Bruckdong Bram Festival This Weekend!

When you hear bruckdong music, you almost often think about late musical icons like Leila Vernon and Mister Peters and the Boom and Chime Band. On Saturday at seven p.m., the House of Culture in Belize City will come alive as the Bruckdong Bram Festival kicks off.  Dubbed a Chroo Chroo Kriol Krismus, the event will feature something for the entire family. Director of the Institute of Creative Arts, Kim Vasquez told News Five more about the festival and how it is expected to keep the culture alive. 

Kim Vasquez

Kim Vasquez, Director, Institute of Creative Arts

“Bruckdong bram in some way or form has been around for more than a decade; we’ve seen it take different forms – sometimes it has a competition element, sometimes it’s during the day, it’s been in the night; it has changed venue. But now we know that it is back at the House of Culture, it’s gone back to its roots. And we felt we had to do this revival cause we had to do this for bruckdong music. We say that bruckdong is somewhat endangered. We don’t have many musicians fully committed to the genre as before. We five kudos to those that are carrying it forward like Cocono Bwai and Dawgy, Brukdong Gyal and now Missy B, but we recognise the need that we really have to try to do everything we can to ensure that it continues. We’ve incorporated a Creole market component. We are excited to have sorrel wine there; the entrepreneurs are coming out. We have donuts that will be Creole flavoured, lemon pie donuts and wangla-glazed donuts. Rumpope will be there, black cake will be there – yo wah could get it by the slice or whole. And of course, the fire hearth food and one of our main sponsors, Travellers Liquors, will be there with the full rum bar. So it is concert, it is festival; there is a pikney corner because it is a family affair – face painting, bouncy house, trampoline, popcorn – everything will be there.”