A Loss to the Creative Sector, Musical Icon Bella Carib Passes
Proud a Mi Kolcha, Bald Head Man, Rice and Beans – they are among the popular hits of legendary Belizean dancer, performer and musical artist, Bella Carib. Today, creatives across Belize and elsewhere are mourning the loss of Doctor Glenda Arnold-Heon who passed away earlier this morning in the U.S. Born in Belize City to Clive and Evelyn Arnold, Bella Carib was the third of eight children. She relocated to the U.S. in the seventies, but her musical style captured the richness and vibrancy of Caribbean culture with a blend of folk, comedy and sensuality. With over two decades in the music business, Bella Carib was a songwriter, a composer, playwright, dramatist, choreographer and dancer. News Five spoke with Director of the Institute of Creative Arts, Kim Vasquez about the loss to the industry.
Kim Vasquez, Director, Institute of Creative Arts
“It is a sad day for us here at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. Even before this became the seat of the Institute of Creative Arts, this was the Bliss Institute and the home of the Bob Reneau School of Dance where Bella Carib had her foundations. She actually began as a dancer and as a teenager, she rose to fame. She travelled to Jamaica to represent the Bob Reneau School of Dance and participated in workshops and trainings and that was her grounding that was her foundation for what would later become not only a career in music, but arts and culture on a hold. So, yes, we are very saddened to learn of her passing today. She was definitely a force of culture; she was an ambassador in her own right. She certainly kept the torch burning in the diaspora there among the Belizean American community, especially in Los Angeles. She was very active in that community and we know that we will treasure her legacy that she has left behind. Hits like “Proud a mi Kolcha” that resonates so deeply with us that makes us even emotional. Today, we were listening to some of her music, just a short while ago here because it was so unexpected to hear the news today. “Rice and Beans” and “Bald Head Man” – her hits that made us laugh; that always sparked nostalgia. And as I said, she kept culture alive there amongst a very vibrant Belizean American diaspora that sometimes we take for granted and we seem a little bit alienated from at times. But she did her part, both there abroad and here at home when she would visit. I know she interacted with the Belize National Dance Company; they perform her music from time to time. And as I said, for us here, we always honour those that had like what we said, foundation here at the Bliss and she was one of those. For us, that is the mission; that is if anything for us the glimmer of hope in all of this is that the best way we can honour her legacy here at NICH is to continue our work in music and arts and culture heritage on a whole is just to keep her memory and her music alive.”
Bella Carib, dead at sixty-eight.