Introduction
This is a paper about the punta. While the punta can be partially understood as a dance and music genre of a Central American people known as the Garífuna, it is a complex element of culture existing both in space and time, which allows us to employ a variety of academic perspectives in our analysis, namely the recently popular theory of hybridity. The core push for my critical investigation will be from a number of loaded questions relating to traditional punta’s child, punta rock. Is punta rock an evolution or devolution of the punta genre? Is it a natural continuation among and beyond the Garífuna, or instead a commodified, diluted, and un-authentic product of capitalism? Should punta have been owned or regulated by the Garífuna to preserve its innocence, purity, and sacred origin? Or should it, along with any other cultural element, be open and freely shared by anyone with an interest in them? Does a singular body have the authority to make these decisions? What are the consequences? Why? In my discussion, I intend to unpack these questions not to extract specific answers for them, but to ride with them in a logical exploration through the hybridic flows in which I believe they move. From my current position, these flows seem to have always existed and continue to provide a progressive tool for interpreting what has happened prior to and during this age of globalization.
The scope of the paper rests on a basic framework built around the following core areas, which in retrospect borrow from author Jan Nederveen Pieterse: a descriptive foundation for context (empirical), some ingredients in relation to punta for depth (theoretical), and a new understanding for clarity (normative?). The descriptive segment will serve to further introduce the Garífuna, punta, and punta rock; the theoretical portion will reveal several issues that the punta naturally encounters; and finally, the clarity section will attempt to design a view of the information and differing notions that one can both understand and accept with minimal discomfort.
Context
The Garinagu have long been a source of interest for anthropologists and scholars of various other disciplines, not only because of their traditions of music and dance, but also due to their rich blend of ethnicities, rituals, languages, music, adaptability, etc, which have led to their inclusion among discussions involving nation states, race and culture dynamics, identity, and power dynamics (e.g. hegemony). While perspectives in these realms tend to have considerable friction, the historical background of the Garífuna is generally consistent. For the purposes of his paper, much information collected and published in 2002 by Oliver Greene, an assistant professor of music at Georgia State University, aids in my consolidated description that serves well the preliminary purposes of this paper.
“The Garinagu, commonly known as the Garífuna, are a people of West African and Amerindian descent who live along the Caribbean coast of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua and who share a common language, system of customs and beliefs, series of ancestor veneration rituals, and repertoire of music and dance. The word Garinagu refers to the people as a whole, whereas the term Garífuna refers to the language, the culture, and a person in the singular form. The emigration of Garinagu during the past five decades has resulted in sizable populations in large urban centers in the United States, namely, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Although hegemony, acculturation, modernity, syncretization, and American popular culture have adversely affected the retention of indigenous Garífuna customs in the United States (especially those related to ancestry veneration), the commodification of Garífuna music, art, and dance has resulted in an increased interest in traditional media of cultural expression. The most celebrated of these media is punta, song genre that is a symbolic reenactment of the cock-and-hen mating dance. This couples dance features rapid movement of the buttocks and hips and a motionless upper torso, to the accompaniment of songs performed with hollow turtle shells that are struck with a mallet and conch shell trumpets. Since the mid-1980s, punta has experienced a revitalization through its immensely popular derivative, punta rock.”
In his article, Green considers “punta (including its derivative punta rock) as iconic of Garífuna ethnicity and modernity . . . Punta rock was born out of the need to create a new and exciting genre of Garífuna music based on a fusion of elements of culture and music that express indigenous and urban social ideals. As such, it maintains its popularity because it incorporates the traditional (the old) and the contemporary (the modern). Modernity-used here as a metaphor for change-functions as the contextual canvas of contemporary musical society on which the sounds of the indigenous punta are retooled or colored through a mosaic of popular American and Caribbean music, namely reggae, calypso, and soca. Through the birth and subsequent metamorphosis of punta rock, punta has remained constant as a strong yet pliable expression of ethnicity through music in Garífuna history.” In other words, punta and punta rock are companions that have helped Garífuna to survive, according to the optimistic viewpoint at least.
In addition to this base layer of description, it is helpful to absorb a first-hand account from of the “father” or “king” of punta rock, Pen Cayetano. His statement below provides an understanding of the positive intentions he had when creating punta rock.
Punta Rock is the creation of myself, and it started in the year of 1978 in the Artist Studio at 5 Moho Road in Dangriga, Belize . . . Cultural music like the Punta was only performed at a Beluria (ninth night) or celebrations. A big change came with the migration of many Garinagu to the USA to achieve higher education, which resulted also to leave the children in the care of grandmothers. Only a few kids were able to speak the native Garífuna and that effected the youth in that way not to understand the meaning of the traditional songs from the old folks. So during the celebration time around the 19th of November when the Garinagu celebrated their first landing to Belize, I remember this following incident. It was the 13 November 1978 when the Garinagu gave their annual tribute to T. V. Ramos their cultural leader; the two generations clashed together. Isabel Flores was leading with his drummers and singers a group when some young folks started to sing vulgar songs in Garífuna. Nobody could stop them so the old people with Isabel and Mr. Hiberto took their drums and left the youth doing their own thing. From then the youth were banned from the other celebrations. For me it was sad to watch what had happened, but at the same time it opened my eyes and mind that something got to be done for the younger generation. Instinctively I knew that the Garinagu culture had reached the time for a change. I studied the old songs and started to write my own songs and played the Garífuna drums and also discovered how to use different sizes of turtle shells as a percussion instrument. Usually after I worked on my paintings during the day, I began making music in the late afternoon. First, I practiced all by myself until later some friends joined in. We did only cultural music because I didn’t tolerate imitating of hit records…”
Despite Cayetano’s and other founding punta-rockers’ deliberate efforts to develop a new genre that would catch the interest of a new generation of Garífuna and revive a genuine cultural appreciation, the wave of changes that has swept punta rock over punta has been unexpected, extreme, and has produced a negative opinion amongst a substantial group within the Garinagu. Unfortunately, a number of issues to be addressed in the next segment of this paper have minimized the voice of this group. Thus, Cayetano’s anecdotal incident in 1978 described above seems to provide us with an ironically relevant microcosm for the current state of this dance and music genre in 2007. The older generation is getting older, and with them, the traditional punta could be reaching its end. The younger generation is losing touch with the original elements that make the culture unique, and although the culture may breathe a more adaptable version of itself, something must be done if the original is to be recognized. A quote from Kwame Anthony Appiah, a Ghanian-American culture theorist, brings us to a similar point, “Cultures are made of continuities and changes, and the identity of a society survive through these changes. Societies without changes aren’t authentic; they’re just dead.” What now?
Theoretical
The questions posed in my introduction construct responses that tend to fall into either one category or another (binary). Yet a major piece of what this paper aims to assert is that essentially everything we know is not pure “black or white,” especially when observed from varying angles, and that the application of classification systems is often harmful. One could even argue that when classification systems are advantageous or objectively necessary (e.g. identifying poisonous objects), they can never be equally beneficial. At this point therefore, a deeper reflection beyond a “this or that” assumption must be engaged in hopes of finding a new outcome through change, curiosity, and respect. In this course, we have looked at an onslaught of topics such as modernity, post-modernity, cultural imperialism, capitalism, active audience, power, soft-power, movement, music, style, desire, identity, privilege, class, race, nation-states, networks, adaptability, authenticity, copyright, and many more. Although punta, along with multiple other Garífuna related issues like language, ethnicity, religion, etc, could be easily tied to all of these, what I find most challenging and relevant here is the relationship between the punta, punta rock, and authenticity and ownership.
To begin, how do we define authenticity? It means different things to different people and within different contexts and fields of study. Simplistically, we could say that authenticity is a quality that gauges truth or credibility. It allows us to determine if what we are sensing and experiencing in our environment has real value. The inherent difficulty with the term is that it falls within the realm of subjective matter. One way to see this problem is hopeless — to determine what can and cannot be deemed authentic is impossible as no person, source or controlling body is without flaw and able to define anything as authentic. Another way to see it is naïve — whatever a source (e.g. family, school, TV, the Bible, the Internet, etc.) deems authentic is. Some might reference the cliché generally used in reference to truth: it is in the eye of the beholder. I would have to admit or welcome uncertainty. Authenticity ties right into the debate around punta rock, because punta rock is a cultural genre of expression built from another cultural genre of expression (punta), which is recognized as authentically Garifuna. But what if anything about the rhythms, drum sounds, hip movements, or religious association is “original” to this culture specifically? Garífuna after all is a combination of many other peoples and cultures itself, so how far back must we go to find the beginning? I say this cyclical direction of thought would need to change course towards more substantive material.
Critics of punta rock would call it an unauthentic devolution — irrespetuso (disrespectful), superficial, and even vulgar. Some Garinagu purists would place punta rock outside the borders of Garífuna culture altogether and charge that it threatens Garífuna tradition and identity. Arguably, the simple rhythmic sound is injected with the electric guitar, and the drum is sped up and altered to a louder noise level. While the dance remains similar, they are exaggerated and therefore increasingly sexual. Instead of hip movements implying a physical celebration often connected to a pair’s reunion, they turn to more of a provocative exhibition. But perhaps the more explicit qualm with the message exuded by punta rock is in the lyrics. From sacred punta, with subjects related to social etiquette, generally sung by older women with accurate Garífuna enunciation to depthless punta rock, with lyrics like “pelame la yuca” (peal my yuca) performed by younger male groups (Los Rolands de la Ceiba), many of which included only a token Garífuna member (i.e. mestizaje), the American notion of transformation occurs in multiple dimensions. The good intentions behind punta rock gave way to the motivations of profits within the community and a push from “cultural imperialism” and fame from a broader audience as well. Intuitively, a considerable segment of the Garinagu population would side with this feeling; however, the amount of published material available in opposition to punta rock is scarce.
On the other side, supporters of Garífuna evolution nearly praise the invention of punta rock. Most sources, while acknowledging several fundamental differences between punta and punta rock along with the profitability of the new genre, tend to highlight its importance as a “form of cultural retrieval, maintenance, and survival,” and especially its ability to engage a younger generation of Garinagu. Definitely, punta rock was born from traditional punta, and it is a creative, cultural, and possibly political expression. It is adaptable, free of controls by the elder generations, and lyrics can be sung or rapped in Garifuna, Spanish, or English. The Garífuna identity claimed by punta rock artist is based on the argument that this dance and music genre provides a platform through with Garinagu can remember and express who they are; however, due to the influence of other genres in the U.S., Latin American, and the Caribbean (i.e. rock, reggae, soca, etc.), it becomes apparent that something hybrid is at play (i.e. creolization). While struggles in terms of classification and identification are inherent in this genre, its commodification and mass appeal to varying audiences adds to the complexity in which it exists. As highlighted, we have found opposing viewpoints in regards to punta rock and its perceived contribution or injury to traditional punta and Garífuna culture overall, which leads to additional issues.
As a cultural element originating with the Garinagu, if it were owned by the group, would punta rock exist and be a potential threat or savior? As author Michael Brown reports, “Many advocates for native rights would like to see the integrity of indigenous cultures ensured by laws that treat heritage as an inalienable resource.” Despite the sympathy that can be given to cases of cultural marginalization, I would agree with Brown that ownership of a culture or culture elements is not desirable. With this question, he also offers a binary structure with respect to how critics see the creolization of art, one positive “…the interweaving of two distinct cultures expresses a genuine effort to bring together natives and settlers in a bi-cultural society based on mutual respect,” and he other pessimistic, “…that native styles can move to the mainstream only when natives themselves have been neutralized and pushed to the margins.” In the case of the Garífuna punta, regulation of this kind would not be possible and would not serve to preserve the culture. Instead the expected result would be a controlling body extracting some benefit from a dominant position.
New Look
The discussions of helpful or hurtful and owned or shared are what seem to be attached to punta and punta rock. Punta rock can be seen as both good and bad, but there is an option to see it as an imperfect extension of a traditional genre, which will lead to additional extensions, all of which will retain roots with the Garinagu. Definitely these genres are mixtures. Seen through gaze of creolization, boundary crossing is valued, whereas through the concept of the mestizaje, the feeling is detrimental. By looking at it from a new standpoint, these points are not as crucial if the concern is Garífuna survival and appreciation, and hopefully given the large-scale attention from UNESCO, the efforts of small activist groups, and the collective input of families and individuals, it does not appear that the Garífuna culture will fade away in the near future. One of Brown’s fundamental points is that we should not be asking “who owns native culture?” but rather “how can we promote respectful treatment of native cultures and indigenous forms of self expression [and cultural elements and genres] within mass societies?”
Hybridity helps us to investigate with new vocabulary, examine links, and think about complex topics beyond essentialized theories and across discourses. Its anti-structure surpasses modernity, post-modernity, and allows it to adapt. Thinking of hybridity as a process or a flow, I do not believe we have to defend it from being deemed a mask of capitalism. Capitalism is real. Homogenization occurs. Neither are the same as globalization. It is all too complex. Hybridity opens doors of thought, but as it evolves, I would point to Douglas Kellner’s evaluation and agree that to make use of its recent popularity, potential, and provide an anchor for a critical theory of globalization, it would not hurt to include a stronger grasp of oppression and social struggles.
Conclusion
In the end, the questions and discussion about punta and punta rock are numerous and surely extend beyond the scope of this paper, but what I hope can be taken from this brief analysis is that there are more than two viewpoints on this subject. This subject will change. These viewpoints will change. Uncertainty is uncomfortable, but embracing it seems to be the most direct route for progress.
Works Consulted
ANDERSON, Mark David. Garífuna Kids: Blackness, Modernity, and Tradition in Honduras. PhD Dissertation. University of Texas Austin. 2000.APPIAH, Kwame Anthony. Toward a New Cosmopolitanism. New York Times Magazine. January 2006.
BONNER, Donna Maria. Garífuna Town / Caribbean Nation / Latin American State: Identity and Prejudice in Belize. PhD Dissertation. University of New York at Buffalo. 1999.
BROWN, Michael F. Who Owns Native Culture? Harvard University Press. 2003.
GONZALEZ, Nancie L. Garífuna Settlement in New York: A New Frontier. International Migration Review, Vol. 13, No. 2, Special Issue: International Migration in Latin America. 1979. pp. 255-263.
GORDON, Edmund T; Anderson, Mark. The African Diaspora: Toward an Ethnography of Diasporic Identification. The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 112, No. 445, Theorizing the Hybrid. 1999. pp. 282-296.
GREENE, Oliver N., Jr. Ethnicity, Modernity, and Retention in the Garífuna Punta. Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 22, No. 2. 2002. pp. 189-216.
HARVEY, David. The Condition of Postmodernity. Blackwell. 1990.
JOHNSON, Paul Christopher. Migrating Bodies, Circulating Signs: Brazilian Candomblé, the Garífuna of the Caribbean, and the Category of Indigenous Religions. History of Religions, Vol. 41, No. 4, Essays on the Occasion of Frank Reynolds’s Retirement. 2002. pp. 301-327.
KRAIDY, Marwan M. Hybridity, or the Cultural Logic of Globalization. Temple University Press. 2005.
NEDERVEEN PIETERSE, Jan. Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange. Rowman and Littlefied. 2004.
*Additional Sources: conversations with a Honduran born Garífuna woman living in New York, class discussions, Wikipedia.com, Garinet.com, GariTV.com
