Rescuing Belize’s Forgotten Recordings Through Digitization
From brukdong and punta rock to recordings tucked away on fading tapes, Belize’s musical history is at risk of being lost. Now, the government has launched the Belize Music Archive and Music Archive Lab to preserve those sounds and the stories behind them for future generations. Shane Williams reports.
Shane Williams, Reporting
Music is more than entertainment. For generations, music has preserved our memories, celebrated our traditions and helped define who we are as Belizeans. But much of that musical history has already been lost and more is at risk of disappearing. The government of Belize is hoping to prevent further loss.
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education and Culture
“The recorded music of Belize is an essential part of our nation’s cultural heritage, history, and collective memory. For generations, Belizean artists and musicians have documented through music the languages, traditions, experiences, and creativity of our people. In recognition of the importance of preserving this legacy, the government of Belize, through the Ministry of Culture, the National Institute of Culture and History, and the Belize Archives and Records Service hereby establishes the Belize Music Archive, a national initiative dedicated to preserving and safeguarding Belize’s recorded musical heritage.”
Researchers are digitizing recordings from a range of formats, including old recording equipment, while also searching for artists and recordings that have never been properly documented.
Ivan Duran
Ivan Duran, Director, Belize Music Project
“I think that all Belizeans would agree that music has always played an important role in Belizean society, and it’s really what makes us who we are, in great part. Sadly, a lot of that history has already been lost, whether it wasn’t recorded or recordings that never saw the day of light after they were broadcasted at a radio station, for example. And this is truly the drive behind this initiative, is to make sure that we don’t lose anything else.”
Clifton Hall spent years behind the scenes at Radio Belize, preserving the sounds that helped shape the nation. Today, his collection forms an important part of the new music archive. Hall spent years working to get the best possible sound from Belizean musicians for radio listeners. But beyond the technical work, he says there was always a bigger purpose, to preserve what was being created.
Clifton Hall
Clifton Hall, Former Audio Engineer, Radio Belize
“My thing was to get the best out from the radio for the listeners, and I, in that vein, it became a lot of work dealing with the musicians to get them to be perfect or almost perfect, for people to listen to. I always felt that there should have, should be some preservation of the music and of the things we do in Belize so that, as you say, the generation to come will understand and learn what was happening in our time.”
Sadly, many recordings from that period no longer exist. Gina Scott is a research specialist with the Belize Music Project. She says older recordings were often erased and reused, simply because people did not realize their historical value.
Gina Scott
Gina Scott, Research Specialist, Belize Music Project
“So because we did not always understand the value of ourselves, then we did not always treasure what we had, right? And so because of that, some materials we don’t have access to. Some of it is because of what was available. So for example, one group called The Blue Notes that recorded at Radio Belize in the fifties, the director told me, explained, said every Wednesday we went in at five o’ clock to record. But each Wednesday when we went in, it would be on the same tape. Okay. So the tape from the week before would be erased, the recording, right? So you can imagine if we multiply that by the number of groups that have gone in, the number of years, the number of tapes. So that’s one of the challenges to fill in the blanks as much as possible with what we have.”
The race is now on to prevent more of Belize’s musical history from disappearing. The Belize Music Archive is asking anyone with old recordings to come forward so those sounds, stories and voices can be preserved for future generations. Shane Williams for News Five.