The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative

Protégé Aurelio Martínez

My dream is to reconnect Garifuna
music with our ancestral homeland.”

2008/2009

Union Chapel, London

June 2010

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In this video: Youssou N’Dour presents Aurelio Martínez performing his original songs, Nirau Hagabou and Africa, during the closing celebrations in London of the 2008/2009 cycle of the Arts Initiative. Martínez appears with his band, Garifuna Soul.

Upcoming performance in New York
Wednesday 11 August 2010
6:30 p.m.
Damrosch Park Bandshell

For the second time, Martínez and his band Garifuna Soul have been invited to perform at the legendary Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival. Of his first appearance at the festival in 2008, Martínez recalls an enthusiastic audience who leapt to their feet.

While Garifuna music is centuries old, for many it is a “new” sound on the world music stage. Enjoying a resurgence in Central America, the music is fresh to most North American audiences.

The Out of Doors festival is a major opportunity for exposure for Garifuna Soul. Expecting to release a new CD in 2011, Martínez will play a mix of his newest songs and favourites from his repertoire.

The new album, says Martínez, has a little more African influence, thanks to his year of mentoring under Youssou N’Dour. Always eager to accept new influences, Martínez takes great joy in exploring the effect of other music on his work.