Best Latin Rhythms of 2008

(Cumbancha)

Edging farther west, you'll find a blend of Babylonian music all its own. The Garifuna people were born of shipwrecked slaves and Carib natives in St. Vincent and then exiled by British colonists to the Atlantic Coast of what is now Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Remixed by forward-thinking Belizean producer Ivan Duran, the music on this compilation album is as complex as the women who sing it. Elements of rock, blues, funk, and even Cuban son intermingle with the Garifunas' beat-based punta music to drive home messages of suffering and survival. You don't have to speak a lick of the Garifunas' unique native tongue to understand the emotion behind their singing and chanting.