Garifuna All Stars tour Europe
While most of Belize’s international family and economic ties tend to gravitate toward the United States, many enterprising Belizeans are looking to Europe for new marketing opportunities. The music industry is no exception, and today one group of musicians boarded a plane to the old world in search of those two time-honoured commodities: fame and fortune.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The Garifuna All Star Band hopes to attract thousands of fans during performances on its 2001 European tour. The ten member band
consists of artists from different Garifuna communities who are on their first international tour as a group. Band leader, Andy Palacio, says the event will bring a lot more exposure to Belizean music and culture.
Andy Palacio, Band Leader
“I think it is timely that we are able to do this tour at a time when it is still fresh in our minds the whole matter of the Garifuna language, music and dance being declared by UNESCO as oral and intangible heritage of humanity, you know furthering this proclamation, actually taking the art form to the people, the audiences in Europe.”
Jacqueline Woods
“How profitable are tours like this to the individual artist?”
Andy Palacio
“I think in travelling and performing anywhere outside of Belize is very profitable. I have been thinking a lot about the Caribbean single market and economy where it’s sort of a one way bias against Belize right now. If we can somehow turn this around and maybe start exporting Belizean music and exporting Belizean performances you will see a lot more lucrative deals are being signed. So this one is one of the better ones because we are playing to very huge audiences.”
Palacio says they will be playing different styles of Garifuna music and that is why they have chosen only the best to be apart of the band. It’s not the first time seventy-three year old Paul Nabor, a legendary Garifuna Parandero, has been abroad to perform. This time, however, Nabor says that in addition to promoting music, he will also be looking to take care of business.
Paul Nabor, Parandero
“Well I expect that I can get something for myself so I can fix my dory to go fishing. That’s the reason why I agreed to go, cause I had a dory once and it broke so I got another one that I really want to fix. And this trip, I feel to myself and the good Lord, that I will make it and fix my dory to start fishing again. Cause that’s the only thing I can do now because I am told old to go and look for a job (laughs).”
Reporting for News 5, I am Jacqueline Woods.
The band will also be selling CDs and distributing brochures and other materials about Garifuna music and culture. The trip is being organised by Stone Tree Records’ Ivan Duran. The Band will return to the country on August twenty-seventh and is expected to tour locally.
