The Garifuna Collective was co-founded and led by the late Andy Palacio in 2007. Today this group of accomplished, multi-generational Garifuna artists continues to tour and perform in Palacio’s memory and with his commitment to keeping Garifuna tradition and language alive against their threatened extinction. The hybrid culture of the AfricanAmerindian Garifuna communities, located on the Caribbean coasts of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, is influenced by West Africa and indigenous Carib, as well as the Arawak Indian language. Garifuna music has gained a following in the form of a less traditional style known as punta rock, but the Garifuna Collective focuses on the roots of Garifuna tradition, adding contemporary elements to traditional forms to bring the soul of this music into a modern context. Through their music, the Collective aims to portray what it means to be Garifuna.
They have performed in over 30 countries on 5 continents since they first started touring with Andy Palacio in 2007. Their debut release with Andy, Watina, is the most celebrated Garifuna album of all time. Citically acclaimed in the international press, Watina received both the Womex and BBC World Music Awards that year (2008) and was voted by Amazon as the Number One World Music Album of All Time. The band has since recorded three more albums: a collaborative album w/Canadian artist Danny Michel called Black Birds Dancing Over Me (2013), Ayó (2013), and Aban (2019).
The Garifuna Collective is a seasoned group of musicians spanning different generations, with a dynamic that comes from playing and traveling the world together, sharing their music and stories with global audiences. Their performances bring the history and soul of Garifuna culture to vivid life, and they have brought awareness of their unique history to fans around the world. Their recordings dip into the massive well of Garifuna songs — some of the singers in the band know hundreds of songs!
The group has maintained its strength despite incredible adversity but the history of the Garifuna people is one of struggle. The Collective take their place in a long line of ancestors, maintaining and growing the Garifuna cultural identity, in a conversation between generations and traditions.
In collaboration with ALIA Prod.
