Aziatic

Of the new stars coming out of the new generation of punta rockers, Aziatic has staked out his own turf on the punta rock landscape with a combination of roots Garifuna music and melodic pop elements.

His music owes part of its distinctive quality to the fact that it is a product of the cultural and musical interaction between the Garifuna communities in the United States and Belize.

After spending his first years in the tiny coastal Garifuna village of Hopkins, Aziatic was transplanted to California with his brothers and sisters when their parents immigrated to the United States. He credits his parents with instilling in him an awareness and pride of their Garifuna culture, and it was only natural that he would carry these roots sounds with him when he began playing music at an early age.

What followed was a hybrid punta rock style created in the recording studio where Aziatic experimented with new sounds that blended traditional Garifuna music with North American pop sensibilities.

On return visits to Belize in the mid 1990s, Aziatic joined the flourishing punta rock scene with highly successful concerts backed by local bands. His popularity continued to grow both in Belize and California, and his distinctive, very much alive musical style developed.

With several local hits and a loyal following in Belize and the U.S., he can rightly claim the title of one of Belize's punta rock superstars. —Courtesy Calabash Music