Today, Andy Vivian Palacio would have been 54. He was at the height of his fame as Garifuna musician and performer when he died 6 years ago from a stroke. But, his legend endures and continues to grow. The centerpiece of that is his master album Watina - the crystallization of the finest aspects of his music. In 2008, we looked at all he accomplished with that:..

Posted (January 18, 2008)
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
The Watina album was recorded in Hopkins, where Andy Palacio teamed up with Garifuna musicians to create a sound that was at once soulful and authentic, while making it polished and sufficiently sonically sophisticated to catch the ear of the world music audience.

With the Watina album he rocketed to international stardom - and took Belize with him. The album won a WOMEX Award and Watina was acclaimed as the best world music album of 2007. But more than commercial and critical success - Andy's crowning achievement in 2007 was his designation as an UNESCO Artist for Peace - a global distinction afforded to few So 11 months after its release, the accomplishment of Watina stands alone, singular, unparalleled, unprecedented - and it may be so for many years

But it is about more than the music, it is the man behind that music - as a combination of musical entertainer and cultural envoy, Andy has always been the bridge between two worlds, a smaller one of his home, his music, his people and their traditions, and the other, outer world of tours and performances from Belize to Belgium - a global representative of his people, but always a man of his roots, basically a Barranco boy, just playing the guitar, and singing the songs - the same way his ancestors did.

A mass in Andy's honour is being held at this hour at the St. Martin's De Porres Church in Belize City.