Music of Honduras

Music of Honduras is very varied. Punta is the main "ritmo" of Honduras with other music such as Paranda, Bachata, Caribbean salsa, cumbia, reggae, merengue, soca, calypso, dancehall, Reggaeton and most recently Afrobeats widely heard especially in the North the Department of Atlántida, to Mexican rancheras heard in the interior rural part of the country.

Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa is an important center for modern Honduran music, and is home to the College for Fine Arts.^[1]

Folk music is played with guitar, marimba and other instruments. Punta is popular in Honduras.^[2] Popular folk songs include La ceiba and Candú.^[3]

There is an Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Honduras (a national orchestra) in Comayagua.^[4]

Punta is the main genre heard around Honduras. Punta originated through the Garifuna people. The Garifuna people have a mix of Afro-Indigenous roots as demonstrated in their music. Punta is not only a genre of music but also a lively form of dance as well. Like many Latin genres, Punta form through slave trades and this tribe creating this music as a way to dance and celebrate. Today Punta has evolved into various different styles with the most popular being Punta Rock which came in around the late 1980's-1990's.^[5]

Early Punta started as a ritual or used in celebrations and moved towards folk and poetic music to the Garifuna tribes. Garifuna tribes began to immigrate to Latin American countries around the late 1700's landing in Honduras by the end of the 18th century. Punta was often performed by females which equates to the movement of the dance. Punta dance is described as a sensual dance, moving the hips and shaking their bottoms. This dance moves the lower half while keeping their upper half almost stagnant. Though men can also dance Punta, oftentimes it is women who are dancing together in a circle while the men watch. This dance is also competitive and it may be seen that the dancers will try to outdo each other.^[6]

Punta has been seen in various different types of context. Punta can be danced at festivals, celebrations and even funerals. Punta uses traditional musical instruments deriving from the roots of Garifuna tribes. The drums are one of the most prevalent instruments that can be heard in any Punta song followed by strings and wind instruments. As time moves on more modern instruments have been added to add more depth to the music and fit modern taste however the standard instruments have stayed through all the musical trends.^[7]

• Los Silver Star
• Los Robbins^[8]
• Los Flippers
• Los Rangers
• Los Flame Boys
• Teen Stars
• Banda Blanca^[9]
• Javier Monthiel^[10][11]
• Anima^[12]
• Polache^[13]
• Guillermo Anderson
• Moisés Canelo
• URANIA
• Khaos
• El Pez
• Montuca SoundSystem
• Evolucion Neutra
• Delirium
• Sueño Digviana
• Pez Luna
• Sol Caracol
• Maria Isolina
• Dano Cube
• Atomic Rose^[14]
• Tux Lunan
• Chia Casanova
• Nelson Padilla
• Sam & Dan
• Most Dangerous City
• Eduardo Umanzor
• Rodolfo Bueso
• LAUREN SOFÍA
• Sergio Ortega
• Volmen^[15]

Reggaeton has been popular in the country for many years, and Honduras has emerged as a leading producer of artists. Notable artists include:

• DJ Sy (Syrome)
• Raggamofin Killas
• El Pueblo
• Los Bohemios Del Reggaeton
• DJ Slyfox
• Bullaka Family
• Yerbaklan
• Killa

• Music of Costa Rica
• Music of Peru
• Music of Guatemala
• Music of Panama
• Music of Puerto Rico
• Music of Mexico
• Music of Brazil^{[6][5][7][16][17]}

• Campos Fonseca, Susan: “Historia compensatoria y Filosofía: Un caso centroamericano”, en BABAB, Nº33, verano, España, 2008, ISSN · 1575-9385. Disponible en:
• Brill, Mark. Music of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2nd Edition, 2018. Taylor & Francis ISBN 1138053562
• http://www.babab.com/no33/susan_campos.php