Delvin "Pen" Cayetano MBE (born 1954 in

Dangriga Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a town in southern Belize, located on the Caribbean coast at the mouth of the North Stann Creek River. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District. Dangriga is served by the Dangriga Airpo ...

Town,

Stann Creek District Stann Creek District is a district in the south east region of Belize. According to the 2010 census, the district had a population of 32,166 people. Its capital is the town of Dangriga, formerly known as "Stann Creek Town." Stann comes from "sta ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

) is a Belizean

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

Biography

Cayetano is self-taught in the art of painting and music and claims his influences come from the native

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian Cr ...

culture and that of the Creoles. These are the two largest ethnically black groups in Belize. Cayetano began painting in the late 1970s at a studio in Dangriga. He remained in Dangriga until 1990, when he moved to Germany. He has showcased all over the world and become one of Belize's foremost cultural ambassadors. He and his German wife, Ingrid, returned to Dangriga in July 2009 and they opened the Pen Cayetano Studio Gallery 1 in August 2009. Cayetano is currently married with three children (Malí, Beni, and Ibo). His family band, "The Cayetanos", carry on their father's musical traditions. Cayetano was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebra ...

Contributions to punta rock

Pen Cayetano, with his Turtle Shell Band, invented

punta rock Punta rock, or Belizean punta, is a form of Garifuna music originating in Belize and created by Pen Cayetano. Songs are usually sung in Belizean Kriol or Garifuna and rarely in Spanish or English. Many Garifuna American singers perform the g ...

by introducing the turtle shell and electric instruments to

Punta Punta is an Afro-indigenous dance and cultural music originating in the Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines by the Garifuna people before being exiled from the island. Which is also known as Yurumei. It has African and Arawak ...

, creating a new music genre that has become popular with Garifuna artists. According to Cayetano, the origins of

came when he observed some younger fellows being rude at a ceremony to honor Garifuna pioneer

Thomas Vincent Ramos Thomas Vincent Ramos, commonly known as T. V. Ramos, (17 September 1887 – 13 November 1955) was a Belizean civil rights activist who promoted the interests of the Garifuna people, and is now considered a national hero. Background T. V. Ramos ...

in 1978 (Ramos had convinced the government of Belize to celebrate

Garifuna Settlement Day Garifuna Settlement Day is a public holiday in Belize, celebrated each year on November 19. The holiday was created by Belizean civil rights activist, Thomas Vincent Ramos, in 1941. It was recognized as a public holiday in the southern district ...

in honor of the arrival of the group to Belize in 1802 and 1832). They were singing songs in Garifuna with a worldly rhythm. Cayetano built on that foundation to create the "Turtle Shell Band" in 1979. Early band members included solo star Mohobub Flores and Peter "Poots" Flores (no relation). The band built its reputation in and around Dangriga until 1982, when it held its first performances in

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and S ...

and

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...

. Eventually the band appearance on

Radio Belize The Broadcasting Corporation of Belize, otherwise known as Radio Belize (using the call-sign of VPM; no relation to the current VPM-FM), was a radio station in Belize that shut down in November 1998. Until the 1980s it was Belize's only radio sta ...

and other groups picked up the sound. Cayetano continues to record and was awarded by the National Institute of Culture and History for his achievements in 2003.

References

External links

*
Pen on Punta Rock-UWI Cavehill

Reviews of Pen's music by Rootsworld

Local TV station announcing exhibition by Pen and wife Ingrid in 2006Family, Creative Fulfillment, and Some Funk: the Artful Life of Garifuna Marvel Pen Cayetano and His Clan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cayetano, Pen 1954 births Living people Belizean artists Belizean musicians Garifuna people Indigenous painters of the Americas Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Dangriga