Garifuna Day Nov 19th 2008

Crowds are gathering on the warm dusty streets of Dangriga. There is a definite air of festivity in this normally sleepy town where the largest populationof Garifuna, the black Carribean people of Belize, desendants of West African slaves, reside.

The town has come alive since I first passed through, several days previously. The pulled shutters, empty streets, closed signs and general air of “go slow’ ,the Carribean catch phrase I would hear time and time again, is nowhere to be found. Instead music blasts from every corner, every shop and every vehicle in the area. An interesting mix of traditional punta rock, Hip Hop, R n B and of course, some cheesy American pop music creates a party atmosphere. Everyone is grooving to their own vibe here, and nobody seems to mind.

Clouds of dust fly up as Teenagers skid to halt on their bikes, chatting and shouting to each other in the lilting Carribean English that I struggle to understand. Groups of women gather in front of smoking barbeques, getting ready for the biggest celebration of the year that takes place this night and will continue long into the next day.

 I had always imagined women of the Carribean to look a certain way and I wasn’t disappointed as I walked through the town taking in this incredible display of culture and heritage, and once again thinking how lucky I am to be able to travel, and experience such unique and wonderful things.

People have travelled form all over Belize for this event, and as the sun sets over the Stan Creek 

River, and the Carribean sea there are queues of 

traffic drawing up into town, along the roads that probably see less traffic the entire rest of the year. Horns blare as carloads of jovial people hang out of window, calling to each other and to us. . .”hey baby where you goin so fast, this is da carribean mon slowww dooowwnnnn” , waving Belizian flags out of their windows, and inching their way towards the centre of town where the festivities are beginning.

By nightfall the party is well underway. Enticing aromas of jerk chicken, habenero peppers and coconut rice drift towards us in the air, Carribean white rum is flowing on the streets

 and the sound of live music spreads

 throughout the town. Crowds gather round makeshift bands, be it a one man band on the street with some African drums, drawing attention with the unbelievable rhythm and musical talent that seems to be built into Garifuna culture,

or a more recognized Punta rock band, with vocalists, microphones and news reporters galore. Some people are gathered in makeshift arenas, circles of plastic chairs with the band in the middle, everyone huddles up, eager to share in the celebrations. Children run wild in the streets, unsure whether

 to be more interested in the ongoing festivities or in the few

  Westerners who are dotted around, as fascinated by our funny hair, funny faces and cameras as we are by them as we try to

 capture the whole experience in digital, a task I soon decide is impossible, and so surrender my camera to a small boy who takes some much better photographs than anything I could have hoped for.

For a small country Belize has enormous ethnic diversity, with well established communities of Mayans, Hispanics, Garifuna, Creole and Chinese in almost every town, creating a multicultural and exciting atmosphere as different dialects, languages smells, foods and colours are thrown at you from every direction. Tonight nobody cares about race religion or language. The celebration is based around Garifuna culture, but everyone joins in regardless. Even the animals.

Dogs chickens cats and the occasional land crab sniff around for scraps of chicken, fish and the all famous rice and beans. Every meal in Belize is served with beans and rice, or rice and beans. . .you just have to figure out the dfference!! The Carribean food is delicious and unlike anything else I have experienced. 

And so I find myself eating fried fish and rice and beans for lunch, freshly barbequed chicken with beans and rice on the street for dinner, then the unbelievable local dish of Hadat, which is fish in a creamy soup served with plantain doughballs, as what can only 

be described as a mid evening snack and by 9 pm I'm scoffing nachos smothered in jalepeno peppers and delicious melted cheese.

The party continues late into the night, we dance in a tent with hundreds of people, The Belizeans have rhythm, and as I watch them bump and grind on the dance floor with each other to local bands, well known DJs and the odd British 80s throwback I realise that one thing is for sure: the movie White Chicks Cant Dance is so called so for a reason. My attempts to shake my booty like the girls on the floor don’t quite work out, and I soon choose to observe, and perhaps learn how to bust out a move or two, Or, as I watch a British backpacker gyrate awkwardly in the arms of her partner as he moves perfectly in time to the music, perhaps not.

The young people here are representative of a whole new generation in Belize. Amongst the women in traditional dress, and the children with their ribbons and party dresses are young men, in shades, bandanas and oversized Tshirts, listening to black American rap music. Its definitely a generation influenced more by MTV than Garifuna tradition and its amazing to watch the different cultures blend.
But Belize is a nation based on blending. Blending food, blending cultures, blending music and blending traditions which I notice as they prepare for the next days reenactment of the arrival of the Garifuna in Dangriga, a momentous event in the history of this town.

At 0400 as I tuck into my final meal of the day-an all American hot dog, served to me by a young boy wearing a  Fiddy Cent T shirt, who tells me eagerly about the traditional ceremony that will take place the next day I wonder if it is possible for this new 21st century pop culture to blend with the traditional Garifuna tradition. As he eagerly tells me about the traditional ceremony that will take place the next day while he fiddles with his baseball cap and bandana, I think the people of Dangriga are doing a pretty good job.