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The Garifuna Collective has toured North America in support of their new album "Ayo" and now they've come back to Belize to launch the album locally.

The album has been praised by music reviewers worldwide for creating a magical album filled with songs of "heartbreak, hope and joy." Indeed, the album produced and recorded at Stonetree records in Benque Viejo is a major cultural product– and today some of the band members told us why you should get it:

Al Ovando - Bassist, Ga rifuna Collective
"This is the officially day of release for the album 'Ayo' - it's a tribute to Andy Palacio - it's the second album of the Garifuna Collective band itself and it's just a continuation of what Andy started and we are just officially launching it today and letting the public know that it is now available in the stores. We'd like everyone to support and make sure everyone gets a copy."

Desiree Diego - Vocalist, Garifuna Collective
"It means a whole lot to us, to add to what Al said - it's a tribute to Andy, bidding him farewell and also working on new songs. I must say that I want everybody to get a copy of this CD, who could purchase it and listen to it; vibes up with the CD and us working along with the public."

Mohobub Flores - Percussion, Garifuna Collective
"For this project working with the Collective, I think it's an honor for me as a solo artist now working with the Collective as a percussion player and vocals, I think is very important for me and the new album we're launching today."

Al Ovando
"This album portrays like the village style setting with the group - every song there's no one lead vocals but it's the idea of what the group is all about. Everyone is singing and has a part in each song, and the album was designed like that from Stonetree Records because the producer Ivan Duran made sure that that's the feeling that is being portrayed and it's natural and more a traditional feel. Everytime we go out and show it to the Belizean public, they appreciate it and embrace it and the bottom line with us is that everybody is a part of the Garifuna Collective and everybody should be a part of the Collective, our mission is to keep Belizean music and help it to grow and help younger musicians coming up and setting as a trend. Use it as a guideline for us and every musician in Belize and artist to move ahead and see what's possible."

Daniel Ortiz
"My impressions is that you don't get that love from the Belizean people unless you get the love from outside."

Al Ovando
"It's tough but I wouldn't go that far - I think the Belizeans really appreciate it. We are Belizeans working on it, so if it's 1, 2, 3 or 70 people working on it, it's good enough and we're representing Belize and I know it's going to take time for other Belizeans to appreciate it better. When it comes to artists and musicians, I think we support each other really well and we understand what these persons are doing and it's just a matter of time for us to share our experiences with each other and we learn from our mistakes and we go ahead. We all have peers and families here and they all support us, we look to the future to get more support and at the same time we're kind of to blame - we need to get out and push it more. It's just a matter of getting the funding to do it right."

The album is now available for purchase at all the major music outlets. The Collective is already planning a European Tour to launch the album on that continent.