Punta

Punta
Stylistic origins	Garifuna
Typical instruments	Garifuna drums shekere maracas conch
Regional scenes
Honduras Belize Guatemala Nicaragua United States
Other topics
Paranda Punta Rock

Punta is an Afro-indigenous dance and cultural music of the Garifuna originating prior to their exile to Roatan from the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines. Which is also known as Yurumei. It has African and Arawak elements which are also the characteristics of the Garifuna language. Punta is the best-known traditional dance belonging to the Garifuna community. It is also known as banguity or bunda.

The diaspora of Garifuna people, commonly called the "Garifuna Nation", dates back to the West African who escaped slavery and the Arawak and Carib Amerindians. Punta is used to reaffirm and express the struggle felt by the indigenous population's common heritage through cultural art forms, such as dance and music, and to highlight their strong sense of endurance as well as reconnecting back to the ancestors of the Garifuna people.^[1] Besides Honduras, punta also has a following in Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States.

Lyrics may be in Garifuna, Kriol, English or Spanish.^[1][2] However, most songs are performed in the indigenous Arawak and Carib-based languages of the Garinagu and are often simply contemporary adaptations of traditional Garifuna songs.^[1] Being the most popular dance in Garifuna culture,^[3] Punta is danced specifically in Garifuna funerals, beaches, and parks.^[4] Punta is iconic of Garifuna ethnicity and modernity and can be seen as poetic folk art that connects older cultures and rhythms with new sounds.^[1] Chumba and hunguhungu, circular dances in triple rhythm, are often combined with punta.^[3]