Thousand Flock to Griga for Garifuna Settlement Day

Garifuna Settlement Day was celebrated on Sunday and if you were in Dangriga over the long weekend, you would have seen how massive the celebrations were this year. The yearly celebrations attracted an estimated ten thousand people both from Belize and abroad who enjoyed the music, food and the reenactment of the arrival of the Garifuna people, the Yuremei. The theme this year was “Our land, our culture, our future: involving our youth for Garifuna survival after 200 years in Belize.” Dangriga Mayor, Robert Mariano, says the event increase economic activities in the town. Here’s that Kolcha Tuesday story as a montage of events in Dangriga.

Roberto Mariano

Roberto Mariano, Mayor, Dangriga

“This year’s November nineteenth celebration is the biggest celebrations we have ever seen in Dangriga. There were a lot of activities in Dangriga throughout the entire weekend. The Dangriga people are exhilarated and did their own businesses. Several entrepreneurs came out to sell artifacts. Some people were selling food. Some people were dealing with drumming and dealing with other aspects of the Garifuna culture. There were a lot of people who actually came from all over the country of Belize and all over the world who came to witness the Yuremei  because a lot of people like to see the Yuremei which is the reenactment of when the Garifuna people arrived in Belize. The parade was very, very huge. I would anticipate, we had something close to fifteen thousand people participating in that parade. As a matter of fact, one of the big trucks which had Harlem youth, that crowd alone looked like something close to eight to nine thousand people just behind that one crowd. The crowd behind the truck was a quarter mile thick on all sides, from side to side. I could tell you that the celebration was very, very peaceful and I want to applaud the people Dangriga for ensuring that law and order prevail in Dangriga.”