Honduras Music

The music of Honduras is very varied, Punta is the main "ritmo" de Honduras, to Caribbean music like salsa, merengue, reggae, and reggaeton all widely heard especially in the North, to Mexican rancheras heard in the interior, rural part of the country. The country's ancient capital of Tegucigalpa is an important center for modern Honduran music, and is home to the College for Fine Arts.

The Garifuna came from and escaped Island Caribs who were deported from St. Vincent to Central America (especially Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and also in Nicaragua in 1802) by the British when they conquered St. Vincent. The Garifunas kept themselves apart from the social system then dominant, leading to a distinctive culture that include chumba and hunguhungu, a circular dance in a three beat rhythm, which is often combined with punta. There are other songs typical to each gender, women having eremwu eu and abaimajani, rhythmic a cappella songs, and laremuna wadauman, men's work songs. Other forms of dance music include matadfgmuerte, gunchei, charikawi and sambai.

Though American music has produced most of the popular music in modern Honduras, the country has produced several well-known musicians such as; Curtis Jackson, Diablos Negros and Victors Cereal Band (A.D.N.), Delirium, Sueño Digviana, Pez Luna, Sol Caracol, Khaoticos,ANIMA, URANIA, Ytterbium, Karpenter's Kids, El Pez, Montuca SoundSystem and Evolucion Neutra. A few famous bands originally from Honduras are The Dung Beetles, The Fruit Loops, and Extreme Latino Rock!

Reggaeton has also been growing in popularity in recent years, and Honduras has emerged as a leading producer of artists. Notable artists include Raggamofin Killas, El Pueblo, Los Bohemios Del Reggaeton and DJ Slyfox.

Music of Belize

Smeets Music:

The music of Belize has a combination of Kreol, Mestizo, Garifuna, and Mayan influences. The music is generally rewritten in English. After many centuries of Maya habitation Spanish (and then British) colonists arrived in the area, the latter keeping Belize as its only colony in Spanish-dominated Central America. More influential than either European power's arrival, however, was the importation of African slaves. Europeans brought polkas, waltzes, schottisches and quadrilles, and Africans brought instruments and percussion-based music. The Mayans made the first diatonic marimba, which was also popularin Belize. African culture resulted in the creation of music in the logging camps played by banjos, guitars, drums, bells, accordions and an ass's jawbone (played by running a stick up and down the teeth). Among the most popular musical styles created by Kriol musicians is brukdown. Brukdown evolved from the music and dance of loggers, especially a form known as buru. Punta and Punta rock-jazz-hiphop are the most popular dances in Garifuna culture, performed around holidays and at parties and other social events. Punta lyrics are usually composed by women. Chumba and hunguhungu are round dances with a three-beat rhythm, often combined with punta.