Oral Fuentes
Encyclopedia
Oral Fuentes is a Belize
an-Canadian
reggae
musician
best known as the founder and front man of the Oral Fuentes Reggae Band. Also primarily influenced by reggae his music also incorporates other elements of Caribbean and Latin rhythm including the musical styles of Soca
, Punta rock
and Brukdown
, forms of Belizean music .
Fuentes began playing in a multicultural band, ‘Caribbean Jam', in his native Belize where they began playing for many local and events across the country. During the early stages, the band travelled extensively to Mexico
, Guatemala
, Honduras
, Suriname
, Guyana
, USA, and several islands in the Caribbean
.
In 1989 Fuentes began studying at the Academy of Performing Arts in Cambridge, Ontario
. During this period he wrote songs with 'The Warriors' rock band and 'Soul'd Out' a soul/blues band, both from the Academy and made numerous trips to Nashville
and New York
to perform.
He moved to Saskatoon
, Saskatchewan
in 1992 where he has performed at the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival and many other festivals and cultural shows.
Fuentes was a friend of the late Andy Palacio
who was one of Belize's most famous musicians of the punta
genre. On his death on January 19, 2008 he was reported as saying "I am indeed very sad to hear the news of Andy passing. I've known Andy for years... as a fellow Belizean I feel the pain. Belize has indeed lost a Hero.
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
an-Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
best known as the founder and front man of the Oral Fuentes Reggae Band. Also primarily influenced by reggae his music also incorporates other elements of Caribbean and Latin rhythm including the musical styles of Soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
, Punta rock
Punta rock
Punta rock or Belizean punta is a form of the traditional punta rhythm of the Garifuna people of Honduras, Belize and Guatemala.Punta rock is distinctive from traditional punta in that the language and concepts are more adapted to the general Belizean identity...
and Brukdown
Brukdown
Brukdown is a genre of Belizean music. Its best-known performer and innovator, Wilfred Peters is regarded as a Belizean national icon. The word brukdown may come from broken down calypso, referring to the similarities between brukdown and Trinidadian calypso music; the presence of large numbers...
, forms of Belizean music .
Fuentes began playing in a multicultural band, ‘Caribbean Jam', in his native Belize where they began playing for many local and events across the country. During the early stages, the band travelled extensively to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, USA, and several islands in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
In 1989 Fuentes began studying at the Academy of Performing Arts in Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
. During this period he wrote songs with 'The Warriors' rock band and 'Soul'd Out' a soul/blues band, both from the Academy and made numerous trips to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to perform.
He moved to Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
in 1992 where he has performed at the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival and many other festivals and cultural shows.
Fuentes was a friend of the late Andy Palacio
Andy Palacio
Andy Vivian Palacio was a Belizean Punta musician and government official. He was also a leading activist for the Garínagu and their culture.-Biography:...
who was one of Belize's most famous musicians of the punta
Punta
Punta is a Garifuna music and dance style performed at celebrations and festive occasions. Contemporary punta, including Belizean punta rock, arose in the last thirty years of the twentieth century in Belize, Honduras and Guatemala. It also has a following in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Southern Mexico...
genre. On his death on January 19, 2008 he was reported as saying "I am indeed very sad to hear the news of Andy passing. I've known Andy for years... as a fellow Belizean I feel the pain. Belize has indeed lost a Hero.