Garifuna Activities in the Old Capital

History says that escaped and shipwrecked slaves settled with the Caribs of St. Vincent and merged the culture of both people. The fiercely independent people, now known as Garifuna found opposition from the British, who expelled them to island of Roatán, off Honduras. Eventually the Garifuna people migrated and reached the southern coast of Belize in 1832. The settlement day was founded by Thomas Vincent Ramos in 1941 and it was established a Public and Bank Holiday in 1977. The main festivities will take place in Dangriga over the weekend, but for those who can’t make it to culture capital, there will be festivities in Belize City.

Sebastian Cayetano, Founder, Luba Garifuna Museum

Sebastian Cayetano

“When it comes to Belize City, Garifuna celebrations are beginning tonight there will be a lot of drumming festivities at the Memorial Park to bring in the nineteenth. Tomorrow morning there will be a reenactment that will take place at Belcan Bridge at around seven or seven thirty. Followed by a short parade from Belcan to St. Matin’s DePorres church where we will have a thanksgiving mass, after the mass parade again all the way to Memorial Park for the official ceremony and all day drumming and lots of Garifuna food, darasa, hudut, bundiga, Sahou, the full works. There will also be games there, jankunu competition, drumming competition and a partly fair organized by the Belize City National Inner city Branch. Here at Garifuna Luba museum, we’ll also have hudut sale here, darasa we’ll have cassava pudding, potato pound and the Luba Garifuna Museum will also be open for customer s to come in, buy their books look at their dashiki shirt or skirt and blouse whatever.”

So if you’re in the city there is plenty to do but the culture capital in the South is the place to be.