their hips from right to left in a circular motion...
and dance style performed at celebrations and festive occasions. Contemporary punta, including Belizean punta rock
Punta rock
Punta rock or Belizean punta is a form of the traditional punta rhythm of the Garifuna people of Honduras, Belize and Guatemala.Punta rock is distinctive from traditional punta in that the language and concepts are more adapted to the general Belizean identity...
, arose in the last thirty years of the twentieth century in Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
and Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. It also has a following in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Southern Mexico and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a circle dance in duple rhythm: one couple dances in the middle of the circle a while the other participants sing and clap their hands. Punta uses the call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
patterns in songs. Lyrics may be in Garifuna
Garifuna language
Garifuna is an Arawakan language spoken in Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize by the Garifuna people. The language is also spoken to a lesser extent in Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast. Historically it was referred to as Carib or Black Carib and Igñeri by Europeans. Garifuna has a vocabulary split between...
, Kriol
Belizean Kriol language
Belizean Creole English, known as Kriol by its speakers, is an English-based creole language most closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, Limón Coastal Creole, Colón Creole, San Andrés and Providencia Creole, Guyanese Creole, Jamaican Patois and English creoles of the Caribbean show similarity...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
Dance, music and lyrics
The word punta may be a latinization of an ancient West AfricaWest Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n rhythm called bunda
Bunda
Bunda may refer to:* Bunda , a sheepskin cape from Hungary and Romania* Bunda District, Tanzania* Robert Bunda* Xi Aquarii, a star of Aquarius* Bunda, a slang term for the buttocks...
, or "buttocks
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
" in the Mandé
Mandé
Mandé or Manden is a large group of related ethnic groups in West Africa who speak any of the many Mande languages spread throughout the region. Various Mandé groups are found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Chad, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger,...
language. The punta dance is also known by the name kuliao (from Spanish culeado). The style has popular links with funeral rites and ancestor worship.
Punta dance is a mimetic cock-and-hen mating dance with rapid movements of the buttocks and hips while the upper torso remains motionless. Couples attempt to dance more stylistically and seductively, with better hip movements, than their competitors. This most popular dance in Garifuna culture is performed at wakes, holidays, parties, and other social events.
Punta lyrics are usually composed by women. A Garifuna elder, Rutilia Figueroa, states; "The Garifuna sing their pain. They sing about their concerns. They sing about what’s going on. We dance when there is a death. It’s a tradition [meant] to bring a little joy to the family, but every song has a different meaning. Different words. The Garifuna does not sing about love. The Garifuna sings about things that reach your heart".
Chumba and hunguhungu
Hunguhungu
Hunguhungu or fedu is a form of traditional swaying circular dance performed by the women of the Garifuna people of Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. The music for the dance is composed of rhythmic themes performed by three drummers with alternating call-and-response chanting, and displays...
, circular dances in triple rhythm, are often combined with punta.
Popularity
Musician and visual artist Pen CayetanoPen Cayetano
Delvin "Pen" Cayetano is a Belizean artist and musician living in Germany 1990-2009. He and his German wife Ingrid returned to Dangriga in July 2009 and they openend the Pen Cayetano Studio Gallery 1...
and the Turtle Shell Band introduced punta rock
Punta rock
Punta rock or Belizean punta is a form of the traditional punta rhythm of the Garifuna people of Honduras, Belize and Guatemala.Punta rock is distinctive from traditional punta in that the language and concepts are more adapted to the general Belizean identity...
in 1978, at 5 Moho Street, Dangriga
Dangriga
Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a town in southern Belize, located on the Caribbean coast at the mouth of Stann Creek. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District and also the largest town in southern Belize...
, Belize. His songs in the Garifuna language
Garifuna language
Garifuna is an Arawakan language spoken in Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize by the Garifuna people. The language is also spoken to a lesser extent in Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast. Historically it was referred to as Carib or Black Carib and Igñeri by Europeans. Garifuna has a vocabulary split between...
added electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
to the traditional punta rhythm. Cayetano's style caught on quickly in Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
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. His 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.
Belizean punta is distinctive from traditional punta in that songs are usually in Kriol
Belizean Kriol language
Belizean Creole English, known as Kriol by its speakers, is an English-based creole language most closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, Limón Coastal Creole, Colón Creole, San Andrés and Providencia Creole, Guyanese Creole, Jamaican Patois and English creoles of the Caribbean show similarity...
or Garifuna
Garifuna language
Garifuna is an Arawakan language spoken in Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize by the Garifuna people. The language is also spoken to a lesser extent in Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast. Historically it was referred to as Carib or Black Carib and Igñeri by Europeans. Garifuna has a vocabulary split between...
and rarely in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
or English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
and soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
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
Calypso Rose
McArtha Linda Sandy-Lewis, better known as Calypso Rose is a Tobagonian calypsonian.She began writing songs at the age of 15, and has written over 800 songs. In 1966 she wrote the song Fire in Me Wire, which has since become a calypso anthem...
, Lord Rhaburn and the Cross Culture Band assisted the acceptance of punta by Belizean Kriol people
Belizean Kriol people
The Belizean Creoles, locally known as Kriols, are Creole descendants of English and Scottish log cutters, as well as Black African slaves brought to Belize. Other small minorities include Creoles and the Miskito from Nicaragua, Jamaicans, and other West Indians who assisted in the logging...
by singing calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
songs about punta - songs such as "Gumagrugu Watah" and "Punta Rock Eena Babylon".
Punta musicians in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and elsewhere made further advances with the introduction of the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, woodwind, brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
and string
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
instruments. Punta-rock has grown since the early 1980s to include other electronic instruments such as the synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
and electric bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
as well as other percussive instruments.
Often written in Spanish, Honduran Punta has a widespread audience due to the immigration of Hondurans to the United States, other parts of Latin America and Europe, notably Spain. Bands such as Kazzabe,Shabakan, Los Rolands, Banda Blanca, Los Gatos Bravos and Grupo Zambat have appeal for Latin American migrant communities. 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
Banda Blanca
Banda Blanca is a Honduran musical ensemble formed in January 17, 1971. They began as a rock band, but eventually integrated elements of merengue and punta to their music. The name of the band came after Antonio Lungas wanted a band to perform on the night club named "Garzas Blancas", and...
of Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
sold over 3 million copies of "Sopa De Caracol" ("Conch Soup"), originally written by Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
an 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.