Oral Fuentes is a Belizean-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 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.
Famous quotes containing the words oral and/or fuentes:
“The Americans are violently oral.... That’s why in America the mother is all-important and the father has no position at all—isn’t respected in the least. Even the American passion for laxatives can be explained as an oral manifestation. They want to get rid of any unpleasantness taken in through the mouth.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“What the United States does best is to understand itself. What it does worst is understand others.”
—Carlos Fuentes (b. 1928)