San Pedro holds Miss Garifuna Pageant

A former Miss Garifuna, Julia Martinez has taken the Miss Garifuna Cultural Pageant to the cayes. On Saturday, San Pedro will have its first competition and five young ladies will be demonstrating their ability to speak Garifuna, dance traditional dances and talk about their culture. The young women are Elsie Soriano, Lucy Vasquez, Amancia Martinez, Marguerita Medina, and Edith Vasquez. Julia Martinez, who was Miss Garifuna 1987-88, told News Five she and fellow organizer Joseph Elijio decided it was time that people all over Belize as well as visitors realized the diverse nature of San Pedro’s population. She says the pageant will have all the same requirements as the national pageant and support from San Pedranos has been encouraging. The contest takes place at the Central Park at seven p.m.