Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ANDY PALACIO
For over two decades
Andy Palacio
influenced, dominated and even helped produce the
modern Belizean sound. The country's only truly professional star and music ambassador, his
sudden death, due to a heart condition, en route to a show in the US in 2008 shocked and
saddened the entire nation. Over the years Palacio succeeded in incorporating a diversity of
national and regional styles into a unique popular sound, a consummate performer who
established an enviable reputation for producing catchy melodies accompanied by articulate,
astute and entertaining lyrics, underpinned by unique Garifuna rhythms. Named “UNESCO
Artist for Peace” in 2007, it was his pre-eminent final album,
Watina
, firmly based on his
Garifuna roots, that catapulted him into the annals of “World Music” stardom, winning him
World Music Album of the Year as well as the BBC Radio 3 award in January 2008, shortly
before he died.
Born in Barranco, he grew up in the rural cosmopolitanism of Garifuna, Maya and mestizo
communities, integrating a diversity of linguistic and cultural influences from an early age. As a
teenager in the 1970s he experienced first-hand the new Belizean cultural nationalism of the
PUP party, which brought the country to independence, introducing a broader ideological
dimension to his inevitable cultural a
nity with the Garifuna musical tradition. The break came
in 1987 when, on an exchange visit to London, he spent a year picking up the latest recording
techniques and honing his compositional skills. He returned triumphantly to Belize a year later
with enough equipment to open a studio, also bringing with him several London recordings
of the songs that would become huge hits back home and transform the music scene.
The biggest song was undoubtedly the 1988 hit
Bikini Panti
- an English-Garifuna, punta
rock satire on Belize's burgeoning tourist business - which set a new musical and lyrical
standard. But if
Bikini Panti
was the dancefloor killer, it was
Me Goin' Back
that provided the
clear ideological expression of the new national sensitivity, as the almost calypsonian lyrics
demonstrate:
Now don't buss your brains wonderin what me goin' back to: Rice 'n Beans and a Belikin, Friends FM and a
dollar chicken, Pine Ridge and a Swing Bridge, Brukdown, Punta Rock, Sunshine and a cashew wine, Belize
Times and Amandala, Maya, Creole and the Garifuna
Palacio's longstanding collaboration with Ivan Duran at Stonetree Records saw three other
major releases.
Keimoun
and
Til Da Mawnin
are two great danceable albums displaying a
mastery of punta and incorporating Latin and Anglophone Caribbean sounds.
Watina
,
recorded with the
Garifuna Collective
, is a more thoughtful and melodic recollection of his
origins, featuring master
parranderos
Aurelio and
Paul Nabor
.
nationally celebrated
Mr. Peters and his Boom and Chime
,
and composed countless
classics and performed around the world; any of his albums represent a musical journey
through Creole culture. Generally, though, brukdown is recreational music best
enjoyed in the Creole villages of Burrell Boom, Hattieville, Bermudian Landing and
Isabella Bank.
Brad Patico
, an accomplished guitarist and singer-songwriter, similarly does his best to
keep the Creole folksong tradition alive from his base in Burrell Boom - his recordings
can still be found in Belizean record stores. Originating from the same cultural roots,
and equally conscious of a disappearing musical past, is Brother David Obi, better
known as
Bredda David
, the creator of
kungo music
, a mixture of musical styles that
includes the traditional Creole music of Belize and the pulsating drum rhythms of
Africa. A skilful musician and songwriter, David still plays occasionally in Belize City
with his
Tribal Vibes
band; look out for album
Raw
, where rock guitars are overlaid on
new-generation Belizean rhythm with lyrical kungo wit.
One of the best-known singers seen to preserve traditional Creole folksong is
Leela
Vernon
from Punta Gorda, who plays to highly appreciative audiences at national
festivals, often appearing with long-standing pop bands, including
Youth Connection
,
Gilharry 7
and
Santino's Messengers
. Her most famous song,
Who say Creole gat no
culture?
, is a national favourite amongst older people and a reminder of pride in
