Happy Garifuna Settlement Day!

November 19th marks the annual Garifuna Settlement Day celebrations in Belize, when Garifuna descendents commemorate the arrival of their ancestors onto the shores of this small Central American country in the early 1800s. 



As the story goes, the Garifuna culture was born in the Caribbean in the 1600s, when a ship bearing captives from Africa was wrecked off the coast of St. Vincent. Those who survived integrated into the indigenous societies on the island, adopting the Carib language and customs. The resulting hybrid culture became today's Garifuna (also called "Garinagu"), who still retain ties to both ancestries. In 1796, driven from the island by British colonists, they made a second arduous voyage west and settled along the coasts of what are today Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Like many minority cultures, the Garifuna today feel the pressures of globalization and must fight to hold on to their language and cultural traditions.

While in Belize for Garifuna Settlement Day last year I had the opportunity to sit down with and interview Andy Palacio, the late musician and leader of the international movement to preserve Garifuna language and culture, two months before he died unexpectedly at the age of 47. Palacio's final album Wátina ("I called out"), released in 2007, propelled him onto the international stage and sparked a Garifuna cultural revival.  "Andy P," as he is affectionately known in Belize, passed away on January 19, 2008, after suffering a stroke.  

In the video above, Andy explains the significance of Garifuna Settlement Day.