By José Francisco Ávila
Over the past few years, a lot has been written about the Paranda Music Genre, including a documentary by the Spanish TV network RTVE,
revolving around paranderos Paul Nabor, Junior Aranda, Andy Palacio and Aurelio Martinez. While it has been mentioned that Paranda entered the Garifuna Music repertoire during the nineteenth Century after they arrived in Honduras where they encountered the acoustic guitar and incorporated elements of Latin American and Spanish rhythms into their music.
Very little detail has been provided about this origin. Therefore, after participating in the recent Bronx Rising! Parranda con Paranda A Puerto Rican and Garifuna Holiday Celebration, I decided to spend the Christmas holiday researching the origins of Garifuna Paranda and here’s what I discovered.
Paranda is one of the fundamental Garifuna Rhythms, as well as one of the popular genres along with Punta Rock. The need for improvisation and adaptability as the Garifuna musicians have strived to meet the musical needs of the community, has resulted in the fusion of the Traditional Garifuna Music with other genres; such is the case with Paranda. As previously mentioned, Paranda entered the Garifuna Music repertoire during the nineteenth Century after they arrived in Honduras and incorporated elements of Latin and Spanish rhythms into their music.
Paranda originated as a caroling music at Christmastime and is strongly linked to Latin America. Though still played at Christmastime, paranda is now played year round as secular entertainment. In Honduras, traditional paranda music was largely performed around Christmas time, when singers and guitarists (collectively known as the parranderos) traveled from house to house in the community serenading with guitars. In exchange for the entertainment, paranderos were traditionally given food and drink. I remember this Garifuna tradition growing up in Honduras as child and spending Christmas with my grandmother in the Garifuna Village of Cristales.
The first recordings of Paranda were included in the Album “The Black Caribs of Honduras
” produced by Doris Stone and recorded by Peter Kite Smith for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / Folkways Records in 1952. The album includes two paranda songs, which were recorded in Travesia, Honduras. The first song is “Nitu Chila” (Click here to listen
), a traditional song that was subsequently recorded by various artists, including Eduardo Ballesteros with Los Satelites de Honduras (Click here to listen
). The other song is a classic which refers to a girl named Rosita (Click here to listen
) and has also been recorded by many Garifuna artists under the tittle “Fiura”, (Click here to listen
) and was included in the CD Paranda: Africa in Central America featuring Lugua Centeno, released in 1999 by Stonetree Records. Both songs featured gentle strumming with solo singing and maracas.
The liner notes by Doris Stone, is the first written mention of guitar-accompanied music in 1953. Stone, who was working in Trujillo and Travesia, Honduras, and wrote, “The Black Caribs call this type of song a parrandatinu, a word taken from the Spanish paranda signifying “spree.” This type of song however is better interpreted in English as a serenade. Both the idea of the serenade as well as the instruments used, the guitars, are borrowed from their Spanish-American neighbors”.
In 1982, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / 1982 Folkways Records released the album Traditional Music of the Garifuna (Black Carib) of Belize
, recorded and produced by Carol and Travis Jenkins. The album featured two Paranda songs, including “Fiura”. The credits state that the song was composed by Gabaga Williams and featured the late Andy Palacio on lead vocals and guitar, Eric Arzu on the Primero drum and Isawel Nolberto on the Segundo, vocals by Isabella Mejia, Gene Martinez, Bernadetta Arzu; the song was recorded in Barranco. Paranda is described as a type of party song, likened to a serenade and usually composed by men. The second Paranda song features Coro “Blue Monday” Velasquez on vocal and guitar, and Richard Moreira on the Segundo drum. It was recorded in Dangriga. According the notes, Paranda is the vehicle men use when composing songs of social criticism. In addition, the album features a song entitled “Berusu”, featuring Junior Aranda on vocal and guitar. The song was recorded in Dangriga. According to the notes, Berusu are usually sung solo and accompanied by guitar with a listening, instead of a dancing audience. As a type of song used for general entertainment on social occasions, they are frequently played at wakes.
However, according to Liam McGranahan’s thesis, the musicians refer to only one genre of music and refer to it as paranda. In his interview with Junior Aranda he did speak occasionally of guitar-song, but this was only as a description of paranda. Furthermore Mr. Aranda was clear that paranda could be with or without drums and made no mention of any other name (like berusu) for solo guitar music. Paul Nabor was equally clear in stating that there is no guitar music other than paranda. He asked him about berusu and he was not familiar with any style of music by that name. Mr. Nabor also emphasized that paranda could be played with or without rhythmic accompaniment though he mentioned that paranda is ideally accompanied with drums and shakers.
Irrespective of its beginnings, Paranda has continued to evolve from generation to generation.
Proof that evolution, is Clayton Leon Williams AKA “C. Wills” a member of the Garifuna Millennial Generation who released his first album “Garifuna Nuguya
”
(I am Garifuna), and is the leading nominee for the 2016 Garifuna Music Awards with eight (8). He follows in the footsteps of the legendary Paranderos, including his great grandfather the legendary Gabaga Williams, author and composer of the classic Garifuna song Malati Isien Malati Isien (Worthless Love). New York City is home to the descendants of great Paranderos from Honduras and Guatemla, among them Mike and Emilio Nunez, leaders of the group Libaña Maraza (Maraza’s Grandchildren), in memory of their grandfather Marcelino Fernández “Maraza,” one of the great Garifuna composers from Honduras. In addition, there’s Guillermo Alvarez “Don Cuellar” who is a disciple of Jursino Cayetano (Sidu), the great paraandero from Livingston “Labuga” Guatemala.
The origin of paranda as a Christmastime music performed from house to house points further to the Hispanic influence on the music. In several Spanish-speaking countries including Venezuela and Puerto Rico there is also caroling at Christmas known as “parranda.” However, it was the basic rhythm of the Garifuna traditional drumming styles that led to the linkage with the Puerto Rican Community.
Evoking the Puerto Rican tradition of "Parrandas" Christmas Caroling processions and the "Parranda" Garifuna Music Genre, led Folklorist Elena Martinez and Bobby Sanabria, Artistic Directors at The Bronx Music Heritage Center to partner with the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. in 2014 to bring the two communities together based on their cultural similarities, and their common home in the Bronx. The result was Bronx Rising! Parranda con Paranda A Puerto Rican and Garifuna Holiday Celebration.(Click to watch video
) According to this year’s program. The Bronx is home to the largest Puerto Rican and Garifuna communities outside their respective homelands. “Listening closely to the drums both groups use, you can hear echoes of familiar rhythm that call to both. The groups are also connected by a shared home in the Bronx, our borough is the largest Puerto Rican City after San Juan and the Bronx is the home of the largest Community of Garifuna outside of Central America.
While we cannot deny the contributions of Gabaga Williams, Paul Nabor, Junior Aranda, Andy Palacio and Aurelio Martinez to the Garifuna Paranda Music Genre, the evidence presented here validates that Paranda entered the Garifuna Music repertoire during the nineteenth Century after they arrived in Honduras where they encountered the acoustic guitar and incorporated elements of Latin American and Spanish rhythms into their music.
According to the EY Global Talent in Global Cities 2015 study
, the city ranking for creative class attraction, New York City tops the list of Global cities. It enjoys a unique cultural scene, embedded in a cosmopolitan and forward-thinking urban environment, generally considered beneficial to creative activities. It is no wonder that The Bronx Music Heritage Center partnership with the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. brought the Puerto Rican and Garifuna communities together based on their cultural similarities, and their common home in the Bronx. The result was Bronx Rising! Parranda con Paranda A Puerto Rican and Garifuna Holiday Celebration, proving that Paranda is Garifuna Music’s Link to Latin America and that New York has become the Epicenter of Garifuna Arts and Culture.