ANDY PALACIO

About the Artist

2007 was an amazing year for Belize’s beloved singer and bandleader Andy Palacio. It was a year full of awards, landmarks, interviews, and showcase performances. With the album Watina, which he co-created with producer Ivan Duran and the Garifuna Collective, Andy accomplished a significant breakthrough for his ancestral Garifuna culture, and the recognition this instant-classic album received, he went a good ways towards achieving one of his principle life ambitions—to validate and preserve that culture. Anyone who saw Andy speak or perform during this past year came away energized by his vitality, charisma, and inspiring sense of purpose. All of this makes it nearly impossible to fathom the news that on January 19, 2008, Andy died in Belize City after a stroke and heart attack.

Andy was a rare fellow. On a professional level, he brought together the talent, wisdom, stamina, patience and vision it takes to do great things in a world of music where the script is unwritten, and the rules constantly under revision. As a social activist, he was articulate and persuasive, and it can fairly be said that no one has done more for the Garifuna of Central America than he did. As a man he was always warm and modest.

Recordings