Festival of Arts Golden Showcase for Cayo and Orange Walk

Last week, we brought you highlights of the Belize District Primary School Festival of Arts. Today, we returned to the Bliss where the week of Golden Showcase is underway. The Primary School Golden Showcase for Orange Walk and Cayo Districts put off explosive performances in dance, song and poetry. This is our Kolcha Tuesday feature for this evening. Duane Moody reports. 

Duane Moody, Reporting

Culture and people – all wrapped up in music, dance, and drama – is what the annual Festival of Arts is about. The Institute of Creative Arts, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, sees teachers and students engaged in the expressive arts, incorporating culture music, folk tales and more into unique pieces that make it to the stage. After simultaneous presentations across the country, the best of the best makes it to the Golden Showcase Week. The presentation from the Immaculate Conception RC School out west was a Maya-inspired piece of what the children experience in their homes.

Olani Montero

Olani Montero, Immaculate Conception RC School, Cayo

“We preserve this because we use the Yucatec, the Ketchi and the Mopan Mayas because they all eat the corn and we prefer to dance that song and that’s why we made that music.”

Evein Jimenez

Evein Jimenez, Immaculate Conception RC School, Cayo

“The girls were doing how we plant the corn and the boys were taking down the corn and they took the corn to do tortillas.”

Paul Lopez

“Is this culture something that you guys still practice or you still see happening your families and homes?”

Olani Montero

“That is at home.”

Paul Lopez

“How long have you guys been practicing for this?”

Eric Garcia

Eric Garcia, Immaculate Conception RC School, Cayo

“Like a month and a half.”

Paul Lopez

“And how does it feel now that you’ve finally finished performing it?”

Eric Garcia

“Happy.”

Paul Lopez

“Why?”

Eric Garcia

“I don’t know but I just feel happy like I want to squeeze someone.”

The students from San Estevan Government School in Orange Walk performed an original poem written by their teacher’s grandfather.

Alexandra Villanueva

Alexandra Villanueva, Teacher, San Estevan Government School, Orange Walk

“It’s inspired by my great grandfather. It’s his poem, actually and I know it is something that kids you always encourage them to try your best, do your best. They went out for Easter break and they wanted a task to do and I said well memorize the poem and four kids came back and they came back knowing the poem and after that they asked do you have an item for festival of arts. And I told them these four kids practiced and they learned it, so.”

…and their dedication got them gold and a place on the big stage at the Bliss. The excitement of these lower division children was also shared by Standard Six student Deuel Landero from Bullet Tree SDA Primary School in Cayo.

Deuel Landero

Deuel Landero, Student, Bullet Tree SDA Primary School

“It’s a beautiful part about the world because in the beginning, God created this world and it is beautiful to like perform that creation. It’s the beginning of human history; the first human to ever live on earth. So it feels beautiful. It was a long time, a long period of practicing. First we started memorising the poem because it is more than five paragraphs. Then we started with actions and all that. But first, I was the one to practice it because they would follow me. So it was kind of difficult, but we all got to finally understand each other.”

San Francisco RC School in Orange Walk also performed a dance. Teacher Seleny Gideon says that the students were excited to perform before their peers.

Seleny Gideon

Seleny Gideon, San Francisco RC School, Orange Walk

“We had a long time practicing and they were all excited because for them it is their first time coming to Belize City. They are standard one students and infant one so this is a new experience for them, having to present not only in front of their school or people from their district, but also other students from Cayo, because we are with Cayo today. They are also aware that they are going to come out on TV, so it makes them even more excited.”

Duane Moody for News Five.