Belizean Musician Andy Palacio: A Remembrance
World music enthusiasts around the globe are mourning the unexpected death of Andy Palacio, Belizean musician and leader of the international movement to preserve Garifuna language and culture. Palacio’s latest album Wátina (“I called out”), released in 2007, propelled him onto the international stage and sparked a cultural revival in his home nation of Belize.
In November 2007, Traveler’s Susanne Hackett had the fortune to meet “Andy P,” as he is affectionately known in Belize, and travel the country’s Garifuna coast with him and his band, camcorder in hand. The trip was a homecoming for Andy, who had just finished a whirlwind international tour, during which he won the prestigious world music WOMEX award and the UNESCO Artist for Peace award. His arrival also happened to coincide with the annual Garifuna Settlement Day celebrations, where Andy was the headliner and received a hometown hero’s welcome.
The video below is a compilation of the footage gathered on this trip.
The Garifuna culture was born in the Caribbean in the 1600s, when a ship bearing captives from Africa was wrecked off the coast of St. Vincent. Those who survived and swam ashore integrated into the indigenous societies on the island, adopting the Carib language and customs. The resulting hybrid culture became today's Garifuna (also called "Garinagu"), who still retain ties to both ancestries. In 1796, driven from the island by British colonists, they made a second arduous voyage west and settled along the coasts of what are today Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Like many minority cultures, the Garifuna today feel the pressures of globalization and must fight to hold on to their language and cultural traditions.
To learn more about his music and to share memories of Andy Palacio, visit his record company's blog.
What a lovely, touching and encompassing tribute about Andy Palacio the Artist, World Citizen and vibrant member of the Garifuna community in Belize. Thank you for helping us witness and better understand about the people who bring us this beautiful music and spirit - long live Garifuna culture and those who keep it alive (you included)!
Posted by: alexandra | January 27, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Hi. A facinating view into the culture of the Garifuna about which you have spoken often and eloquently, and about which I would probably not have known otherwise. Thanks for sending it.
Posted by: Earl | January 27, 2008 at 03:41 PM
We have added a link to your article on the recent feature we posted on our Belizean Journey's website. - Listed under "Andy's Passing"
The following were announced posthumously but Andy knew of them before his death.
# January 2008, Andy Palacio announced as winner of the influential BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards (announced January 22, 2008).
# January 2008 - Andy Palacio and Stone Tree Records receives The Cultural Award for 2007 from the Belize Tourism Board (announced January 24th, 2008)
Thank You.
Posted by: Naturalight Productions | January 29, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Hi Susanne, You have really done a wonderful job capturing Garifuna life and Andy's personality.. it was so powerful to be there for this weekend with all of you and to meet you- keep up the good work.
Posted by: Sarah W | January 29, 2008 at 04:19 PM
Thank you for participating in The Seventh Day blog carnival this week! This post was a wonderful addition to the carnival -- fascinating, as well as an excellent tribute to a talent lost too soon!
Hope you will participate in the carnival again in the future!
Posted by: Hopeful Spirit | February 03, 2008 at 01:16 AM
Beautiful memorial, Susanne. I got choked up all over again. I still can't believe he's gone, and so soon after we were there with him in November. May his soul rest in peace with the ancestors.
The Beat Magazine article with Andy P on the cover as he dearly desired will be published in March; writing it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. He truly gave his life for his people and his country, and his work will continue to go forward as other hands take up the struggle.
Posted by: CC Smith | February 04, 2008 at 06:39 PM
Dear Su-C,
This short captured our experience of Andy beautifully! This video was both sad to watch and inspiring at the same time. I can't help but feel that although we will miss his mark on the world -- and the people he touched -- that his star shined so bright because he was meant to journey to another place ... I am sure he is well there ... a good vibe for Andy and his vision.
Posted by: Mita Patel | June 09, 2008 at 06:42 PM