Elements of the Garifuna culture-including music,dance,and language-were listed as a UNESCO Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible（非物质的）Heritage of Humanity in 2001． Around that same time,Garifuna musicians and cultural activists had a plan:Create irresistible melodies,sung entirely in Garifuna,to rally young Garinagu to embrace the culture and learn the language.
Or,as Garifuna singer,songwriter,and UNESCO Artist of Peace Andy Palacio of Belize said in a 2007 interview:Make the Garifuna culture “cool.”
Punta rock did just that.Traditional punta relies heavily on drums and maracas（响葫芦）， with sounds that echo that of the Garinagu's African ancestors.Paranda,another classic Garifuna music style, adds guitar to the melodies,which hints at the culture's Central American influence.
Punta rock is “the one that really blows up,"says Alvin Laredo,a Garifuna tour guide. It's similar to punta,but with a keyboard,electric guitar,and horns-the perfect mix to appear on the world stage.
Palacio,a leader in the cultural renaissance,gathered Garifuna musicians across Central America to form the Garifuna Collective band in 2007.Their Garifuna lyrics sent a powerful message:It's time to defend our culture.
"Music made me fascinated with the culture; it became an identity,"says Kevin Ramirez, a Garifuna musician and producer based in New York,where his parents,both Garifuna, immigrated from Honduras.Ramirez grew up learning about his family's culture,but, as a Garifuna American,he struggled to understand his identity. "T'm Black,but the Black Americans didn't embrace me because I spoke Spanish;I spoke Spanish,but Latinos didn't embrace me because I'm Black."
He found a sense of belonging after visiting Honduras and attending live Garifuna music shows;these travels inspired him to start Hagucha Records,one of today's top Garifuna record labels.His story of promoting and spreading the culture and language through song mirrors the path of many contemporary Garifuna artists.
Take musician James Lovell,who adopted the language at age 16 to follow in the footsteps of his favourite Belizean musician and cultural revivalist,Pen Cayetano,"the king of punta rock."Lovell becamme part of a larger grassroots effort to teach the language in New York.Increasingly,many Garifuna language lessons are now available online.
Will music save the Garifuna language?Time will tell.Garifuna remains on UNESCO's endangered-language list,last updated in 2010.And, as the Hawaiians learned from reviving their own language after colonization（殖民化），this kind of revival is a long， multi-generational road.
Garifuna musicians and cultural activists made a plan in 2001 to ______.