Aurelio MartÃnez, singer, composer, guitarist, and an apprenticed sacred dügü drummer from the small fishing village Plaplaya on the Caribbean coast of Honduras, was named newcomer of the year in 2006 by AfroPop Worldwide for his debut album Garifuna Soul produced by Stonetree Records.
Titled „the new voice of Paranda„, MartÃnez follows in the footsteps of such legendary paranderos and artists like Alfonso Palacio aka Paul Nabor, Jursino Cayetano, and Lugua Centeno. He is also part of the ensemble The Garifuna Collective featuring Andy Palacio.
Paranda is a GarÃfuna rhythm as well as a musical genre itself, a mixture of Latin melodies and raw, gritty vocals expressed and accompanied by acoustic guitar and traditional GarÃfuna percussion instruments like turtle shells, bottles, wood blocks, shakers, and nail scrapers.
„Yalifu“, one of the highlights of the Garifuna Soul concert at the Bliss Center for Performing Arts in Belize City, 2005.
