By Lorenzo Gonzales
All and every Saturdays, in western Belize, residents of the San Ignacio and Santa Elena Town and villagers from all over the Cayo District come to San Ignacio Town to sell their local produce. There you can witness a wide array of different foods, fruits and vegetables and many miscellaneous items. Villagers start setting up their stalls from early morning and at the crack of dawn the market place comes alive with many people buying, trading and conversing amongst each other. The cultural dynamic at the Market place …

“Belize is at once Caribbean and Central American. To Belizeans, this is not a contradiction but an affirmation that goes to the heart of their national identity and shared aspirations.” - Americas Magazine
Travelers to Belize quickly discover what makes Belize unique. It is the friendly people. Colorful personalities with an array of traditions and customs representing over ten diverse cultures make the Belizean people the country’s greatest resource and stewards of Belize’s tourism. Comprised of the Maya, Creole, Mestizo, Garifuna, East Indian, Mennonite, Arabs, North Americans and Chinese, this harmonious …

The epic story of the Garifuna begins in the early 1600’s on the Carribean island of St Vincent when West African slaves were brought on the island by the Spanish. The slaves who survived found shelter in the existing Carib Indians settlements and over the next century the two groups intermarried and eventually fused into a single culture, creating the Black Caribs or Garinagu culture, commonly referred to as Garifuna. Over the next 100 years, broken treaties, defeat and conflicts defined the beginnings of the Garifuna culture. The Garifuna were shipped from St Vincent to Roatan, Honduras, where barely 200 Garifuna survived to make the landing. Unfortunately, a civil rebellion forced many Garifuna to flee north to the shores of Belize. On November 19th, 1832, a large group of Garifuna landed on the coast of Belize at what is now considered one of the most important Garifuna settlements in the Caribbean. The site of their historic landing is the town of Dangriga which means “sweet running water” in Garifuna language. Garifuna Settlement Day is now celebrated annually on the 19th day of November to honor the arrival of Garifuna to the shores of Belize.