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From Punta to Chumba: Garifuna Music and Dance in New Orleans By Amy Serrano History of the Garifuna / Garifuna of New Orleans
A Garifuna Day of Celebration After having engaged in preparations and rehearsals for over two months, on November 9, 2008, the Garifuna women of New Orleans held the first Garifuna Mass that had taken place since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Though in English, Spanish, and Garifuna, the event at Blessed Francis X. Seelos Catholic Church in the Marigny neighborhood was eagerly attended by diverse members of the community; white, black, Hispanic, non-Hispanic, and of course, Garifuna. Unlike typical Catholic masses which last about one hour, the mass lasted over two hours and included special song and dance performances by Garifuna women. As three Garifuna men played instrumental music from the front of the church with two men on drums and one on acoustic guitar, the guests entered through an entrance adorned with flowers and baskets filled with ceremonial fruit typical of Garifuna culture that included yucca, plantains, and coconuts. There were also special lanterns placed among the baskets of fruit and flowers.
Once guests were seated, the formal procession began with a group of women entering the church led by two young women carrying flags, followed by others singing, dancing and sometimes twirling with one hand in the air. Some women wore traditional Garifuna dresses and head scarves in bright, ethnic prints and some in solid colors. Others wore their own skirts and shirts and also accentuated these with colorful head scarves. The dancing women sang evocative songs in a call and response type manner, danced the hunguhungu from side to side, and moved from the back of the church towards the altar as the audience watched and swayed while the Garifuna choir encouraged them along. Leading the group was Maria Elena Zuņiga and Olga Suazo, and within this group of women dancing and singing down the aisle, all generations were represented; daughters, mothers, aunts, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and two Garifuna Catholic nuns. Some younger mothers even carried their young daughters or held their hands as they danced down the aisle past Doņa Zoila who proudly looked on from her seat of importance in the front of the church. Then as the women made it to the front, many of them took their place in the choir to the left of the altar. Some even picked up instruments including maracas, a guiro, and a clave and joined the male drummers in music making.
Following behind and right before starting the official religious service, a few of the younger women including Zuelma Zuņiga, entered and danced the hunguhungu down the aisle, but in circular fashion with their slower movements accentuated by using palm fronds as props. The choir sang and the men played the garaon drums. Following the event inside the church, there was a gathering on the outside patio where food had been prepared by the Garifuna women to sell and raise money for their next event. The fundraiser and social gathering was generously attended by members of the church and the menu included a repast of chicken fajitas with rice, ground black beans on tortillas with dollops of fresh cream, fried sweet plantains, tripe soup, and water and sodas. After this social gathering, the women then met on their own at Olga Suazos house to talk about the events of the day, and begin to make plans for the future again.
Next - Garifuna Music and Dance in New Orleans Today
Amy Serrano is an award-winning filmmaker and poet living in New Orleans and working on a book on sugar and modern day slavery based on the findings in her last film, "The Sugar Babies." This article was written for the Louisiana Division of the Arts New Populations Project in 2009. |
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