Landini

On a narrow peninsula on the Caribbean coast of Honduras -- in Plaplaya, a small river village without electricity -- songwriter, singer, guitarist and Garifuna activist Aurelio Martinez first learned music at his mother s knee.

At work-day s end, villagers returned from the sea and gathered to hear paranda, the guitar-driven music of Garifuna troubadours who teased, taught, bemoaned and praised community life. Aurelio joined in from a tender age, set atop a table by his uncles. He may be among the last generation in Honduras to grow up steeped in Garifuna traditions, passed down over three hundred years since the original shipwrecked African slaves intermarried with native Kalinago Indians on St. Vincent in the 17th century. Their families were forcibly deported to the Central American coast by British colonials three centuries ago -- but their unique Garifuna culture still endures.

Aurelio set aside music in 2005 to join the Honduran National Congress as its first member of African descent, devoted to the guardianship and promotion of Garifuna heritage. But with the untimely passing of fellow Garifuna musician and cultural ambassador Andy Palacio in 2008, Aurelio relinquished his political position and launched an international tribute tour in honor of his late friend.
Global exposure led to his selection for the Rolex mentoring project, with Youssou N Dour as his mentor, and Aurelio spent extended time on the road. But a visit with his mother, singing very old paranda songs, made him realize the course he wanted to take -- for himself and for the music of his culture.

He says, My mother is the sole inspiration for this album, She is the best example I have in my life of what a human being should be, my main consultant and confidante. All the travel made me realize that my real strength as an artist, our real strength as a culture, lies in small Garifuna communities like my home village. The more I have traveled and seen the world, the more I have seen the need to reconnect with my roots...the farther I go, the more I want to come back.

Lándini ( landing in Garifuna) is a swaying, bittersweet homage to his beloved home and people.