Sorry for no updates
We apologise for not entering but there hasn’t been much going on. However we will start posting on a regular basis.
My thoughts on Andy Palacio
To start off the post, here’s a link to a New York Article about Andy today http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/arts/music/21palacio.html
As the weekend ends, the new week begins, there will be a lot of articles and news about Andy’s passing. You will get to learn about Andy’s life and work. But it will be impossible for you to meet and get to know this great gentleman in person ever again.
I met Andy Palacio on several occasions. Albeit I wasn’t star struck, and at the time didn’t realize the accomplishments and fame he was about to achieve. Nevertheless I respected him. I saw him as a “REAL” artist. A quality most modern day artists lack. Andy had a lot of Real, he was all about the real… the realness of promoting his culture and music. Thats about as real as you can get, never compromising your heritage for the sake of fame and fortune. And it worked out for him. He still achieved fame and fortune, even if it was in the last year of his life.
Now he’s gone… who will be our next great ambassador of culture and music? Leela Vernon perhaps ? Whatever or whoever… he leaves a great void. I remember when my good friend and artist/producer Nadir “Leal-J” Leal passed away. It was a similar case… he had achieved some fame from the release of his first album. Everyone knew Nadir, he had a great personality, he was loved by plenty. He died the year after the release of his album. The difference being he was quite young at 24, while Andy has lived life. But the similarities are obvious, Two great artists, albeit one with more influence over society… but nevertheless two great artists gone. Who will fill the void of our lost artists?
The image that comes to mind when i think of Andy is after a concert, where my brother’s band performed, seeing him sitting on the steps of the stage, tuning his guitar, thinking of only the tunes the guitar was emitting and only that.. he was oblivious to the world. It was clear he loved music and he loved his culture. Rest In Peace Andy Palacio
Andy Palacio’s Biography
*Andy Palacio* was not only the most popular musician in Belize, he was
also a serious music and cultural activist with a deep commitment to
preserving his unique Garifuna culture. Long a leading proponent of
Garifuna popular music and a tireless advocate for the maintenance of
the Garifuna language and traditions, Palacio recently achieved
international acclaim for his work as a recording and performing artist
thanks to the critical success of his early 2007 album /Wåtina/.
*Andy Vivien Palacio was born in the small coastal village of Barranco,
Belize on December 2, 1960. Palacio grew up listening to traditional
Garifuna music as well as imported sounds coming over the radio from
neighboring Honduras, Guatemala, the Caribbean and the United States.
“Music was always a part of daily life,” said Palacio, “It was the
soundtrack that we lived to.” Along with some of his peers, he joined
local bands even while in high school and began developing his own
voice, performing covers of popular Caribbean and Top 40 songs.
However, it was while working with a literacy project on Nicaragua’s
Atlantic Coast in 1980 and discovering that the Garifuna language and
culture was steadily dying in that country, that a strong cultural
awareness took hold and his approach to music became more defined. “I
saw what had happened to my people in Nicaragua. The cultural erosion I
saw there deeply affected my outlook,” he said in late 2006, “and I
definitely had to react to that reality.” His reaction took the form of
diving deeper into the language and rhythms of the Garifuna, a unique
cultural blend of West African and Indigenous Carib and Arawak Indian
language and heritage. “It was a conscious strategy. I felt that music
was an excellent medium to preserve the culture. I saw it as a way of
maintaining cultural pride and self esteem, especially in young people.”
Palacio became a leading figure in a growing renaissance of young
Garifuna intellectuals who were writing poetry and songs in their native
language. He saw the emergence of an upbeat, popular dance form based on
Garifuna rhythms that became known as /punta rock/ and enthusiastically
took part in developing the form. Andy began performing his own songs
and gained stature as a musician and energetic Garifuna artist. In 1987,
he was able to hone his skills after being invited to work in England
with Cultural Partnerships Limited, a community arts organization.
Returning home to Belize with new skills and a four track recording
system, he helped found Sunrise, an organization dedicated to
preserving, documenting and distributing Belizean music. While his
academic background and self-scholarship allowed for his on-going
documentation of Garifuna culture through lyrics and music, it is his
exuberance as a performer that has helped earn him worldwide recognition.
Palacio also brought his passion for Garifuna culture into the public
sector. In December 2004, Palacio was appointed Cultural Ambassador and
Deputy Administrator of the National Institute of Culture and History of
Belize.
About five years ago, Belizean producer *Ivan Duran*, Palacio’s longtime
collaborator and founder of the local label Stonetree Records, convinced
Palacio that he should focus on less commercial forms of Garifuna music
and look more deeply into its soul and roots. Duran and Palacio set out
to create an all-star, multi-generational ensemble of some of the best
Garifuna musicians from Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. *The Garifuna
Collective* unites elder statesmen such as legendary Garifuna composer
*Paul Nabor*, with up-and-coming voices of the new generation such as
*Aurelio Martinez* from Honduras and *Adrien Martinez* from Belize.
Rather then focusing solely on danceable styles like punta rock, the
Collective explores the more soulful side of Garifuna music, such as the
Latin-influenced /paranda/, and the sacred /dügü/, /punta/ and /gunjei/
rhythms.
Palacio and Duran embarked on the production of /Wátina/, an album that
would come to redefine modern Garifuna music and become one of the most
critically-acclaimed world music releases of 2007. The initial recording
sessions for this exceptional album took place over a 4-month period in
an improvised studio inside a thatch-roofed cabin by the sea in the
small village of Hopkins, Belize. It was an informal environment, where
the musicians spent many hours playing together late into the night,
honing the arrangements of the songs that would eventually end up on
this album. While the traditions provided the inspiration, the musicians
also added contemporary elements that helped give the songs relevance to
their modern context. After the sessions, Ivan Duran worked tirelessly
back at his studio to craft what is surely the pinnacle of Garifuna
music production to date.
/Wátina/, which was released at the beginning of 2007, became one of the
most critically acclaimed recordings of the year in any genre. Perhaps
the most unanimously revered world music album in recent memory, /Wátina
/appeared on dozens of Best of the Year lists in major media outlets
around the globe and was roundly praised in glowing terms. These best-of
lists put an exclamation point on what had been an incredible year for
Andy Palacio and the worldwide recognition of Garifuna music. In
November, 2007, Palacio became the first Caribbean and Central American
artist to be designated a *UNESCO Artist for Peace*. He received the
prestigious *WOMEX Award* in October, 2007 which was co-awarded to Ivan
Duran. In September, 2007 Palacio was conferred the *Order of
Meritorious Service* by the Prime Minister of Belize. /Wátina /was also
nominated for the influential *BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards*. At home
in Belize, the international success of /Wátina/ has sparked a revival
of Garifuna music, as young musicians have become inspired by Palacio’s
example.
Belizean Musician Andy Palacio Passes Away After Heart Attack and Stroke
January 19, 2008 - *Andy Palacio, an iconic musician and cultural
activist in his native Belize and impassioned spokesperson for the
Garifuna people of Central America, was declared dead tonight at 9pm
Belize time due to a massive and extensive stroke to the brain, a heart
attack and respiratory failure due to the previous two conditions.
Palacio, 47, started feeling poorly last week and eventually visited a
doctor with complaints of dizziness and blurred vision. On the 16th of
January, he began experiencing seizures and was rushed to a hospital in
Belmopan, Belize and then on to another hospital in Belize City. At this
point, most people were hopeful Palacio would recover.
On January 17th, Palacio’s condition worsened and he began experiencing
more seizures. He was placed on an air ambulance to Chicago where he was
expected to get treatment at one of the premier neurological facilities
in the country. En route to Chicago, the plane stopped in Mobile,
Alabama to clear immigration. At that point, Palacio was unconscious and
it was determined that he was too ill to continue on the flight to
Chicago. He was rushed to a hospital in Mobile, and placed on life
support. There, doctors determined that the damage to his brain function
was severe, and that his chances of recovery were slim. On January 18th,
his family requested that he be flown back to Belize so that he might
die in his homeland.
A national hero in Belize for his popular music and advocacy of Garifuna
language and culture, news of Palacio’s condition sent shock waves
through the community. At 5pm today, a public service was held in Belize
City for Palacio as people prayed for his recovery. Ceremonies were also
held by Garifuna spiritual leaders in an effort to help with the
situation. Belize is in the midst of a heated election, but the local
news was entirely dominated by Palacio’s health crisis.
The reaction has also been strong around the world. Until the recent
turn of events, the past year had been one of tremendous accomplishment
for Palacio as his album /Wátina/, which was released at the beginning
of 2007, had become one of the most critically acclaimed recordings of
the year in any genre. Perhaps the most unanimously revered world music
album in recent memory, /Wátina /appeared on dozens of Best of the Year
lists in major media outlets around the globe and was roundly praised in
glowing terms.
In 2007, Palacio was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace and won the
prestigious WOMEX Award. /Wátina /was also nominated for the BBC Radio 3
World Music Awards. At home in Belize, the international success of
/Wátina/ has sparked a revival of Garifuna music, as young musicians
have become inspired by Palacio’s example. Even in the days since
Palacio’s health crisis began, the accolades have continued to pour in
for his work.
That Palacio has been struck down at a moment of such international
acclaim only increases the sense of shock and tragedy felt at his sudden
and untimely death.
Andy Palacio will be honored with an official state funeral. A massive
tribute concert is planned in Belize City on Friday, January 25th
Friends and supporters are invited to post messages in memory of Andy
Palacio to his MySpace page (www.myspace.com/andypalacio) as well as to
the blog of his international record label Cumbancha
(http://cumbanchamusic.blogspot.com/).
<http://cumbanchamusic.blogspot.com/%29.>
Andy Palacio/Stonetree Records Receive Womex award in Seville, Spain
(originally posted by Ivan Duran, Director/Producer Stonetree Records)
Receiving the WOMEX award last Sunday was without doubt one of the highlights of our music careers.
Indeed, it was a very special day for Belize and my deepest gratitude goes to all of you who have supported us all these years.
No award in the world will ever compare to the love we have received in Belize in the last year.
No international radio charts makes us feel happier than seeing young boys and girls in Belize singing one of the songs from the Watina CD.
Andy and the Watina album have made Belizeans proud and we are truly humbled by this experience.
After receiving the WOMEX award, preceded by a heartwarming introduction by legendary world music producer and WOMEX founder Ben Mandelson , Andy delivered a moving and emotional acceptance speech that brought tears to the eyes of many in the audience at the Al-Andalus Theater in Seville, Spain. The presentation of the award was followed by a rousing performance by Andy and the Garifuna Collective who were joined by two singers from the Garifuna Women’s Project which will be released by Stonetree Records early next year.
In addition, Wátina was selected as the number 1 world music album of 2007 by the World Music Charts Europe DJs. Wátina ranked ahead of other highly feted albums by Angelique Kidjo, Ali Farka Toure and Ibrahim Ferrer of Buena Vista Social Club.
The nominees for the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music were also announced at the ceremony and Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective
received a nomination in the Americas category. The nominees for the BBC Radio 3 Awards are selected
by the attendees of WOMEX, who include almost 3000 record labels, artists, producers, booking agents,
managers, festival promoters and other movers and shakers in the world music industry.
I truly hope that the successes of this year will open new doors to other talented artists and inspire more youths to explore their musical roots.
I encourage you to read Andy’s WOMEX acceptance speech (see attached PDF file).
For more pictures and video of the WOMEX ceremony, please visit www.womex.com
Again, my sincerest thanks.
New Belizean Entertainment/Eightball Records Release!
Eightball Records, in collaboration with one of Belize’s foremost dancehall talents, Belizean Entertainment, has released a brand new Riddim Driven CD..
Dirty Looks Riddim Has been in work since January 2007. The riddim itself is a hard-hitting, late 90’s styled dancehall produced by Belizeño himself. In sequel to the first, original riddim driven to be released in Belize, ‘The Hot Again Riddim’ by Belizean Entertainment, Dirty Looks promises to be just as infectious and twice as diverse. Dirty Looks brings to you some of the original veterans from Hot Again such as Ras Cat, Serial Thrilla, Backyawd Crew and of course all the members of Belizean Entertainment. Also in collaboration are quite a few new and promising artists, as well as the new group presented to us, courtesy of Eightball Records, known as The Fraternity. The Fraternity, consisting of spanish rap veteran Demo (former Latin Pride member), vibrant new female vocalists Sarita and upcoming dancehall artist Iceman promises to be another one of those great Belizean Crews. (entire article at www.belizeanentertainment.bz)
The CD can be bought at any Venus or A & R stores nationwide or online at www.belizeanentertainment.bz. Digital downloads are available.
Andy Palacio and Ivan Duran win WOMEX 2007 Award !!
Congratulations is due to both Andy Palacio and Ivan Duran for winning the 2007 WOMEX Award. Truly a great feat for the Belizean Artists and Producer, the WOMEX award is among the most prestigious awards in the World Music Industry. The award was established to honor the best world music by the World Music Expo.
Andy Palacio and Ivan are currently in London where they will attend a series of events related with the promotion of their latest Album Watina.
In an environment where achievements by Belizean Artists are low, it is of much remark that we applaud the truly hard work and effort on the part of both Andy Palacio, Ivan Duran of Stone Tree records as well as the Garifuna Community. Keep doing the hard work and Making Belizeans Proud.
To Read more about the World Music Expo and the WOMEX 2007 Award Winners, Andy Palacio and Ivan Duran please visit: http://www.womex.com/realwomex/newsletters/award_07.html
Hector “El Father” & Baby Rasta Concert in Belize Review
Well folks, i made it to the concert!! One of the major setbacks of this concert was location, Honey Camp beach is so far away and the road is so bad. I would say this is one of the major reasons for the poor turn up at the concert. It was one of my major reasons in deciding whether to go or not. However in the end my “lovely” cousins Ther and Sylvia convinced me to go with them, and therefore i ended up at the concert, jumping up and getting hype to my favorite Reggaeton artist Hector “El Father”.
Overall i would summarize the concert as poorly organized, mostly due to the inexperience of the people managing the events, not that anything went wrong, but they could have gotten more out of the artists. Its not meant as criticism but I’m sure a lot of people were left wanting after the concert, at least this is the general sentiments i get from the people i talk to. For starters, the time the concert was scheduled for was ridiculous! 2:00 pm.. come on.. who goes to a concert, a reggaeton concert at that at 2:00 pm??? Reggaeton is for perreo, rubbing up, sensuality, etc… where the best ambient is at night!! Somebody should have told the people at S.C.R.S (Sugga City Radio Station) that!!
I did not catch the early performance by the Belizean artists, Leela Vernon and the New Sensations Band. So therefore i cant review their performances, but my major quip here is… why Leela Vernon? Respect to the culture ambassador that she is.. but Leela Vernon and Reggaeton??? that just doesnt go… where were the Belizean Reggaeton Artists… Belizean Entertainment, D.N.A, and Base Impact??? they would have been best suited as opening acts for the concert, having a good enough following with the Hispanics in Belize and experience as they all have opened for reggaeton artists and events before like the Baby Rasta Concert and even artists of the caliber of the Kumbia Kings… again somebody should have told Ruben Campos and the people at S.C.R.S that. Was this a deliberate attempt to undermine the Belizean Reggaetoneros?
So i get there after 2, probably going on to 3 pm. Baby Rasta is about to come out, the crowd is sparse and thin, and he comes out to the sounds of “Toma Nena” from his new album La Ultima Risa. Baby Rasta is a good performer, one of the pillars of reggaeton but there is no way to describe his performance that day other than to say it was LACKLUSTER AT BEST. He insisted on giving the people of Belize a taste of his new album La Ultima Risa, he performed a variety of songs from this album such as “Perrounska“, “Capturo” and romantic songs such as “De Ti Me Enamore”, even though the people are not quite familiar with La Ultima Risa here in Belize. Lets be honest Baby Rasta hasn’t hit as much lately as he would like to think, I guess that having come in last year he assumed the people were now familiar with him. He did do a short old school session with songs like “tengo mi .40″. Overall though he lacked that interaction with the crowd and his hype man/backup singer “Joel” interacted more with the people than Baby Rasta did. To top it off his performance was short… definately less than an hour and he was off. No autograph signing or interaction with the crowd, frankly no one cared, no fans followed him. (Though i must mention he did do an autograph session at the Radio Station S.C.R.S the day before Saturday).
A short break, 15 minutes or less and it was the moment everybody was waiting for. Hector “El Father” had arrived. He arrived in Rocafella sweats, with his signature shades, “B” Boston Fitted Cap, and huge Gold star Pendant, there was no confusing Hector El Father a.k.a El Bambino. Hector does look a bit big too me, maybe it was the sweats or maybe thats the way he his naturally. He used “Sacala” as intro and came in to a hyped up crowd. I would say the concert would have been worth nothing if it wasnt for Hector. He consistently hyped up the crowd from begining to end with his hits. The guy cant sing for shit, but he has experience and HITS most of all.
He bombarded the people with hit after hit, like “Noche De Travesura”, “Calor”, “Mayor Que Yo” and “Noche de Entierro” where he performed his verses. He at least brought backup dancers and had a DJ doing the backup singing, not sure who it was.. maybe it was DJ Geraldo, but he did do a good job. Unlike Baby Rasta, people were more aware of his new album “The Bad Boy” singing along to both his singles “Maldades” and literally asking for “Sola” several times. Everybody was waiting for that but Hector made them wait as any good artist would, amplyfing the tension by singing some old school Hector and Tito songs like “Baila Morena” and “Amor de Colegio” (which i thought was weird being that he is now beefing with Don Omar, but I guess Hector wanted to show his versatility). He did perform a lot of Romantikeo and left out the Malianteo completely. Even though i tried to get him to sing “Rumor de Guerra” by taunting him and voicing my opinion of Don Omar (nope, I’m not much of a Don Fan, and Hector is my Favorite Reggaetonero, so you could say I’m a little opinionated). Hector kept his cool and professionally made a comment about the Belize people being aware of the beef and the overall status of reggaeton. It was the professional thing to do, not to include tiraera.. it was billed as a family event and he kept it as such. Big up to Hector on this, though personally i wanted to hear some of the tiraera he’s famous for.
He finished up his act with the huge hit “Sola”, even doing an encore, and coming off the stage to interact with the people. Hector definately made up for the bad parts of the concert, the highlight being his impromptu autograph session when he was rushed by the fans. Including yours truly, lol, who was in full fan mode, even getting my white tee signed!! It was clear from the start that Hector is famous and loved in Belize. I being one of his biggest fan am glad that i’ve seen him live, though i wish the conditions for the concert would have been better. I wont say it was worth the $75 bz, plus travel stress, but it was ok because of Hector. Huge props to “El Father”, even though i hear reports from DJ friends that interviews and radio drops were rare.. probably due to it being Easter holidays?? I’m not sure, but from my point of view, i’m giving this concert a Rating of *** 3 stars out of 5. Hector alone was worth it.
P.S Note: I’ll update this post with pictures as soon as I get them and hopefully some video footage as well if i can get my hands on them. if you were at the concert and wish to post up some of your pics or video send them to israel@belizemusic.bz
Watina - Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective
Many belizeans have dismissed the beauty of their culture. It is made of the most fascinating and mystical civilizations of the world. Many hear, few contemplate and thus we tend to underestimate the capability of our people.
This year, one of the few musicians in Belize to realize the importance of preserving our cultural heritage, has made yet another breakthrough in his endeavor. Andy Palacio, a name quite familiar and knowledge of his accomplishment not quite so, has released an album, this one reflecting the true nature of Andy’s experience, creativity and ambition in music. “Watina�, as the album is titled, is a soulful blend of roots Garifuna music, blues arrangements and Latin/Caribbean essence. Following the tradition of the legendary paranderos such as Paul Nabor, Andy has, like Honduran national Aurelio Martinez, made an important step into music-culture awareness in our country. Before “Garifuna Soul� (Aurelio Martinez) very few people even knew the existence of this beautiful music. Now, many ambitioning Garifuna talents dream of one day making music that will touch the souls of many like these ones.
“Watina�, released under record label “Cumbanche�, has already been hailed in world music media as one of the must have albums of 2007, and damn right. With Andy Palacio’s artisanship and Ivan Duran’s insight “Watina� is set to become another classic of Belizean Roots.
For more information visit Andy’s MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/andypalacioÂ
Heres a visual presentation of the album:
Chico Ramos - A Belizean Legend continues.
On February 23rd 2007, he was named Godfather Punta Rock and also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Punta Rock Music Association. Chico Ramos is a strong pillar in the Belizean music industry. Born to parents Carl and Claudina Ramos, he was always a lover of music, something handed down from both paternal and maternal Grandfather, one a songwriter and one a musician. His music took him all the way to the United States where he released nine albums. But he never forgot his beloved country, and followed his heart back to his roots.
And Because he was celebrating his 30th anniversary in the music industry, the people of his hometown, Dangriga held an entire weekends festivities. And to show how much he loves his music, for every year in the music industry Chico sang one of his songs, among them: Babylon Salira, T.V. Ramos, Thank I Neibu, Scratch Up Mi Back, Shus, School First and most recently Peke off his latest album – Sports. Chico Ramos is and will continue being one of Belize’s greatest musician, and we are proud to call him our own.
Congratulations Chico, on your 3oth anniversary!