Wátina

$14.97

1. Wátina 2. Weyu Lárigi Weyu 3. Miami 4. Baba 5. Lidan Aban 6. Gaganbadibá 7. Beiba 8. Sin Precio 9. Yagane 10. Aguyuha Nidúheñu 11. Ayó Da 12. Amunegu Click to hear sample tracks

Filled with enchanting rhythms, powerful melodies and a deep soulfulness that recalls Cape Verdean or Afro-Peruvian music, Wátina serves as a first-rate introduction to the music of this unique and inspiring culture.

The tale of Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective traces its roots to the early 1980s, when a teenage Palacio traveled from his home in the Central American country of Belize to Nicaragua to serve in a literacy campaign. Palacio is Garifuna, a unique culture based on the Caribbean coast of Central America that blends elements of West African and Native Caribbean heritage. Andy was told that Nicaragua's local Garifuna traditions and language were all but extinct. He was en route via boat to the Nicaraguan village of Orinoco to begin his first literacy assignment, when a storm forced a change of direction, leading to a surprise encounter that had a lasting impact on Palacio's music, career, and life mission. The legacy of this life-changing meeting lives on in the music of Wátina, a stunning new album featuring an all-star, multigenerational lineup of Garifuna musicians from Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Each track on Wátina is based on a traditional Garifuna rhythm and all of the lyrics are in the Garifuna tongue-a unique and endangered language whose root is Arawak influenced by Carib, French, and, possibly, West African languages. In 2001, UNESCO declared the Garifuna language, music, and dance Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. As an official within Belize's Ministry of Culture at that time, Andy Palacio played a role in securing that proclamation. Today, Palacio is one of those rare musicians with one foot in the world of cultural diplomacy and another foot on the performance stage. His new album brings together his dual passion for the safeguarding of culture and making modern music tied to Garifuna roots.

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