The Belize Garifuna Song Competition Awards

The song entries were judged on originality, melody, composition, and lyrics and each song entry had to be in the Garifuna Language. The judges were Lucio Enriquez, Aurelio Martinez and James Lovell. The Song of the year award won a total of $7,000 in tangible and intangible prizes; while the Single Genre award received $4,400 in tangible and intangible prizes and the Budding Artist award received $3,900 in tangible and intangible prizes. The Judges also recognized Henry Miguel and Rodney “Bam Bam” Avila for their songs in their respective categories. The Belize Garifuna Song Competition is part of the Garifuna cultural retrieval and preservation initiative of the Battle of the Drums Secretariat of Punta Gorda Town. The objectives of the Competition are:

1. To motivate musicians to produce quality Garifuna music that will be of world music standards;
2. To provide a forum that allows musicians to showcase their Garifuna music and possibly jump-start their careers;
3. To encourage Garifuna musicians to continue to produce songs in all genres of Garifuna music, thereby contributing to the library of Garifuna music across many genres;
4. To assist musicians in acquiring the skills and equipment; connecting them with professionals in the music industry and assisting them to secure their intellectual property and market their music;
5. To contribute to cultural tourism by attracting international musical enthusiasts to a competition and related events where the music of the world-class category is being promoted. 

For more information, you can visit www.battleofthedrums.bz.