A Boneyfide Reason to Party

 Don’t ask his real name; Placencia’s most sought after DJ goes by Boneyfide and that’s how he wants to keep it. ‘Boney’ (the only nickname he’ll accept) fondly reminices how, while growing up in Belize City, his mom used to play a lot of old country, old reggae and golden oldies as she was doing her housework. It instilled in him an appreciation for a different era and a love of music that has never left him. Around the age of 12, he played ‘Box Boy’ to his DJ hero, Presi-D, by carrying his speakers and helping him set up for gigs. Later influenced by the likes of Stone Jam, DJ Dolla and DJ Bush, he grew into a position at Krem radio, where he first began to be recognized in his own right.

No stranger to trouble, it was 23 years ago now that Boney’s mom insisted that he join her in Placencia where she was acting as village nurse. He set up his speakers on the veranda of their home above the medical clinic and ‘bumped’ tunes to the neighbourhood all day. In those days you’d likely have seen him wearing a pair of clean dickies, a white t-shirt, a bandana, high white socks, carrying a bright yellow sony deck tape with extra tapes in his pocket.

“Back in the day” he says music was as integral to the village community as it is to the Belizean culture. Locals, foreigners and tourists used to gather at Wisdom Tree and party together, yard parties with bbq and loud music were a regular daytime occurrence. He easily “fell in love” with Placencia and took a regular gig playing from behind the bar at Tipsy Tuna using a cd deck. He laughingly recalls how there used to be only one Dell laptop in the village that belonged to Harry, but that was used by everyone.

Not at all one to shy away from voicing his opinion, DJ Boneyfide considers himself an advocate for an old way of life. He unabashedly believes that partying and noise are a part of Placencia we can’t do away with. To those moving to Placencia, he pleads, “live with us, not against us”. He’s adamant that visitors should be able to experience the Belizean culture in an authentic way, which can mean playing the music loudly in the day time and having a place for people to party after dark. It’s his opinion that tourists come to enjoy and to be entertained in the village, not to put their ear plugs in and go to bed and that we need to ensure they are accommodated for the sake of sustaining our major industry.

These days, Boney is as much known for his coordinated and colorful clothing (boxers included!) as he is for his live sets. Matching from head to toe, he can be found at local hot spot, Barefoot Beach Bar, on Thursdays for Reggae Night and on Saturday nights after 9pm. He’s also Barefoot’s go to DJ for all special events, Art Fest, Lobsterfest, Easter and Independence Day celebrations and an honorary member of the Dial family. With the recent closing of Street Feet Nightclub, Cha Chis scooped him up for their Friday night theme parties. You can expect to hear Oldies- Disco, Latino, Caribbean Night, Decades of Dancehall depending on the flavor of the evening (check out the entertainment guide on page * ). With starting rates of $400 BZD (and a mandatory 50% deposit) he is also available for public and private parties.

His philosophy, as a DJ, is that party is in everybody’s life- doesn’t matter what you do or what religion you are- party is in some part of your life. In a melting pot, like Placencia, where so many cultures and ages and walks of life live in one place, he considers it his job to bring everyone together by blending all types of music and guiding the party to place of shared joy.
Because of that, he’ll take your request but can’t promise to play it. You can expect you won’t hear the same song twice and that he won’t talk over the music into the mic- he lets the music be paramount. His challenge to himself is often to scan the crowd and find someone sitting down. At the same time as keeping the crowd on the floor, he’s not satisfied until he gets that person that person shaking their head and moving, if he gets them off their seat and on the dancefloor that’s mission accomplished in his books.

Contact:
+501-615-7591
Hercules Sounds Placencia on FB, named after Norbit (Hercules)