The Ambassador of Punta Rock:
Andy Palacio
Punta Rock

Meet the hardest-working man in Belize's show business, Andy Palacio, the 43-year-old "ambassador of Punta Rock." Palacio reworks roots classics in a mixture of Garifuna, Spanish and Creole and sets them to a party, dance-floor tempo.

Palacio is currently hard at work on a CD featuring duets with other Garifuna artists. The album will offer traditional songs infused with new drumming patterns and jazz flourishes. Meanwhile he continues to perform and record as well as serve as director of Belize's Institute of Creative Arts of the Ministry of Culture.

Listen: "Gimme Punta Rock"
With its quick tempo, night-on-the-town storytelling and raucous electric guitar, Andy Palacio's "Gimme Punta Rock" illustrates the partylike mood and dance-floor appeal of Punta Rock. "Gimme Punta Rock" appears on the album Keimoun (Beat On) (Stonetree Records, 1995).

Lyrics:
Lyrics reprinted with permission from Stonetree Records

Gimme Punta Rock! Belizean music yeah!
Gimme Punta Rock! Garifuna! Garifuna!

I gave this girl a chance
Took her out to dance
She burst right through the gate
Man, just like she could not wait
Well I was right behind
And boy this girl start to wine [sic]
But the DJ in the place said,
"Now we're going to change the pace"

Now the music soft and slow
Some folks walked off the floor
She refused to move at all
Everybody start to bawl
We want to jam!
We want to party!
So give wi Punta Rock!

So the DJ changed the pace
Punta music in the place!
Sun Katei Iidan! (Everything is all right!)
Everything is all right!

Don't want you to stop it yet
I still want to move and sweat
Ay ay ay!
Man, gimme more
Hold it deh don't you let it go
It's like mi imagination
Ah feelin' a new sensation
Ooh come on!
Check the sound
Let your body go round and round

Ruhuma Punta Rock nun! (Gimme Punta Rock!)

• Paul Nabor
• Andy Palacio
• Lugua Centeno

back to top