The Garifuna Collective has made a name for Belize all over the world. They've toured all over the US, Europe, and Canada, even playing down under in Australia.
And, on October 27, the Collective will get a world stage at the 2018 WOMEX event, which will be held in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
WOMEX, which is short for World Music Expo, is a very prestigious international event where fans and some of the big names in the world music industry attend to enjoy and discover great musical talents.
Andy Palacio performed at the expo back in 2007, and that same year, he and Ivan Duran won a Womex Award for their accomplishments on the Watina album.
Well, this time around, The Garifuna Collective will get their opportunity, and they say that their objective is to trail blaze and open doors for other Belizean musicians.
The Music Ambassador hosted a press conference for the Collective to tell the nation that they intend to make Belize proud:
Shyne Barrow - Music Ambassador
"WOMEX is very very stringent selection process. It's hundreds of people who apply every year to perform at WOMEX, and only a very few are selected. So, I really think that we should give a round of applause to the Garifuna Collective that, out of hundreds, they were selected."
Al Ovando - Bassist, Garifuna Collective
"From since the 2007, The Garifuna Collective has been submitting every year for the last 10 years. Last year, we reached the short list, and no other country backed out, so, nothing happened. This year, we re-energized the entry with new material, new songs, new rhythms that Belize hasn't heard yet, that even some of the band members have only heard some of it. So, we went through it, and we sent it. We believe in it."
Mohubub Flores - Percussion, Garifuna Collective
"We feel grateful at Garifuna Collective to share what we have with the Belizean people. We feel grateful to be selected to go to Womex. We feel so good. So, we will take this message out to Womex, and we are going to work and showcase ourselves, and present ourselves as Belizeans."
Desiree Diego - Vocalist, Garifuna Collective
"I'm extremely happy. A lot of hard work, sleepless nights, but everything put you were you want to be as long as you have the passion for it. So, nothing much more to say, I just want to say that we got selected, and we will represent Belize to best of our ability."
Shyne Barrow - Music Ambassador
"This year, we will have a booth. This year, we will support the Garifuna Collective, to take merchandise out there. These things are important so [that] other artists, other musicians can have an opportunity to go to Womex because Womex is the biggest networking opportunity, certainly in the world music arena."
Sam Harris - Guitarist, Garifuna Collective
"The door is half ajar with the Collective. It got closed on us for a little while, and it seems like it started opening back up again. So, I think that it will be our duty to pull the rest along with us."
Al Ovando
"Going to Womex, and showcasing has to be our best event ever. The band members understand all of this already. It's like a 1 and 1 conversation with everybody. This is - for us, this is like the make or break for Belizean music internationally."
Back in 2016, Music Ambassador Shyne Barrow led a delegation of 7 Belizeans to the expo, INCLUDING Ivan Duran AND Al Ovando.
Email
Print