Showing posts with label garifunas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garifunas. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

punta dancing in punta gorda

This past weekend I took some of our guests to Punta Gorda to listen to some Garífuna drum music and watch punta dancing.
The Punta dance is performed by a man and a woman who evolve separately in a circle formed by the spectators. They begin facing each other and the figure varies with the ingenuity of the dancers, but always represents the evolution of a courtship in which first the man pursues, and then the woman, while the other retreats; and ends only when one of them, from exhaustion or from lack of further initiative, admits defeat by retiring from the ring, to have his or her place immediately taken by another. Punta dance is a mimetic cock-and-hen mating dance with rapid movements of the buttocks, hips, and feet, while the upper torso remains motionless. Couples attempt to dance more stylistically and seductively, with better hip movements, than their competitors. As the evening progresses, the Punta became extremely “hot”; while the spectators egged on their favorites with cries of: mígira-ba labu, “don't leave (off) under him!” or: mígira-ba tabu, “don't leave (off) under her!” which has the same effect as, “don't let him (or her) beat you!” 
- Wikipedia





Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Monday, November 2, 2015

touring punta gorda

Yesterday, I accompanied a group of Paya Bay's guests on a tour of the Garífuna town of Punta Gorda, Roatan. This very fun experience included watching some hot and heavy punta dancing and a seafood dinner in an over-the-sea tropical shack.













Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

photo of the day



A group of Garífuna fisherman cruise by in their "motor dory." Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras

Monday, April 28, 2014

photo of the day


A traditional dugout cayuco or "motor dory." Note the colorful paint job. Punta Gorda, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

more of odeta's eye

Super talented professional photographer Odeta Vaitkunas shared some more photos from her recent trip to Paya. Here are pictures from the Tribal Beach Party on Bliss Beach.









Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Friday, February 21, 2014

tribal beach party

Last night we held the Tribal Beach Party at the new Black Iguana beach bar on Bliss Beach. Fabulous!









Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Friday, September 6, 2013

tribal beach party

Some images from last night's Tribal Beach Party on Bliss Beach. This weekly, Thursday night event begins with a "barefoot barbecue dinner" served on tables that sit right on the beach's cool sand. A performance by the Garífunas (see center photos) follows. A mystical seaside bonfire is another highlight of the evening. As the bonfire gently settles into colorful embers, the Milky Way takes over and does its nightly, millennial extravaganza in the sky above the beach.





Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Saturday, March 9, 2013

black is the new black

This is an interesting series of photographs. I took them from the shore at Paya Bay. Apparently, the motor of these guys' cayuco had quit working or they ran out of fuel. Anyway, they are paddling back home from a fishing trip (most likely heading to the Garífuna town of Punta Gorda, which is about 3 miles from this spot). I was struck by the unusual coincidence that all the passengers were wearing black clothing in a cayuco also painted black. There was something very Hollywood-esque and Pirates of the Caribbean about this scene.

Note how the guy on the bow of the cayuco is using a long stick to help push the cayuco home. I suspect that the kid standing on the stern, besides enjoying the ride from a great vantage point, is also helping his boat mates identify and avoid shallow reefs and hazardous coral heads.





At this speed, home is still -- I'd estimate -- two hours away for these guys.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

boom, boom!


A Garífuna beauty at the Tribal Beach Party. We're all Africans! Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Honduras.

Photo: Lisa Bronkhorst