WOMAD

Aurelio

From Honduras

Effortlessly cool troubadour from the sun-kissed Caribbean coast
Plenty of musicians have fancied life as a politician. Some - like Gilberto Gil and Sonny Bono - succeeded and served in office. Others - like the thrice-beaten drummer from Blur - have been less successful. Aurelio Martinez falls in the former camp, a troubadour who divides his time between making music and serving as a deputy in the National Congress of Honduras. As if the duties of public office weren't enough of a responsibility, Aurelio is also charged with upholding the close-to-extinct musical traditions of Honduras' Garifuna community, those people of Caribbean and West African ancestry now living on the Central America coastline. For the time being at least, their music seems safe in Aurelio's care. Not only is he an (unsurprisingly) charming and articulate communicator, he's also a rather fantastic musician, one in possession of both a fluid guitar style and a soulful, smoky voice. Now you don't get that in the House of Commons.

(Biography written by Nige Tassell 2011)

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