Percussionist Allan "Chinny" Flores Miranda died on June 6, 2012 one day short of his 43rd birthday. He passed away at around 4:30 p.m. at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after a short bout of illness.
The professional energy of Garifuna ancestral drumming legends lived within Chinny. He was a Garifuna segundo drummer, a shaka performer, and a turtle-shell player. He performed Garifuna drumming techniques at local Belizean resorts such as Pelican Beach in Dangriga; Sunrise Restaurant in Placencia; local football competitions; universities and at college events. Apart from local Garifuna event performances, Allan Flores Miranda took the Garifuna energy abroad to the Garinagu communities in Los Angeles, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, among other places.
When Chinny attended the Stann Creek Ecumenical High School, the demand for his drumming skills persisted, with him playing for the Garifuna ceremonial, Dugu (spiritual healing ceremonies), Garifuna wakes (for the dearly departed), and Garifuna belurias (nine-day memorial services).
Thirty-five years of drumming afforded him the opportunity to start his own Garifuna drumming lessons to interested parties, especially to American or British tourists.
Chinny is the founder of the Garifuna Drummers Union in, Dangriga. The Garifuna Drummers Union is one of his visions of uniting the Garifuna drummers in Belize and the Garifuna drummers abroad. The Garifuna Drummers Union place more emphasis on contract signing as an effort to minimize the exploitation of the Garifuna drummers by both local and international employers.
Chinny's vision has led to the integration of the Garifuna musical energy with his American colleagues, Matthew Dougherty and Joe Yost, through the implementation of their current Garifuna Drumming Method dvd project.
