As I'm not going to any festivals this year, have been going to lots of concerts instead and last night was one of the most UH-MAZ-ING ones I've been to for a long time (yeah I know I say that about each one!) but honestly, Aurelio Martinez is just phenomenal!! I first saw him at the UN in New York (yeah I know how pretentious that sounds) in March where he performed alongside Morgan Heritage and afterwards I went to a hip Manhattan club to see Mos Def (this is why blogging is important, makes me reflect on how blessed I am) and I literally fell in love. The music is just Africa coursing through one's veins and the history and culture of the Garifuna people is just amazing. Actually Aurelio is one of the inspirations behind the goal of perfecting my music collection as I realised how much I was missing out on. So went to the Barbican on my jones last night
(as not one single friend was available to go with me) and the opening act was a superfine Wolof , Carlou D, who is that archetypal, what Americans would refer to as Mandinka, albeit he's Wolof, but basically super hot, super BLACK, black man. Lush!! Then there was the white La'Reunion artist, Danyel Waro and then Aurelio came on. And the man just tore it up - seriously have never seen anyone move like that. Infectious music and I sat at the very front, in the middle and internally smirked to myself as I shimmied in my seat, recalling seeing Fela at the National and the audience being full of white folk and not one of them dancing, that white folk always need permission to dance and black folk create reasons to dance. My racial stereotype was totally blown out of the water when I glanced to either side of the theatre and saw people on their feet, white people(!), white middle class people, getting down and dirty. My whole body ached to go join them but that would have meant disturbing about 50 people to get to there, so I stayed shimmying in my seat getting lots of smiles from Aurelio's super hot, barely legal bassist. Anyway, at the very last song, thought - eff it, I'm getting up and dancing, and as I did, everyone else on the front row joined in. Was on such a high and will continue to be everytime I think of Aurelio and hopefully I'll go see them in Honduras one day.
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