[FA Worldmusic] FW: Andy Palacio 1960-2008 - He is resting with the ancestors

[Marco Werman]

Ivan Duran and Jacob Edgar sent this out about an hour ago, the email we have
all been dreading.

Andy's work speaks assuredly for itself.  I have nothing to add verbally to
what we know musically of this man's brilliance.

Aside from that, Andy was one of the warmest, kindest, most gentle souls I
have ever met.  Settlement Day in Dangriga, Belize in 2004, Andy had been up
all night, playing concerts in Belize City and then driving with his band to
Dangriga.  Still, with no sleep, already into the afternoon of the day after
the festivities, Andy had sparkles in his eyes.  He was ready to give me all
the time it took to explain why keeping the music of the Garifuna alive was so
important to him.

I will miss his voice -- in all the senses of that word -- and that smile so
much.

Marco Werman


________________________________

From: Jacob Edgar [mailto:jacob at cumbancha.com]
Sent: Sun 1/20/2008 12:14 AM
To: Jacob Edgar
Subject: Andy Palacio 1960-2008 - He is resting with the ancestors


Dear all:

We are heartbroken to report that Andy Palacio passed away tonight at 9pm
Belize time. The cause of death was a massive and extensive stroke to the
brain, a heart attack and respiratory failure due to the previous two
conditions. After having been waylaid in Mobile, Alabama while en route to
emergency care in Chicago, Andy had been brought back to a hospital in Belize
last night so that he could die in his homeland.

Words can't express the sorrow we feel at the loss of such a tremendous person
and artist.

A more formal press release is copied below. Please pass this information on
to the countless people around the world who have been impacted by Andy's
music and message. Feel free to post this announcement to your email lists or
blogs, as we want to make sure that everyone who knows Andy or his music are
aware of what has happened.

We are together at the Cumbancha office in Vermont. Ivan will be heading to
Belize as soon as possible to attend the funeral ceremonies and the tribute
concert that is planned for this coming Friday.

In the Garifuna culture the death of a loved one is an opportunity to
celebrate their memory and rejoice in having been blessed to have had them in
your life. We feel so fortunate to have known this incredible individual and
we mourn the loss of truly great man.

In an interview conducted last July, Andy was asked how he wanted to be
remembered when he died. He replied, "As a proud Garifuna...someone who
instills pride in Garifuna and raises their
self-esteem.  To me, that's the most important thing." This was already the
case while he was alive, and we're certain it will only be more true in the
future.

Sincerely,


Ivan Duran and Jacob Edgar


 <https://webmail.bbc.co.uk/exchange/marco.werman/Drafts/FW:%20Andy%20Palacio
%201960-2008%20-%20He%20is%20resting%20with%20the%20ancestors.EML/1_multipart
/image.jpg>
ANDY PALACIO
DECEMBER 2, 1960 - JANUARY 19, 2008


+++++++++++++++++

PRESS RELEASE

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 shockwaves 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 Watina, 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, Watina
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. Watina was also nominated for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards.
At home in Belize, the international success of Watina 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/).



+++++++++++

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 Wetina.

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
d|g|, punta and gunjei rhythms.

Palacio and Duran embarked on the production of Watina, 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.

Watina, 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, Watina 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 awas named 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. Watina was
also nominated for the influential BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards. At home in
Belize, the international success of Watina has sparked a revival of Garifuna
music, as young musicians have become inspired by Palacio's example.


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