The Music of Belize (Weekly Blog #8)

The music of Belize has a combination of Kreol, Mestizo, Garifuna, and Mayan influences. Most of the music is rewritten in English. After many centuries of Maya habitation, Spanish followed by the British colonists arrived in the area, the latter keeping Belize as its only colony in Spanish-dominated Central America. More influential than the arrival of the European colonist was the importation of African slaves. Europeans brought polkas, waltzes, schottisches and quadrilles, and Africans brought instruments and percussion-based music. The Mayans made the first diatonic marimba. African culture resulted in the creation of music in the logging camps played by banjos, guitars, drums, bells, accordions and a donkey’s jawbone (played by running a stick up and down the teeth). One of the most popular musical styles created by Kriol musicians is brukdown. Brukdown evolved from the music and dance of loggers, especially a form known as buru.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Belize