By José Francisco Ávila

May is Garifuna Arts & Culture Appreciation Month in NYC, in honor of the 21st anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) proclamation of the Garifuna Language, Dance and Music as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, on May 18th, 2001.
  
 Garifuna songs are poetry. They capture the history, the values, the aspirations, the concerns, and the deepest feelings of a people who have been kept illiterate in their own language. [1] The songs capture and express the totality of the Garifuna experience and in a sense serve as a literature that is waiting to be committed to writing and translated into other languages for our common benefit. 
  
 As for the melodies and the rhythms, which again are a very interesting amalgam of African and Amerindian elements enhanced by simple instruments in traditional music or by more elaborate instrumentation in the more modern Punta Rock forms, the appeal is universal.”

This legacy tells a story of ingenuity and faith. Amidst the injustice of their forced deportation from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Garifunas lifted their voices to the heavens through traditional songs such as “Yurumein”, which have transmitted the beliefs that have guided the life of the Garifuna for generations. These songs are symbol of Garifuna resilience in their quest to maintain their cultural identity.    
  
 During my freshman year in college, I took a Music Appreciation Class, which taught me to understand the value and merit of different styles of music beginning with the classics. More recently, I completed the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Certification in World Music Pedagogy.
  
 It is that training that I apply as I listen to music and led to my selection of what I consider the Ten Best Garifuna Songs of All Time!  Here they are:
  
 Samina Humei (Think About it)| On January 1, 1994, Andy Palacio released the self-titled album “Andy Palacio” on Kalifa Records. It included the song Samina Humei (Think about it), which I consider a wakeup call to the Garinagu about the land grab in Central America by foreigners.

"My concern was general. I simply focused on music as the means to express those concerns. For example, on the issue of us not controlling our destiny, I wrote “Samina Humei” which means “Think about it” with the following lyrics: “Ganei hamali muwa (They [the rich and powerful have bought the land)
Ganei hamali barawa (They have bought the sea) Gamálali lidan furendei (They dictate the educational system) Gáhabu lidan gumadi (They have their hands in government)
Samina humei san . . . numádagu (Think about it, my friends). The lyrics of the is song continue to be relevant when we consider the problems with the Garifuna lands in Barranco, Punta Gorda and Seine Bight.
  
 Yurumein (St Vincent) On August 9, 1993 - August 11, 1993, Aurelio Martinez and Litan Ariran recorded Songs Of The Garifuna CD, which was released by JVC World Sounds series, on October 11, 1994. The CD included the song "Yurumein" (St Vincent), which is the Garifuna ancestral name of the island of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The song is recognized as the International Garifuna anthem, this traditional Garifuna song featuring the fundamental Garifuna Rhythm Hüngühüngü, tells the story of the forcible deportation of the Garifuna People from St Vincent and it's played at every Garifuna Cultural event.
  
 Uwala Uwala Busiganu (Let There Be No Shame)- Pen Cayetano and The Turtle Shell Band this this song is a call for pride and awareness of the Garifuna culture and not to lose it. According to the late Andy Palacio "It became a sort of anthem for Garifuna pride."
  
 The title of the song was the Theme for the Garifuna Intercontinental Summit Meeting in It conveyed the focus on cultural identity recovery.

Garinagu Wagia (We are Garifunas)The Sea Boys, this song is a true symbol of Garifuna resilience in their quest to maintain their cultural identity. It reminds us that wherever we go, we are Garifunas and encourages us not to lose our language nor our culture.
  
 Garifuna | The Best of Scakes Volume 1- I had the honor of meeting Mr. Kenneth "Vibrating Scakes" Alleyne   During the Garifuna Homecoming in 2009 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, he told us that this song was written in honor of the Bicentennial of the Garifuna Exile. The chorus is a call to action "Chatoyer says Rise Up for a new day has dawned, Garifuna, live, Garifuna live"
  
 Hafanidira (The Garifuna Flag) |Baby Lou Africa - Beautifully composed and arranged, the song starts with the lyrics of the traditional song "Yurumein" and then switches into the theme of the song, Garinagu I will talk to you about a flag, a flag without par, a beautiful flag, whose flag? The Garifuna flag!
  
 Inebesei Galibina (Garifuna Tribute) |Justo Castro & Banda Yurumei - This was the official Tribute to the 200th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Garinagu to Central America on April 12, 1797.  The commemoration was titled "Garifuna Bicentennial" and was held in La Ceiba, Honduras in April 1997. The song tells the story of the journey from St Vincent to Roatan with a very innovative combination of traditional and modern Garifuna rhythms and beautifully sung by its composer Justo Castro.

Marcus Sanchez Diaz by the legendary Mohobob Flores one of the original members of the Turtle Shell Band. Marco Sánchez Díaz is regarded as the founder of Livingston Labuga, but oral tradition maintains that he was a Black military officer from Haiti who led a group of Garínagu from Honduras and settled in the present-day Livingston in 1802.  
  
 Uganu Labugagie(News from Labuga) by Gadu Nunez and the Garifuna Stars, is in memory  of the WORST Naval Disaster in the History of Guatemala on Sunday, January 1st 1989, where 57 people drowned.
  
 200 Years– Aurelio Martinez y Los Bravos del Caribe. This song is in honor of the Garifuna Bicentennial and begins by saying Today we celebrate two hundred years since we arrived in Honduras, and today we will tell what we do not like to those who rule in Honduras, as far as the lands is concerned, that is our heritage that  we inherited from our ancestors. He then predicts what will happen when the Garifunas have sold their land, they will have to pay for everything on their own land. for leaving their boats on the beach, for bathing and for  fishing.
 
 These songs capture the history, the values, the aspirations, the concerns, and the deepest feelings of the Garifuna people, they are symbols of resilience in our quest to maintain our cultural identity.
     
 I invite you to listen to my playlist "T en Best Garifuna Songs of All Time " on SoundCloud.