Last Friday was a very exciting day....
The past week was hot as Hades with very little breeze, and I was dreading my visit to Dangriga. Lucky for me, however, I got a ride up with some expat friends in their clean, air-conditioned truck that still has functioning shocks!!! OH, LUXURY!
Anyways, back to the point: After a quick trip to immigration and the bank, I found Warren and we moseyed over to Whynot Island and picked up my drums-- I am now the proud & happy owner of a beautiful, handmade set of garawoun! We spent some time hanging out at the workshop talking with drummaker Austin Rodriguez and his daughter, Daytha. While there, we also spied on the coastguard boat that was trolling around offshore--apparently a bale of cocaine floated up to the beach that morning so they were taking care of that situation, which is not uncommon here.
But I digress again. Mr. Rodriguez has been making drums for 40 years, and his daughters are taking over more of the business as their father ages, but he is still very much involved in the family workshop. I purchased the set for $550 275BZ, or $275 USD, which is a bit more than local drummers pay, but nonetheless a fair price for a product made by the best Garifuna drummakers in Belize (if not all of Central America)! Mr. Rodriguez the only person Warren gets his drums from; if Warren thinks he’s the best, then he must be!
Both drums have sheepskin heads; theprimero is made of lustrous samwood and has a Belize flag and “Dangriga, Belize” burned into the side, along with Austin’s autograph and the drum’s birthdate (March 4, 2013), and the segunda is made of logwood. I’m so excited to have them and I hope that they serve me well for many years to come!
Now all I have to do is figure out how to safely transport them back to the states....
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