Search - Andy Palacio, Garifuna Collective :: Watina (Dig)

Could this be the most enjoyable World CD since...Buena Vist

Jesse Kornbluth | New York | 04/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It takes a lot to make Americans listen to music recorded beyond our borders. Like Buena Vista Social Club. I'll bet you bought that CD, played it to death, and drag it out now on occasions when you want an easy, hip-skaking lilt as background. But would you have given Cuban geezers a listen if renowned musician and producer Ry Cooder hadn't brokered the sale and turned an otherwise obscure CD into a Grammy-winning hit ? If Wim Wenders hadn't made an exquisite documentary film that turned seventy-year-old musicians into brand names?



Andy Palacio doesn't have Buena Vista's advantages. He's from Belize, the least-populated country in Central America. His music celebrates the Garifunan culture, which is known to maybe five American Caucasians. And although his record company couldn't be more distinguished in World Music circles --- Jacob Edgar, its founder, was head of A&R at Putamayo --- few of you have heard of him or his sparkling label, Cumbancha.



No matter. This musician you've never heard of, singing in a language spoken by no more than a few hundred thousand people, has delivered what could easily be the most enjoyable CD of the year.



What's it like? Everything. And that's the key to the music.



In the 1700s, West African slaves were shipwrecked on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. They intermarried with Arawak Indians and lived peacefully until the English forced them into exile on a small, resource-poor island off Honduras. They moved on to the mainland, but their identity has blurred over the centuries. Now there are just 11,500 Garifunans living in Belize --- and the Garifunan language, which is taught in only one village there, has been designated by the United Nations as among the "masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity."



Andy Palacio, a Garifunan from Belize, once modified his culture's music so it would have wider appeal. But the threat that it might become extinct encouraged him to return to his roots. And so he assembled all-star Garifunan musicians in a thatched-roof shack on Belize's Caribbean coast and spent four months with that band, playing endangered music deep into the night.



The musicologist in me wants to tell you about the richness to be found here: the sexy thrust you'll find in the Cape Verde songs of Cesaria Evora, the raw vocals reminiscent of the Peter Tosh era with The Wailers, the lyrics about life's everyday challenges that could have been written by Ali Farka Toure or Boubacar Traore --- and, of course, the joyous bounce of Buena Vista.



But it's the enthusiast in me that carries the day. Here are 12 songs, each radically different, that, taken together, form a classic mosaic. The electric guitar couldn't be more seductive, the drumming catchier, the lead vocals more urgent, the harmonies more subtle. This CD is as irresistible as Amadou & Mariam --- you will leave your chair.



As I write, the music industry in America is facing the greatest crisis in its history --- it can't find much to sell that you care about. Well, here are some poor musicians no one ever heard of, who made the recording of their lives without any thought of fame or fortune. And here's a guy in a Vermont farmhouse, lavishing beautiful packaging and energetic promotion on these nonentities.



And what's the outcome?



For one of the planet's smallest subcultures, a moment of bracing attention.



For you, satisfaction on the order of Buena Vista --- and maybe greater.



No kidding about that. Andy Palacio and his friends aren't just good, they're seriously great."

Andy Palacio, Who Saved Garifuna Music, Dies at 47

M. E. Alcoser | Belize CA | 01/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"OBITUARY



Andy Palacio, an iconic musician and cultural activist in his native Belize who has performed several times in Chicago in recent years, died Saturday. He was 47.



The cause of death was a massive stroke, a heart attack and respiratory failure due to the previous two conditions. He was on his way to Chicago for medical treatment last week when it was determined that he was too ill to continue.



A national hero in Belize for his popular music and advocacy of Garifuna language and culture -- a blend of West African and indigenous Carib and Arawak Indian language and heritage -- Palacio and his health crisis dominated the news there in recent days.



Palacio's album "Watina," which was released in early 2007, had become one of the most critically acclaimed world music recordings of the year, appearing on dozens of best-of-the-year lists in major media outlets around the globe.



In 2007, Palacio was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace and won the prestigious WOMEX Award. "Watina" was also nominated for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards.



Palacio will be honored with an official state funeral. A concert honoring him is planned in Belize City on Friday."

Andy Palacio's welcome return to his roots

Amaranth | Northern California | 05/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Andy Palacio from Belize was little known outside his country, the smallest one in South America. He contributed a bland track to Putumayo's "Music from the Chocolate Lands",and frothy Caribbean pop to Putumayo's "Caribe! Caribe!" When Andy Palacio realized he was one of the few young people still speaking the Garifuna language, he decided to return to his roots, and form the Garifuna Collective.



Andy Palacio's return to his roots has led not only to a revival of Garifuna language and culture, but is a joy for world music fans who delight in earthy, powerful music. "Watina" is a savory blend of reggae-flavored music such as "Lidan Aban" (Together) and the bluesy laments of "Sin Precio" (Worthless), "Ayo Da" (Goodbye my dear) and the title track. There is the reverent sacred music of "Baba" (Father),"Weyu Larigi Weyu" (Day by Day) and "Aguyuha Nidudenu" (My people have moved on). The jazzy,frothy song "Miami" isn't about the Florida metropolis, but about injustice in that city in Honduras. The closing song, "Amunegu" (In times to come),is a hopeful gaze to the future.



There isn't a single weak song on this album. It's a perfect introduction to the music of Belize (too often overshadowed by Argentina,the tango capital of the world and Brazil with its sambas and bossa novas) and Garifuna culture. It's a must for any world music collection!



Andy Palacio introduced the wider public to the richness of bluesy Garifuna music. He was on the verge of a breakthrough with this album. Hopefully, the Garifuna Collective will carry on his musical legacy.

RIP Andy Palacio (1960-2008)"