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

[jtsang at sterngrove.org]

We were fortunate to have Andy perform at Stern Grove Festival this  
past summer. He was generous enough to speak with our audience prior  
to his performance on July 29, 2007. A video podcast of it can be  
viewed and downloaded from our website.
http://sterngrove.org/andypalaciopodcast.html
He will be missed.

Judy Tsang Henderson
Director of Programming
Stern Grove Festival
San Francisco


Quoting Bill Bragin <bbragin at lincolncenter.org>:

> I can't believe how sad this news makes me feel. In the spirit of   
> celebrating Andy's generous contributions to Garifuna, Belizian,   
> Caribbean/Central American and global culture, I'd like to point   
> people to this video of excerpts from his moving speech, along with   
> Ivan Duran's and a performance of Umalali at last year's Womex. This  
>  award ceremony was truly a high point in my many years of attending  
>  that event. A great reminder of how Andy's work as an artist   
> transcended that role, and how important he was, and will continue   
> to be, as a cultural ambassador.
>
> http://wwwmmondomix.com/player/player-fr-flv.php?url_media=http://www.mondomix-media.com/flv/womex2007andy.flv&artist_id=0&video_id=4056 (if the link doesn't work, just go to www.mondomix.com and search for andy palacio and   
> womex)
>
> My thoughts go out to his loved ones, to Ivan and Jacob who did so   
> much to help spread Andy's music and activism to the world, and to   
> all those who were lucky enough to have had him in their lives.
>
> All the best,
>
> Bill Bragin
> All the best,
> Bill Bragin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: fa-worldmusic-bounces+bbragin=lincolncenter.org at folk.org   
> <fa-worldmusic-bounces+bbragin=lincolncenter.org at folk.org>
> To: fa-worldmusic at folk.org <fa-worldmusic at folk.org>
> Sent: Sun Jan 20 09:08:52 2008
> Subject: [FA Worldmusic] FW: Andy Palacio 1960-2008 - He is resting   
> with theancestors
>
> I pass this on with great sadness. A giant has fallen.
>
>
>
> From: Jacob Edgar [mailto:jacob at cumbancha.com]
> Sent: Sunday, January 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 cant 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 Andys
> 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 were certain it will only be more true in the
> future.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Ivan Duran and Jacob Edgar
>
>
> 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, Palacios 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 Palacios 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 Palacios 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
> Palacios example. Even in the days since Palacios 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 PALACIOS 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, Palacios 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 Palacios
> example.
>
> [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a   
> name of image.jpg]
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