National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

The Andy Palacio Tribute tour, which celebrates the life and work of the late Belizean singer (pictured), kicked off in New York on Friday, April 4th, and will continue through May. Palacio was one of Belize's biggest stars, and the musical torchbearer of the afro-indigenous Garifuna people. His 2007 release, Watina was his most coherent and focused celebration of Garifuna music yet, and recognized as one of the best world music releases of that year. Palacio was gearing up for a major North American tour when he was killed by complications from a massive stroke and heart attack on January 19th, 2008. He was 47 years old.

Now, in place of his Watina tour, Palacio's U.S. label, Cumbancha, has put together a scaled-down memorial tour, featuring many of the same Garifuna musicians that Palacio had worked and planned to tour with. In addition to members of Palacio's superb Garifuna Collective band, members of the Umalali women's ensemble and Honduran Garifuna singer Aurelio Martinez singed on for this multi-city celebration of Palacio's life and the survival of Garifuna culture.

The Garifuna are descendents of African slaves who survived a shipwreck on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in the 17th century. They intermarried with indigenous Carib and Arawak peoples and, for over a hundred years, fought European colonial powers to a standstill to maintain their freedom. The British exiled them to Central America in 1797, where they spread out and founded villages in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Belize. There are now an estimated 250,000 Garifuna people worldwide, and they are a minority group in their respective nations. Palacio's mission was to bring attention to the vanishing Garifuna language and culture by preserving their songs.

The tour's first show, sponsored by New York's World Music Institute, was a loose, joyous and occasionally raucous evening. It seemed that all of New York's small Garifuna community had packed itself into the Symphony Space theater – and the easy flow of banter between the audience and performers was conducted in a Babel of English, Spanish and the Garifuna language. Aurelio Martinez easily stepped into Palacio's shoes, acting not only as the program's main singer, but also as the MC and court jester. A born performer, with a respectable recording career of his own, Martinez is also a longtime Garifuna activist and serves as a member of Honduras' Parliament. He was joined on vocals by rising young Belizean star Lloyd Augustine, a respectable performer in his own right, who also helped translate for the Spanish and Garifuna-impaired.

Though the Garifuna Collective band was bulked out with some local Garifuna musicians due to visa issues, they still cranked out the same thumping, bass-heavy sound that distinguished Watina. The evening's songs were pulled largely from that album, but also featured parrandas and other traditional songs that never made it onto the record. There was a constant flow of guest vocalists on and off stage, too. Octogenarian singer Paul Nabor – who had joined Palacio on previous foreign dates – charmed the room with a short set of parrandas. While Belizean mother-daughter duo Sofia and Silvia Blanco represented the Umalali women's collective – whose self-titled March '08 release on Cumbancha records collected the songs of Garifuna women, who Palacio once noted were the living conservators and repository of traditional Garifuna music. But the most charming guest of all was the mother of Auerilo Martinez – a respected singer and composer in Honduras – joined her son onstage and brought down the house with an a cappella solo.

Though the show was a memorial, it was far from solemn. Though the shoutouts to Palacio and his legacy were nonstop, the audience clapped and sang along for much of the evening, and continually bantered with the performers – who seemed to be having as much fun as the house. The joyousness and spirit of community was palpable and it's hard to imagine that Palacio would have wanted it to be any other way.

Andy Palacio Memorial Tour Dates:

April 4th: Symphony Space, New York, NY
April 8th -10th: Kentucky Center, Louisville, KY
April 18th 19th: Rialto Center, Atlanta, GA
April 20th: Carnival Center, Miami, FL
April 23rd: Old Town, Chicago, IL
April 25th – 26th: Festival Internationale, Lafayette, LA
April 27th: International Festival, Houston, TX
April 30th: Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
May 2nd: Annenberg Center, Philadelphia, PA
May 3rd: Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC
August 29th: Grand Performances, Los Angeles, CA

For additional information, consult the Tour Website.