Belize

 

Belize is the small Central American nation wedged between Guatemala, Mexico, & the Caribbean Sea. It’s one of the more diverse nations in the Americas, boasting a population that includes the Native American descendants of the Mayans, Spanish-speaking mestizos, the Afro-Amerindian Garifuna, plus the descendants of Africans brought to Belize by the British colonizers.

 

Throw in the musical influences of Cuba & Mexico, plus a shot of James Brown with some scratchy low-fi recording equipment as a chaser, & the result is Belize City Boil Up, a vibrant mix of salsa, reggae, other latin dance music, & funk.

These tracks were rescued from obscurity by the fanatics at Numero Group records, who release CDs of previously lost gems from all over. Here is how they describe Belize City Boil Up: 

 

 

“Belizean’s call it Boil Up, & it’s anything but leftovers. Mix equal parts R&B, calypso, disco, funk, reggae, brukdown (ed. – ‘broken down calypso’-a Belizean version of Trinidadian calypso), soul, folk, & whatever else can be found back on the bottom shelf of the musical pantry. Get ready to feast on passport stamped rhythms, second-deck cruise ship melodies, hotel pool calypso, soundtracks to movies not-yet-made, & anything else savory, or unsavory, enough to throw into the pot.”

 

Various - Cult Cargo: Belize City Boil Up, Numero Group No. 6, 2005.

decryption code in comments

Tracklist –

Lord Rhaburn – Disco Connection 
Harmonettes – Can't Go Halfway 
Jesus Acosta & The Professionals – Guajida
The Web – The Same Old Me  
Professionals – A Part Of Being With You 
Lord Rhaburn – More Love Reggae 
Professionals – The Back Stabbers 
The Web – Rated G 
Harmonettes – Shame Shame Shame 
Soul Creations – Funky Jive Part II 
Lord Rhaburn – Don't Fight It 
Nadia Cattouse – Long Time Boy 
Lord Rhaburn – Boogaloo A La Chuck
Professionals – Theme From The Godfather 
The Web – Things Are Going To Work Out Right
Soul Creations – Funky Jive Part I

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andy Vivian Palacio (December 2, 1960 – January 19, 2008) was a Belizean punta musician. He was also a leading activist for the Garifuna people & their culture. The Garifuna or Black Caribs are direct descendants of the Caribbean Island Caribs (the Island Caribs themselves were descendants of South American Indians known as Arawaks) & a group of African slaves who escaped two ship-wrecked Spanish slavers near St. Vincent in 1635. In 1797 the Garifuna arrived on the shores of Roatán (an island in the Honduras Bay) after being forcibly removed by the British from the island of St. Vincent. From there, they migrated to mainland Honduras, & continued along the coast to Guatemala, Nicaragua, & finally arriving in Belize by dugout canoe in 1802. Although this relocation of the entire Garifuna culture by the British was meant as a death sentence for the Garifuna , they have survived like members of their ancestry did when they were enslaved & brought from Africa during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

 

Belizean punta is distinctive from traditional punta in that the songs are usually in Kriol or Garifuna, rarely in Spanish or English. Calypso & soca have had some effect on it. Like calypso & soca, Belizean punta provides social commentary along with risqué humor. 

 

In addition to the traditional Garifuna music that he played, Palacio absorbed the diverse sounds disseminated by radio from neighboring Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, Jamaica, & the United States. Palacio pursued his musical ambitions in a series of high school bands, covering a diversity of popular music from abroad. Attracted by the ideals of the Nicaraguan revolution, he joined the literacy campaign in that nation's Afro-Amerindian Caribbean coast region. This involvement helped him develop a deeper appreciation for his own threatened cultural & linguistic traditions. Those insights made their way into his own creativity, influencing him to delve more deeply into the roots of Garifuna music.

 

On January 17, 2008, Palacio suddenly fell ill with two stroke-like seizures. He died in Belize on January 19th of  a massive & extensive stroke to the brain, a heart attack, & respiratory failure.

 

 Andy Palacio & The Garifuna Collective – Wátina, Cumbancha CMB CD-3, 2007.

Tracklist –

Wátina (I Called Out)

Weyu Larigi Weyu (Day by Day)

Miami

Baba (Father)

Lidan Aban (Together)

Gaganbadibá (Take Advice)

Beiba (Go Away)

Sin Precio (Worthless)

Yagane (My Canoe)

Águyuha Nidúheñu (My People Have Moved On)

Ayó Da (Goodbye My Dear)

Ámuñegű (In Times to Come)

Enjoy,

NØ