MaxaFaRi

You know you are in good company when the conversation gets a little carried away.

In Banos, Ecuador, the music echoed off mountains.

Still, no matter how insane or unattainable the plans-in-the-making can get, something about the tone of the conversation suggests those plans aren't impossible.

        Jorge, left, and Oscar, center, welcomed us to their home for the time being on the shores of Cozumel, Mexico.  Oscar and Dave, right, converse.

So my friend Max and I want to go to Jamaica.  This notion struck us after some drinks and a good Bob Marley listening session...a listening and talking session...some beer involved...Max's fascination with reggae music played a part in the talk...his longing to visit the many historic and culturally significant sites on the island...like Marley's stomping and recording grounds, Negril, Ganja fields...etc....I shared my ADD obsession with the Caribbean.  There's the food, music, range of magnificent skin-colors, social norms and attitudes, traditions, beauty nuanced by poverty and the allure of a booming drug trade.  And Jamaica is, arguably, the mother of the Caribbean.  Damn.  It was one of those talks.

There is no better welcome than that of sharing songs.

Especially in a place that looks like this.

   Jorge scopes the magical waters of the Gulf of Mexico

    from his temporary home, the seaside cabana in Cozumel.

The point of this blog is not Jamaica...those words are somewhere in the future, still brewing in the clouds...




...The point of this is Max appreciates Marley and reggae music to his core, his soul.  He could befriend any Knotty Dreaded local simply by his historical knowledge of the movements, the styles, the history, the inaccuracies and revisionist histories, the pride and the soul of the music.  I've heard this kid break down the lyrics.  I've heard him break down the mathematical composition, reminding me the where the kick drum and snare hits fall in the groove, qualifying the drums as being officially a "reggae" beat.  I watch this kid play guitar in a reggae band, standing next to his dad on stage because his dad is beating the shit out of bongos, a djembe and a vibraslap right next to him.  There's a strong case for genealogical gravity right there.




Max is not alone in his passion.  During my various travels, I've met musicians, artists and those folks more interested with the ebb and flow of life, rather than the bull and bear of it all.  Bob Marley is a common thread among those, and other, people from a variety of countries and cultures.  From Ulcini, Montenegro to Mompiche, Ecuador, Bob's words escape lips and speakers.  It fills rooms, alleys and cafes.  It blends in with the sunsets.




This sharing of words, images and video aims to illustrate the power of music, on both an intercontinental and interpersonal level.

Raf, a.k.a. "Mexican Lil' Wayne" lets out smirk in Cozumel.

Captain Joshua Cunningham sets the sail aboard his catamaran as it cuts through the dolphin-rich waters of the Calibogue Sound off Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Happy Brain Waves!

Josh Cunningham, known by the Hilton Head locals as "Josh the Pirate," chills out and tells stories to his guests.

    After singing "Redemption Song" A Capella, Josh smiles

     as the sun buries itself into the horizon.