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PRESS RELEASE
Andy Palacio Passes Away After Heart Attack and Stroke
January 19, 2008 -
Andy Palacio, an iconic musician and cultural activist in his native
Belize and impassioned spokesperson for the Garifuna people of Central
America, was declared dead tonight at 9pm Belize time due to a massive
and extensive stroke to the brain, a heart attack and respiratory
failure due to the previous two conditions.
Palacio, 47, started feeling poorly last week and eventually visited a
doctor with complaints of dizziness and blurred vision. On the 16th of
January, he began experiencing seizures and was rushed to a hospital in
Belmopan, Belize and then on to another hospital in Belize City. At
this point, most people were hopeful Palacio would recover.
On January 17th, Palacio's condition worsened and he began experiencing
more seizures. He was placed on an air ambulance to Chicago where he
was expected to get treatment at one of the premier neurological
facilities in the country. En route to Chicago, the plane stopped in
Mobile, Alabama to clear immigration. At that point, Palacio was
unconscious and it was determined that he was too ill to continue on
the flight to Chicago. He was rushed to a hospital in Mobile, and
placed on life support. There, doctors determined that the damage to
his brain function was severe, and that his chances of recovery were
slim. On January 18th, his family requested that he be flown back to
Belize so that he might die in his homeland.
A national hero in Belize for his popular music and advocacy of
Garifuna language and culture, news of Palacio's condition sent
shockwaves through the community. At 5pm today, a public service was
held in Belize City for Palacio as people prayed for his recovery.
Ceremonies were also held by Garifuna spiritual leaders in an effort to
help with the situation. Belize is in the midst of a heated election,
but the local news was entirely dominated by Palacio's health crisis.
The reaction has also been strong around the world. Until the recent
turn of events, the past year had been one of tremendous accomplishment
for Palacio as his album Wátina,
which was released at the beginning of 2007, had become one of the most
critically acclaimed recordings of the year in any genre. Perhaps the
most unanimously revered world music album in recent memory,
Wátina appeared on dozens of Best
of the Year lists in major media outlets around the globe and was
roundly praised in glowing terms.
In 2007, Palacio was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace and won the
prestigious WOMEX Award. Wátina
was also nominated for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards. At home in
Belize, the international success of Wátina
has sparked a revival of Garifuna music, as young musicians have become
inspired by Palacio's example. Even in the days since Palacio's health
crisis began, the accolades have continued to pour in for his work.
That Palacio has been struck down at a moment of such international
acclaim only increases the sense of shock and tragedy felt at his
sudden and untimely death.
Andy Palacio will be honored with an official state funeral. A massive
tribute concert is planned in Belize City on Friday, January 25th.
Friends and supporters are invited to post messages in memory of Andy
Palacio to his MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/andypalacio)
as well as to the blog of his international record label Cumbancha
(http://cumbanchamusic.blogspot.com/).
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The Garifuna Collective has established the Andy Palacio Garifuna Music Education Education Fund
to continue Andy's mission in bringing Garifuna music to the next generation of Belizeans, Please make a donation here.
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