Punta

Punta is not only a rhythm. It is a conversation between the segunda — the heartbeat drum — and the primero, the storyteller.

When a punta starts, hips remember what the mouth forgets. Children who have never been to Dangriga learn the steps in Los Angeles, in the Bronx, in London.

Every November, the diaspora returns for Settlement Day. The drums begin at dusk. By dawn, the streets are full of grandmothers teaching grandchildren the old steps, ítara — like this.

The drum says: you are not lost. You are walking, and we are walking with you.