| Aurelio Martínez is one of the world’s most heralded torchbearers of the Garifuna genre of music known primarily throughout Central America. Singer, composer and guitarist Martínez brings a bittersweet vocal style to the guitar-accompanied paranda ballad and other traditional Garifuna song forms. He is one of the youngest paranda interpreters and is recognized among Garifuna at home and abroad as a soulful, powerfully evocative singer. Martínez grew up in a small fishing village on the Caribbean coast of Honduras, taking up his father's guitar, apprenticing as a sacred dugú drummer.
Garifuna Soul, Martínez's solo debut album captured the attention of AfroPop Worldwide, which named him newcomer of the year. He was previously heard on Songs of the Garifuna (JVC) and the critically acclaimed Paranda: Africa in Central America (Stonetree Records).
His performance debut in San Francisco will be the closing night of his first US tour. |
