Dennis was born in 1973 in Tela, and he moved with his mother Tomasa to Mango Creek, Independence in Belize when he was one year old. She worked at a banana farm and mango farm in what was then a British Colony. Dennis’ mother is a Garifuna from Triunfo de la Cruz and his father Gell is from La Mosquitia.

He is a self-taught artist. “I drew everything that is around me,” says Luma about his painting days as a young boy growing up in a Belizean seaside village. When he had no money for paints, he would make paints out of plant seeds and discarded items he would find on the street.

Luma remembers being a boy who always found a way to paint. “I was driven to do it… It was something natural in me,” remembers Luma. A Mexican couple, who were visiting tourists saw little Dennis painting and decided to pay for his education at Miguel De Cervantes art school in Quintana Roo.

After a few years he found his way to Roatan. It was 1991 and the island was just starting to register on horizons of travelers and divers. Luma struggled at first, but eventually found a way to support himself as an artist. In 1990s the island was very much off the beaten path. It was like a rich, green canvas waiting to be embraced by artists. “It was beautiful: trees and white sand beaches,” Luma remembers Roatan from that time. “Art is Life. Life is Art. Everywhere you turn around you see some beauty.” He had seen Roatan grow and develop from a sleepy island to a booming tourist destination.

Luma’s art has been echoing that beauty that is quickly disappearing and being replaced. He paints large scale murals, sometime underwater seascapes filled with color, life and sea creatures: octopi, sharks, dolphins. His murals can be seen all over Punta Gorda. “I want the people to know about the Garifuna Culture and be inspired by it,” says Luma. He recently illustrated a book about Garifuna culture.

Luma’s art has been echoing that beauty that is quickly disappearing and being replaced.

Now Roatan is booming and Luma has found his stride focusing on art that resonates with his Garifuna roots. He illustrated the book of Garifuna history. “I am creating emotion that is positive,” says Luma while he stands in the back of a nondescript apartment in West End. His studio is an inspiring backdrop as it faces a wall of green plants and trees.

Luma can’t sit still; he is always up looking for places that could become the canvass of his work. “I do acrylic, I do oil, I do synthetic, I even paint on cars,” says Luma. “It is really hard for me to stop on one thing. The world is really diverse.”

Right now, the most important things in Luma’s life are being recognized by a younger generation and creating awe. “I am proud when a youngster stops by and admires it… That fills me up with joy,” says Luma.

He works with children to create murals. One of his projects is painting a 10 foot by 20-foot mural in front of Sunrise Church in Sandy Bay. Some of his legacy is working with island youth on large murals. “I can be painting all my life, but without a legacy I am not leaving anything,” says Luma.

Accompanied by her band mates, guitarists Timothy Blanton and Alex Poitier, known collectively as Caron and the two old sexy guys, the 43 year old has been mesmerizing fans with eclectic music that ranges from reggae to blues, and every genre of music in between. “I do a little bit of everything,” says the groovy singer. “I love all kinds of music, and if you come to my house, you might hear a little Otis Redding, some Bob Marley, and even Rancheras”

Caron Pinnace got her first paid gig at the age of eight, singing for one of her uncles and some friends who needed to practice their guitar skills for their church services. “They used to pay me one lempira for my singing, but the real benefit, which I did not realize at the time, was that I got to practice and train my voice”, she recalls.

“I was the girl who sang at wakes and in church programs.”

At the age of ten, while she was fixated on Disney channel and its musical characters, Caron was asked to sing at a Christmas program in Pandy Town’s Methodist church.

While fighting against her nerves and the fear of singing in public, she made her way to the altar. There, her rendition of “Away in a Manger” left the churchgoers in awe, and that was the first time she realized that she could sing.

Before hitting Roatan’s music scene, she sang at different events in her community. “I would sing at wakes, birthday parties, and at church”, she says. “I was the girl who sang at wakes and in church programs”.

Caron’s first musical venture away from her familiar surroundings started six years ago. “My then partner, Paul Cleckner and his Bandidos group members would sometimes practice at our home,” she says. “During one of those practice sessions, I got to sing ‘Summertime’ and was asked to join them at BJ’s Backyard. Fighting against my nerves, I agreed under the condition that I got to sing Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry,’ which is like my musical Anthem and my go-to song when I feel like my show is getting boring,” she smiles. “That’s how I got started.”

The “born and raised Island Girl” a phrase Caron Pinnace uses to introduce herself before each show, sang at the “Music Festival for The Angels” as part of the “April Fool’s” group in 2017, and was invited back the following year.

At the 2018 “Music Festival for the Angels,” she met Blues vocalist Jack de Keyzer. “It was nerve-wracking for me to get on stage. I mean the guest singer was a legend,” she remembers. “They sent me on just before this award-winning artist, and as I made my way to the stage he said, ‘break a leg,’ and after my rendition of Tracy Chapman’s ‘Give me a Reason to Stay Here,’ he approached me again and said, ‘man I told you to break a leg, but you broke a whole body, ” she recalls with a giggle.

Following the festival, she had a show at Beacher’s; in West End. Jack de Keyzer dropped-in hoping to perform a duet with the Island Girl who had impressed him at the festival. “When I got to Beacher’s, the crowd was larger than usual, and I thought something was happening,” she says. “Then I realized they were there because of Jack DeKeyzer. We did a duet ‘Stormy Monday’ and it was amazing!”

That collaboration with Jack De Keyzer catapulted her singing opportunities to another level; most of the venues around the island wanted her to sing at their location.

Caron Pinnace has entertained at Bananarama, Infinity Bay, Beacher’s, Tranquil Seas, and BJ’s. She currently entertains at Marble Hills Farm, Conch Fritters, and Coco View. “I feel good about what my music is doing for me right now. I dreamed about being this far and would love to go further, but what I am living right now is a dream,” She says emphatically “I’m doing the thing I love to do and am in love with someone who loves me back.”

Don’t miss it every Wednesday’s at Conch Fritters “Caron and the Two Old Sexy Dudes.” Noon to 2!

An original Reggae Dancehall Artist on Roatan

A charming and charismatic singer/songwriter and producer of his own music who doesn’t run away scared from anything.

His RoadRanna name refers to his favorite cartoon, Road Runner. In each episode, the Coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and subsequently eat Road Runner, a fast-running terrestrial bird, but is never successful. Road runner runs down the road all day long, faster than the anvils falling from the sky, dynamite exploding and the ever-present predator “the fox” as Drizzle calls him. “The RoadRanna is in charge,” Drizzle explains.

“It wasn’t me”, the biggest-selling collaboration in UK chart history, by Shaggy, paved the way for the likes of Drake, Rihanna and Major Lazer to launch their respective careers. “I was here before Drake” says former cook Drizzle with a smile. Last April, Drizzle released a dancehall reggae song called “ Tun up” , in collaboration with Rambo Style and Elly Yung.

Slang expressions are used to describe something that is wonderful, exciting, spectacular or a great deal of fun. The literal translation of “tun up” is “turned up”. In Patois (Patwa): Di party tonite ago tun up. In English: The party tonight is going to be off the chain. His lyrics use the different influences and mixes of “Patwa” and Island Creole English.

“My gyal come tun up and wine for the dread
 Mi love the way how yo wine feh me pretty gyal
 Tun up bust a split pan yo head
 Mi love d how yo wine fehdehgenneral
 Come wine feh me pretty gyal
 Come wine feh the general
 Wine feh di general
 Wine feh di general.”

Chorus from “Tun Up”

Nine-year-old Drizzle fell in love with singing, an inheritance from his mother and grandmother. His mother, Miss Mazy Raymond, used to sing at church. At nine-years-old she sent him to Belize to live with his aunt and attend school there. There he studied architecture and developed his skills for writing songs. At the age of 18 he moved back to Roatan, to his hometown Sandy Bay as Belize City became too corrupt and dangerous to live in.

Love is the theme for all his lyrics. Drizzle encourages people to stay together in their relationships and hopes they learn something positive out of his lyrics. “One Love,” he expresses on a regular basis, is an expression of unity. One love refers to universal love and respect for all people, social status, regardless of race, or any other defining characteristics. Bob Marley is his hero, as for many islanders, and his source of inspiration.

Grip me is his favorite single, which was released four years ago. Grip me is a metaphor between twerking and a jump. Twerking is a dance move that involves a “gal” shaking her hips and bottom in a bouncy up and down motion causing it to shake, wobble, and jiggle. “The bumper grips me,” Drizzle explains.

Drizzle is building his own studio in Sandy Bay, which takes a lot of time, effort and money. In the meantime, he records his songs in Coxen Hole, where he works together with another producer.

The studio is very small, but that is all they need. The ceiling is covered by empty egg cartons to mute the sound outside. The group writes their own lyrics but use no instruments. Their rapping technique uses beats from the computer. It still ends up sounding cool, especially in the “The RoadRanna” YouTube videos.

Drizzle plays gigs at island festivals, clubs and will soon perform at the first Roatan Carnival on July 19 as well as another performance in September in Mexico.

Artist Drizzle is a brave and strong soldier fighting towards a better future. He performs a lot at concerts where they raise funds for school fees for children and projects to make a better life for the kids.