Shared Language
“I knew nothing about the Garifuna culture. One day I saw a documentary on the Blacks of Colombia, and it aroused my interest,” says Youssou N’Dour, explaining his choice of protégé from among the three candidates put forward for the Arts Initiative. He also gives another reason: “Aurelio has talent.” The first time they met, the African singer noticed the tenacity of his protégé who, in turn, echoes his affection: “I thought he was always calm and serious, but he’s not, he’s a joyful man. And in Senegal he’s a king.”
The powerful forms of music played by mentor and protégé are handed down orally. In this one-to-one learning experience there will be no methodical progressing through stages of technical mastery, no planned curriculum to follow. Instead, a path will be mapped out by concerts, each one a passionate rendezvous with the audience.
In New York, Martínez discovered the Super Étoile de Dakar, the impressive orchestra that accompanies Youssou N’Dour. Martínez was fascinated by the percussion instruments, especially the djembé, the drum so common in West Africa. The Garifuna also have drums, which they play in a style similar to, yet different from the African way.
Martínez stresses that “Youssou N’Dour also had to feel the music of my people, and its connection with Africa.” The Garifuna people come from the Gulf of Guinea, near Benin and Nigeria, an area dominated by the Yoruba ethnic group, while Senegal is mainly populated by the Fulani and Wolof. The Garifuna, who originated from the intermingling of slaves shipwrecked on the island of Saint Vincent and Arawak Indians, found refuge in Central America.
In the province of Atlántida, by the Caribbean Sea, the Garifuna live, like the inhabitants of Senegal, to the rhythm of music and song. In his songs Aurelio Martínez describes his people’s struggle for survival and the threats hanging over this minority – forced emigration, land speculation and racial discrimination – but lightly, with tact and cool.
Africa is earth-mother, “home”.