The story of Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective traces its roots to the early 1980s, when a teenage Palacio traveled from his home in Belize to Nicaragua to take part in a literacy campaign. Descended from the Garifuna—a unique culture based on the Caribbean coast of Central America that blends elements of West African and native Caribbean heritage—Palacio was told that Nicaragua’s own Garifuna traditions were all but extinct. But en route to the Nicaraguan village where he would begin his first literacy assignment, a storm forced a change of direction and led to a surprise encounter that would have a lasting impact on the young man’s music, career, and life mission. The results of this life-changing event can be heard in the music of Wátina, a stunning new album featuring an all-star, multigenerational lineup of Garifuna musicians from Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Coming to the Rialto stage for the first time, Palacio will be joined by 75-year-old Garifuna legend Paul Nabor
