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Aurelio Martinez with the T-Mart Rounders @ Old Brick Playhouse
January 29, 2020 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
The Augusta Heritage Center, with support from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, is presenting a concert with treasured Honduran musician, Aurelio Martinez. The concert is open to the public and will take place on Wednesday, January 29 at 7:30 pm at the Old Brick Playhouse, 329 Davis Ave, Elkins, WV. General admission tickets are $15.
Singer-songwriter, guitarist and percussionist Aurelio Martinez is one of Central America’s most gifted performers. Born in Honduras, Martinez is known for his powerful and evocative voice. He is a major tradition-bearer of the Garifuna culture and music. The Garifuna are people of Amerindian and West African descents who live along the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Martinez grew up in a small Caribbean village called Plaplaya, surrounded by a family of talented musicians. While attending secondary school at the provincial capital of La Ceiba, Martinez dove into diverse and innovative musical projects that took him outside the traditional sphere of performance. By this time, he played professionally with popular Latin ensembles and had refined his musical skills.
He toured extensively with his band Lita Ariran in the 1980s and 90s, which was one of the first Garifuna traditional music and dance group to appear on the international scene. Aurelio has released three solo albums, backed by some of Belize’s and Honduras’ best studio musicians on Garifuna percussion, saxophone, electric and bass guitars.
Martinez was elected to the Honduran National Congress in 2006 and was the first Garifuna congressman from his region in the country’s history.
“We’re not going to let this culture die,” says Martinez. “I know I must continue my ancestors’ legacy and find new ways to express it. Few people know about it, but I adore it, and it’s something I must share with the world”
This engagement of Aurelio Martinez is made possible through the Folk and Traditional Arts Touring Network program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in collaboration with the National Council for the Traditional Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.