Editing Punta (section)

==Popular Punta and Punta rock bands==
"Punta served as a paradigm for a new language of musical expression (punta rock) as well as a continuum for the revolution of popular contemporary Garifuna music in general".<ref name=Pryor /> Modernity and punta exist simultaneously as interdependent and interrelated scales of technological and musical transformation, with modernity as the epicenter for the evolution of punta, serving as the medium through which the effects of modernity can be seen. This transformation has also allowed punta rock and punta to appeal to different age groups and be used in a variety of social contexts.<ref name=Pryor />

Musician and visual artist [[Pen Cayetano]] and the Turtle Shell Band introduced [[punta rock]] in 1978, at 5 Moho Street, [[Dangriga]], Belize. His songs in the [[Garifuna language]] added [[electric guitar]] to the traditional punta rhythm.<ref name=ryan>Ryan, Jennifer. 1995. "The Garifuna and Creole culture of Belize explosion of punta rock", in ''Popular Music: Style and Identity'', ed. Will Straw, Stacey Johnson, Rebecca Sullivan, Paul Friedlander, and Gary Kennedy, pp. 243-248.</ref> Cayetano's style caught on quickly in [[Belize]] and from there spread to Garifuna communities in Honduras and Guatemala.

Young progressive Garifuna men and women who looked to American style and did not carry on traditions experienced a resurgence of their culture.<ref name=ryan /> More artists began composing Garifuna songs to traditional Garifuna rhythms. Their lyrics gave the political, social and economic issues of Belizean Garifuna people a global platform and inspired a new generation to apply their talents to their own ancestral forms and unique concerns.

Punta musicians in [[Central America]], the [[United States|US]], and elsewhere made further advances with the introduction of the [[piano]], [[woodwind]], [[brass]] and [[string instrument|string]] instruments. Punta rock has grown since the early 1980s to include other [[electronic instruments]] such as the [[synthesizer]] and electric [[bass guitar]] as well as other percussive instruments. The most popular bands that used this style of punta in Honduras were [[Los Rolands]], Kazzabe, Los Profesionales, [[Los Gatos Bravos]], [[Los Silver Star]], and [[Chicas Roland]].

Punta along with [[Reggaeton]] music are predominantly popular and influential among the entire population in [[Honduras]].
Often mixed with Spanish, Punta has a widespread audience due to the immigration of Hondurans and Guatemalans to the United States, other parts of Latin America and Europe, notably [[Spain]]. Honduran Punta has caused Belizean and Guatemalan Punta to use more Spanish due to the commercial success achieved by bands that use it.

When [[Banda Blanca]] of [[Honduras]] sold over 3 million copies of "Sopa De Caracol" ("Conch Soup"), originally written by [[Belize]]an [[Herman Ramos|Chico Ramos]], the Garifunas of Belize felt cheated but celebrated the success. The genre is continuing to develop a strong following in the [[United States]] and [[South America]] and the [[Caribbean]].<ref name=ryan />

Belizean punta is distinctive from traditional punta in that songs are usually in [[Belizean Kriol language|Kriol]] or [[Garifuna language|Garifuna]] and rarely in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] or [[English language|English]]. [[Calypso music|calypso]] and [[Soca music|soca]] have had some effect on it. Like calypso and soca, Belizean punta provides social commentary and risqué humor, though the initial wave of punta acts eschewed the former. [[Calypso Rose]], [[Lord Rhaburn]] and the Cross Culture Band assisted the acceptance of punta by [[Belizean Kriol people]] by singing [[calypso music|calypso]] songs about punta - songs such as "Gumagrugu Watah" and "Punta Rock Eena Babylon".<ref name=ryan />

Prominent broadcasters of Punta music include [[WAVE Radio]] and [[Krem Radio]].