Palacio - Keimoun

Belize's Punta-Rock Star No. 1. His first longplay album includes the Hit-Single ''Roots''.

Belize is one of those countries that the Western public pays relatively little attention to. However, it is at least worth taking a look at the vibrant music scene in this Central American country.
The undisputed superstar of Belize's music scene is Andy Palacio with his rousing percussion-driven punta rock. He fuses soca and calypso with the centuries-old music of the Garifuna, descendants of slaves who were shipwrecked in Central America in the 17th century. As the bottom of the social hierarchy in the long-standing colony of British Honduras, all they had left was their Afro-Caribbean tradition: their language and, above all, their music. 
In recent years, punta rock has developed into a serious competitor to the superiority of the well-known US stars in local bars, discotheques and radio stations, not least thanks to Andy Palacios, who was nominated for "Best New Artist" at the Caribbean Music Awards. The renowned magazine THE BEAT wrote about Andy Palacio's music that it is "distinctly Caribbean, somewhat African and full of tropical dance fever".