Ibagari: Portraits of Garifuna Lifecycle in Song

As descendants of the exiled Garifuna People, impelled to action by a visit to our ancestral homeland 200 years after the 1797 exile from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Roatan, Honduras, the Ibagari recording and song reference are genuine efforts to make a modest contribution to preserve the treasure trove of Garifuna songs. Customarily, the oral communication tradition is the primary mode for learning Garifuna songs. Maintaining the rich culture for over two centuries despite the far-reaching impacts of exile is commendable. The challenge to sustain our Garifuna heritage is amplified by the waning level of proficiency in speaking the Garifuna language. One of the manifestations of this challenge is the inability of a significantly large number of Garifuna People to sing previously commonly known songs in their entirety. Knowing fragments of a Garifuna song is more the norm for a significant number of natives. This project is attempting to reverse the trend by expanding learning options for several Garifuna classics. Seizing the opportunity to leverage technology to transcribe the lyrics of Garifuna songs as completely as possible and translate into musical notations for posterity, we utilized our backgrounds in information technology and instructional technology to begin the process of digital musical transcriptions. Garifuna history written via the prism of a Garifuna perspective by Garifuna for Garifuna and Friends of Garifuna is imperative for the self-preservation of a culture deemed a masterpiece of humanity by UNESCO yet considered highly endangered for survival as quintessentially known. The tension between preservation and elimination must be acknowledged and addressed now so that the Garifuna culture gets passed on to the next generation as obtained from our progenitors who endured and survived ethnic cleansing in 1797 in Balliceaux, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. As a preservation effort, to address the language needs of Garinagu in the Diaspora, the lyrics of songs in Garifuna are translated to both English and Spanish.
About the Author: Len Cayetano was born in Crique Arena, Toledo District, Belize. He proudly considers Punta Gorda his hometown since it was there that he spent most of his formative years. He attended St. Peter Claver Primary School in Punta Gorda but completed his primary education at St. Louis Rey Primary School in San Antonio, Toledo District, Belize. After completing his primary education, he returned to Punta Gorda where he completed two years of high school education at St. Peter Claver College and finished his high school education at Stann Creek Ecumenical High School in Dangria, Belize. Following high school, he attended Belize Technical College Sixth Form in Belize City where he majored in Chemistry and Mathematics. His interest in continuing his studies in science drew him to the United States where he attended DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. At DePaul, he did a dual major in Mathematics and Computer Science and graduated with honors. Len recalls his time at DePaul fondly and recalls the engaging and positive interactions he had with his professors of Mathematics and Computer Science. Upon completion of his studies at DePaul, Len moved to Los Angeles, California, where he began his career in Software Engineering and continued graduate education in Computer Science at Loyola Marymount University, and Business Management and Software Engineering at the University of Southern California. Len's career in Software Engineering spans thirty years and is grateful for the opportunity to work at some of the most progressive and entrepreneurial organizations in the United States in both management and engineering roles. Highlights of his career include managing a remote engineering team in Moscow, Russia, and being a member of the executive management team of an Internet startup. Additional accomplishments include teaching as a guest lecturer in Software Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and designing and teaching a class on the fundamentals of embedded systems for The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In December 2014, Len was nominated as a candidate for IEEE's 2015 Professional & Educational Activities Board. This board oversees the global educational and professional activities for the Computer Society. Len maintains a keen interest in all genres of music and is on a mission to help preserve Garifuna music.

A Daughter of Dangriga, born to Clifford and Rita Palacio in Stann Creek Town, Belize, Dr. Palacio-Cayetano is a Science Educator in Bioinformatics Education Management. Upon completing elementary education at Sacred Heart School in Dangriga, she received a high school academic scholarship with which she attended Saint Catherine's Academy in Belize City. From Saint Catherine's Academy, she earned a college academic scholarship and attended Belize Technical College Sixth Form where she majored in Biology and Chemistry. Immediately after completing Belize Technical College, Joycelin migrated to the United States where she joined her family in California and continued her education. Joycelin received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Mount Saint Mary's College in Los Angeles, California while working to pay her way through college. She was a Science Teacher at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School, a Los Angeles Unified School District institution in Sun Valley, California. At John H. Francis Polytechnic High School, Dr. Palacio-Cayetano was inducted into the Teacher Hall of Fame for excellence in teaching. As a science teacher, Joycelin received an Earthwatch Fellowship and represented her school in a conservation project in Kenya, Africa. Representing John H. Francis Polytechnic High School at the IMMEX Science Teachers' Institute at UCLA, Joycelin authored a Genetics interactive multimedia simulation utilized in high schools nationwide. While employed full time, Joycelin pursued doctoral studies at The University of Southern California, where she graduated with a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology in 1997. Dr. Palacio-Cayetano has served as an Adjunct Professor at California State University Northridge and has published research articles in peer-reviewed journals such as The American Biology Teacher, Cell Biology Education, Academic Medicine, and Computers in Human Behavior. Additionally, Dr. Palacio-Cayetano has successfully co-authored and co-managed multimillion-dollar grants from highly selective institutions such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education. Dr. Palacio-Cayetano was also a member of the National Science Foundation Grant Selection Committee in which she reviewed grant submissions and made recommendations for National Science Foundation Grant Awardees. As part of The IT Leadership Team at Keck Medicine of USC, Dr. Palacio-Cayetano was nominated Employee of the Month for excellence in curriculum development and exemplary leadership. In a December 2014 survey of managers by staff on communication, teamwork, mentoring, vision, strategy, rewards, and recognition execution in her managerial team at Keck Medicine of USC, Dr. Palacio-Cayetano ranked number one.