Trekking across Belize’s most picturesque landscape—through the lush citrus valley, majestic Maya mountains, and cool coastal plains, an estimated 2,500 people converged on the small Garifuna village of Barranco, where the Millennium Prince of Garifuna Music, Andy Palacio, was laid to rest in a downpour so heavy it appeared as if even The Almighty Bungiu had a heavy heart over his sudden departure.
It was an impressive showing of love for a man who gave nothing less than himself for the preservation of his Garifuna culture, and who bragged about Belize, and especially the rustic Barranco, as being the greatest places on earth.
Though Andy lived in San Ignacio, Cayo, and worked in the capital city of Belmopan, Barranco—a village with a population of merely 160—was always home—a place to which he retreated after his world famous tours. It was, therefore, fitting that this Ambassador of Culture in Belize would be given a regal sendoff before being laid to rest in quietness of his home village.
The sendoff began on Friday morning, with a “Tribute to Andy Palacio,” where a slew of artists including the Delille Choir, the National Dance Company, and Aurelio Martinez, Adrian Martinez, and Lugua Centeno along with the Garifuna Collective, used their talents to celebrate the contributions of their beloved comrade.
The most touching performance was Ámuñegü (In Times to Come), said to be Andy’s favorite song on his farewell release, Wátina. His son Kamaaü (meaning ‘like me’) sang while his daughter Tara played on steel pan, accompanied by Carlos Perrote on piano.
The speeches from those at home and abroad were impassioned and personal, reflecting a man who was so humble, so down-to-earth, so professional and so proud, that he left an indelible imprint on the lives of many who came to know him.
The tribute kicked off at about 10:30 a.m., and ended shortly after one in the afternoon. Just around the time that the tribute was ending, Andy’s body, draped with a Belizean flag and surrounded by a multihued garden of wreaths, was taken in a procession from the Bliss to the Municipal Airstrip, from where it was flown to Punta Gorda.
Literally hundreds of Belizeans—the young and old exemplifying the multiethnic dimensions of Belize’s cultural mosaic—lined the streets to witness the mournful procession. Primary school children stood on the sidelines waving their flags of yellow, white and black, right alongside their flags of red, white and blue, bidding adieu to a man who was for the Garinagu, and for Belize.
Another procession of loved ones, friends and fans escorted Andy’s body from the airstrip in PG to his home village, where a wake was held on Friday night.
On Friday evening, friends of Andy P held an impressive concert in front of a massive audience at the Bliss parking lot, where Aurelio, the members of the Garifuna Collective, and the Two-foot Cow, masked and dancing with his stick, performed for an enthusiastic crowd.
Between Friday and Saturday, convoys of private vehicles and buses rolled along the nation’s highways, heading to Barranco for Andy’s state funeral. Some privileged Government officials arrived via helicopter.
On Saturday, Barranco buzzed with a flurry of activity—not the least of which was the seemingly endless hours of cooking the caterers endured to prepare food for the guests.
The St. Joseph Church, where Palacio’s funeral was held, was packed, we were told, since 9 in the morning, and by the time the service started at about noon, it was standing room only. There was only room enough for one to squeeze in at the back of the church, and a nearby tent that sheltered several hundred guests was still not enough to contain the crowds that spilled over into the streets.
Loudspeakers connected under the tent ensured that those outside could hear what was transpiring at the service, including the several remembrances and formal eulogies that were presented on Andy’s behalf. Among those who recollected this cultural icon were his best friend, Raphael Martinez, and colleagues such as Yasser Musa, president of NICH, and his father, Prime Minister Said Musa, another of Andy’s close friends, Harold Arzu, Andy’s producer and buddy Ivan Duran, and E. Roy Cayetano, one of Andy’s longtime friends and mentors.
There were many personal recollections of Andy as an intellectual and as an avid reader, concerned about the plight of his people not just in Barranco and in Belize, but also around the globe. But the most significant message of all was the togetherness that Andy’s passing has forged.
“Here we are with Andy to join in his homecoming. At the Brodies parking lot, last November, he announced… that he was coming home, ‘I am coming home, Belize, I am coming home to Barranco!’ …That homecoming was only a preview of this coming attraction- the real Andy Palacio homecoming,” said Roy Cayetano in the eulogy.
“In the Garifuna tradition, any event that brings people together—weddings, christenings, parties, and yes, even sickness and death, especially death and its surrounding activities—are considered…a good happening, a celebration,” he continued. “We come together to share our joy, to share our pain, and in the process to affirm our oneness, as a community—as a Barranco community, as a Garifuna community, and very importantly as a Belizean community, and a regional community and in fact as a world community. As Andy urged us in song, súngubein lidan aban – all of us together.”
The regal sendoff the Government of Belize gave Andy acknowledged him, not as an ordinary musician, but as Artist for Peace (UNESCO 2001), Ambassador, Man of the Year 2007 (Belize Times), and all the glorious decorations that had been bestowed upon him in the months prior to his departure.
While many remembered him as a staunch proponent for Garifuna/African heritage, Andy touched those outside his immediate cultural sphere, because his life success was an example that someone from humble roots could attain respectable nobility.
A testimony to the immense popularity of this legendary Belizean star, many footprints were left behind in the red mud of Barranco, as the masses, many of them drenched in the sweet Barranco rain, navigated through the streets, departing to their homes with a deep sense of loss.
Some drivers who misjudged the softness of the clay edges of the road found themselves bogged down in the mud—the first such on the way out from the funeral was a Prado with Government license plates.
Of course, there was a time when Barranco was only accessible via boat, and the fact that Belizeans could drive there is a testimony of a certain level of progress, but many of those who visited this weekend commented that more certainly has to be done.
By the way, there is still that stretch of un-surfaced road going to Big Falls, Toledo, which some visitors traveling to Barranco reiterate, must also not be forgotten.
After speaking in the eulogy of the togetherness and homecoming forged by Andy’s death, Cayetano solemnly urged the gathering to continue the process of building, for those who are here now and who are yet to come.
Vivien Andy Palacio was born in Barranco Village, Toledo, on December 2, 1960, and died at the age of 47 at the Universal Health Services, Belize City, following a massive brain stroke, heart attack and respiratory failure.
Among his mourning survivors are his dear mother – Ms. Cleofa Avilez, brother – Oswald Elvis Lopez, sister – Jacinta Palacio, children – Kami, Uani, Nita, Tara, andKamaaü Palacio.
Andy has departed to join the ahari (spirits) of the greats – men like his father and musical guru, Rueben Palacio, Chatuye and T. V. Ramos.
Two funds have been established in Andy Palacio’s name: The Andy Palacio Education Trust Fund for his 5 children, to which the Belize Tourism Board has committed $10,000, and the Andy Palacio Garifuna Music Fund, for the continuation of Andy’s international tour, which will continue as the Andy Palacio Tribute Tour.
(NOTE: An interesting observation I’ve made – both Andy P and Sir Edney Cain—two highly celebrated Belizean patriots and men of service—were born on December 2, with thirty-six (36) years between them. They died two days apart, Sir Edney on January 17 and Andy on January 19.)