Belize Melting Pot of Cultures
The people of Belize have an array of traditions and customs that represent more than 10 diverse cultures. This is truly a melting pot of colorful personalities, making the 314,000 residents of Belize the countrys greatest resource on the tourism front. The Belizean people are comprised of a harmonious combination of Maya, Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna, East Indian, Mennonite, Arab and Chinese, as well as a number of European, American and other expatriates, a combination which has resulted in one of the happiest and most peaceful countries in the region and a widespread reputation as one of the friendliest tourist destinations in the world!
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Duration : 0:2:28
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No, Latinos?
No, Latinos?
haha…im in belize …
haha…im in belize right now!!!!
English and …
English and Belizean Kriol are the predominant languages of Belize, Spanish is a highly spoken language as well. Just because they have a large mestizo population does not make them nor the mestizos “Latin”. Belizeans are anglophones, and very proud to be. They do not identify as Latinos whatsoever, and the ones who do are minorities.
According to Belizeans, you don’t need to know Spanish to get by in Belize, but you do need to know English.
@Marllon
Please …
@Marllon
Please watch the videos I sent you! One of them is a response to oolibrice Latino In America Afro Latino video!
This person made the video and they sound ignorant! And plus you can give a good perspective on it because you are Brazilian and you are SMART so you could comment on it and let them know!
@Marllon
Yeah I …
@Marllon
Yeah I think the same thing BUT I think it is because many of the African nations that don’t speak French as an official language, have immigrant populations from French Speaking African nations and also because so many people in the non francohpone african nations already learn and or know how to speak french!
That’s odd. I can …
That’s odd. I can see including speakers of a French patois or French creole, because they’re derived from French, which is a derivative of Latin, but including neighboring countries that don’t even speak French or a derivative of French doesn’t make any sense to me.
@Marllon
There …
@Marllon
There is actually a Francophonie organization and many places that don’t speak French ARE INCLUDED because of their proximity to French speaking nations as well as nations that speak a French patois/French creole interestingly enough!
The french are more lenient and inclusive!
@Marllon
Yes …
@Marllon
Yes True! I agree with you! All I was saying is that there are some people out there that say they could “technically be considered so called Latin lol!
Was a Spanish …
Was a Spanish colony that was taken over by Anglo-Saxons. You can’t be part of the LAU unless the country speaks a Romance language, and the fact is that the majority of Trinidadians speak English or an English creole as their mother tongue.
@Marllon And some …
@Marllon And some vestiges of the population speak Spanish natively and fluently and some as an ancestral language! Immigrants in the 19th century known as Coco panyols came from Venezuela to work on cocoa plantations which the Venezuelan slave trade was based on, and many Venezuelans remained in Trinidad and they formed a unique culture where they kept alive their Hispanic culture as well as native Spanish Trinidadian culture, and this in turn made Parang/Parranda a popular cultural element!
@Marllon Well …
@Marllon Well Trinidad was a Spanish colony! And its Spanish heritage was influenced by Spain and also from Venezuela! Many Trinidadians speak English creole, but a significant portion speaks French patois/Creole due to the fact that ” While the Spanish RULED, the FRENCH governed”! As a Spanish colony it was not highly populated and it was often neglected, and immigration was encouraged by Spain to boost the colony and so many Francophone immigrants came in the 1700s with their African slaves
Well, I can see the …
Well, I can see the Latin American Union inviting the ABC islands if they were to gain independence in the future, since the predominantly spoken language there is Papiamentu/Papiamento, but Trinidad? Trinidad is anglophone lol, they had Spanish colonists and their island’s name is Spanish, yes, and some of them may even have Spanish ancestry, but to be considered “Latin” by the LAU’s standards, they must speaking a Romance language.
@Marllon
Yeah I …
@Marllon
Yeah I know that! People say that to a certain extent the ABC islands as they are called are considered Latin because of Papiamentu/Papiamento but many have said Latinization because of close proximity to Venezuela!
Some Trinidadians have argued that they should be considered Latin lmfao!
@Marllon
Yeah I …
@Marllon
Yeah I agree with you that the term West Indian is FLAWED lol!
That is the same thing I was saying! People consider Belize and Guyana part of the West Indies because of the Anglocentricity of it all!
So I argued once that if they include these, then MEXICO among others should be included!
I didn’t mean that …
I didn’t mean that some people considered the ABC islands “Latin”, because of influences from neighboring hispanophone countries, but because of the fact that they speak Papiamentu/Papiamento, which is primarily derived from Portuguese, with influences from Spanish, Italian, West African, Dutch, English, and Native American.
Yes, the ABC islands have a huge Colombian and Venezuelan influx, but the “Latin” influence was already there before their arrival.
If we’re going to …
If we’re going to consider Belize and Guyana West Indian countries solely because they face the Caribbean Sea, then we must do that every country that has a Caribbean coastline.
The term “West Indian”is beyond flawed.
Also the West …
Also the West Indies includes such places as Belize and Guyana, because they have Atlantic and/or Caribbean coasts!
For example the full name of Cartagena a city in Colombia is, CARTAGENA DE LAS INDIAS, which would translate as to Cartagena of the Indies or Cartagena of the West Indies, simply because it is a port city and has similarities and culture and a connection to Caribbean and slave imports of trade and things coming from the West Indies!
Also many peple …
Also many peple include Belize and Guyana as part of the West Indies simply because they are English speaking and have a common bond and have been associated with the West Indies! This is a form of differential association in a way except in historical and cultural terms lol
Also that is why I …
Also that is why I think labels and categories can be a misnomer or inaccurate or misleading! When historians and anthropologists and related fields, talk about the so called “West Indies” they often exclude, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, sometimes Haiti, and the Netherlands Antilles, and Curacao, Bonaire, and Aruba!
Also yeah …
Also yeah statistics may show that Belize has more English speakers than Spanish speakes, however as statistics are off and somewhat not always reliable, because there is growing and continuing immigration of people from NEIGHBORING Spanish speaking Central American nations, so there is a huge portion of the Belizean population that speaks LITTLE OR NO English!
But I do agree with you however! English is an important langauge in Belize!
Actually there is …
Actually there is NO geographical DEFINITION for Latinos in reality! Latinos has a meaning based on how it used here in the USA!
Latinos or Latin people would include much more or regardless of geography!
Yes you are right …
Yes you are right all of the Netherlands Antilles islands and Curacao and Aruba and Bonaire have been luped into the categories of Latino and Latin simply because it has been influenced and “latinized” by neighboring Spanish speaking countries and close proximity to Venezuela!
Also Curacao among others has a huge Venezuelan population because of continual and increasing immigration do to them coming there as laborers!
Actually the West …
Actually the West Indies Federation Dissolved in the 1960s!
Shoot, many Panamanians are lumped with West Indians when in reality they are Hispanic/Latinos!
And yes Belize and Guyana are often considered part of the West Indies and Caribbeans and Antilleans! I am not saying that is what I am considering them but that is what many people do!
That’s a misnomer, …
That’s a misnomer, just because they’re former British colonies doesn’t make them West Indian. Neither Belize nor Guyana are part of the West Indies Federation.
I just refer to …
I just refer to Belizeans as Belizeans. I get so tired of people trying to “Latinize” Brazilians, Belizeans, Curaçaoans, Arubans, and Bonaireans, just because we speak a Romance language and/or are neighbored by a Spanish-speaking country. We’re not Latins.