Garifuna Collective making raves in Europe

Still on cultural performances…on the international stage, the Garifuna Collective is currently on a tour of a number of European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Amsterdam. Not only is the Garifuna Collective attracting huge audiences wherever they perform, they are also gaining the attention of the international media. On the tour, the group is performing the favorite hits from Andy Palacio’s Watina album and their most recent release Ayo. We got a clip today from Manager of the Collective, Al Obando, who spoke of their mission to preserve the Garifuna culture in Belize.

Al Obando, Road Manager, Garifuna Collective

“The Garifuna Collective is the only group actually it’s like the first group to go on touring professionally from Belize. It’s the group doing it on our won, finding our way, finding the media people like you, getting the job done with all the advice from the festival owners and everything. We take advantage of it and we learn so when we go back we show the rest what to do and how to go about it and so we could continue the trend. So this group sets the standard for the entire country of Belize and that is our responsibility and we will be doing it as long as we have to until we have other groups ready to come and bring the culture of Belize to the rest of the world.”

The group left the jewel last Wednesday for the six-week summer tour.