Aurelio - Landini - 2014

Aurelio Martínez is a Honduran artist from Garifuna culture, and one of the main exponents (along with Andy Palacio) of his traditional music. The Garífunas are a town of African origin that lives on the Central American Caribbean coast, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. A town that has never renounced its identity or its culture.

His album entitled Garifuna Soul (2004) is probably, along with Umalali (The Garifuna Women´s Project), the best record recorded in the history of this traditional music. Originally from Paplaya, Honduras, his childhood town has become the cornerstone of his new work, Lándini ("landing" in Garifuna), a disc dedicated to his mother (his main influence and central character of his life, he says Aurelio himself) and a tribute to his land and its people.

Songs elaborated hand in hand with his mother María Martínez, along with traditional themes, in which he incorporates elements from a wide variety of sources but in which the heart of Garifuna music beats. Stories that Maria composes, based on community events and personal experiences. She teaches the verse and the chorus of the songs to her son, and Aurelio ends up finishing the theme, like a story, adding other verses, in the purest traditional style.

"My mother is the only source of inspiration for this album," says Aurelio. "My mother sees herself reflected in me, to a large extent, the only one in the family who has been able to fulfill her dream of singing professionally. She transmits the songs to me, and gives me advice about music. She is the best example that I have in my life what a human being should be, my main and confident advisor. " "Irawini" reflects this emotional bond. Composed by Maria, she tells us about the feeling of listening to Aurelio on the guitar in the distance, while anxiously awaiting his return home every night.

Garifuna songs, whether new or old, are full of humor and reflections. They are chronicles of events in the life of a community. Others talk about personal suffering (for example, "Durubei Mani" and "Nafagua", in which the loss of a loved one is lamented). The producer of the album, Ivan Duran, explains that "when a Garifuna song becomes popular in the community, it is usually not because it contains a catchy melody or because it is a fun song. It is because the experience that is transmitted in the song resonates with the listeners' own experiences. " These songs are reused, transforming over time thanks to the fact that those who interpret them add new names and places, new thoughts and verses.

In its simplicity is where Garífuna songs find their unexpected depth. These are issues that often have a double meaning that encompasses the ambivalence of life, the gray area between love and restlessness, between happiness and misfortune. It is a combination that Garífuna troubadours have refined to perfection, linking dynamic and optimistic rhythms with melancholic and felt melodies.

In the recording of Lándini, Duran, who is a native of Belize and has dedicated most of his professional life to working with Garifuna artists, strived to accentuate this double nature of the songs, with their complex emotional resonances. The touches of Duran are restricted and subtle, leaving the center of attention in Aurelio and in the delicate and passionate interpretations of his band, in the percussion sounds, vocals and guitars masterfully performed by Guayo Cedeño.

Tracks list:

01. Sañanaru (I Can't Handle Her)

02. Nando (Leonardo)

03. Milaguru (Miracle)

04. Nafagua (I Will Try)

05. Nari Golu (My Golden Tooth)

06. Lándini (Landing)

07. Lirun Weyu (Sad Day)

08. Durugubei Mani (Evil People)

09. Irawini (Midnight)

10. Funa Tugudirugu (Newborn Child)

11. Nitu (Older Sister)

12. Chichanbara (Ginger)