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They left Independence village by boat at 10:00 this morning and one of the organizers for the excursion, Audrey Matura spoke to us via phone about an hour ago. She told us that they are hoping to make it to Ceiba in time for the traditional wake set to be held tonight. She shared more details with us while on the road.

Audrey Matura, Aurelio Martinez Fan
"What happened. We have 31 persons who came and it seemed a bit last minute. But my understanding from the organizers is that they were looking for a way to get people to come to this event to come to this funeral but the sad reality is, that it's hard to get passage. We tried plane, boat, bus, everything, and we ended up with boat and bus, so we had to come from Malacate Beach to Puerto Cortes by boat and then we hired a bus and the bus is now driving us to La Ceiba."

"So it would be a total of about almost 8 hours, probably if not more, because the traffic is really hectic here right now. So it had to be a bit last minute because the options are just so limited but the thought and the organization was going on before. Finally, the parties that came together that really paid for this event is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"And NICH. So the idea is that we wanted to come in this evening because tonight there is a third nigh wake, which is a lot of singing and celebration and tribute. So that's what we were doing. And then after that we would then attend the funeral tomorrow, which is at 10:00. Many Belizeans would have wanted to come."

"But as you notice, it's a Friday, a lot of logistics go into it. But the ones who could have made it came. And it's important for us to be here because whether we want to accept it or not or whether we debate it or not, the reality is that Aurelio was like a Belizean. He is a household name and it's a way of Belize paying respect and tribute to him."

"So I am glad to see that NICH has a representative here. Am glad to see that Ivan Duran, who is one of his collaborators, is here, Members of the collectives are here and one or two of the general public that I just people who came along and, you know, took the time off from work and said they want to come along."

"Like I met two ladies who are real fans of Aurelio and the sacrifice that we went through to get on that boat and be here with us today is amazing. And they said that they've always followed him, his music, and they felt it was important to come and see him at his burial."