Blog #5 Cuisine-

Cuisine is an essential part of culture.  Recipes often involve local delicacies and are passed down from generation to generation.  This form of oral tradition could have lasted thousands of years, showing who you and your people are and where you come from.  This spreading and influencing of other ethnicities is yet another spread of the African Diaspora.  I found it particularly interesting in my research this week the divisions of cuisine in Belize.  As I was browsing a Wikipedia article(for general ideas) I noticed they had divisions for the cuisine based on ethnicity.  There was a section for creoles and a section for garifunas.  This was cool because I saw several other instances of this spreading in past research.  The creoles generally have dinner as salad with some type of meat.  They have all the general types of beef pork but also foods unique to me like iguana, deer, and gibnut. Garifuna cuisine tends to be ereba or cassava bread.  Belize in general is famous for its rice and beans cooked in coconut milk(seen above).  Fry jacks or Johnny cakes are a common breakfast food, comparable to our pancakes.  Cow foot soup is another delicacy in Beliz that I would rather not try.  Like much of Central America tacos, rice, fruits, peppers, and spicy foods are very common among Belizean kitchens.  Belizean food works as representation of the population and culture.  When I visited Belize I didn’t get a very good chance to experience the cuisine.  I had a plate of chicken nachos but they tasted the same as they do here.  I know next time I will try something new for sure.          

Sources:

http://www.belize.com/belize-cuisine.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belizean_cuisine

http://www.belizeanjourneys.com/features/bzefood/newsletter.html

Blog #4 Tourism In Belize

Since we were allowed to choose any topic to write about this week, I chose to talk about the different types of tourist attractions in Belize.  I chose to do this as a result of my research last week.  As mentioned before, tourism accounts for a majority of Belizean income, $133.3 million dollars a year.  Not only does this support the development of their civilization, but it allows for thousands to experience the Belizean culture every year, further pushing the African Diaspora.  Another reason I chose this topic is because I will be visiting Belize in roughly a two weeks.  This will be my third time and my friends and I will go on a cave tubing excursion.  Belize is well known for its crystal clear fresh water rivers.  These rivers house beautiful fish, and cut through several sections of the Belizean Mountains, leading to the cave part.  An interesting part about this adventure is the interaction with the guide.  Smaller groups tend to travel with one guide.  Our guide last year, Jr., showed us more than just the river.  He explained how the ancient people of Belize lived off the land.  To the right is a picture of our group with Jr.  He even convinced me to eat termites, which actually taste minty.  He explained how wherever there was something in the Jungle that could hurt you, there was something that could save you.  For example, he showed us a poisonous pricker bush, two feet to the right of the bush was a leafy vine that could be chewed up and placed on a wound from the bush to combat its nasty effect. 

            Another gorgeous attraction of Belize is its phenomenal reef system.  My first visit to Belize included a snorkeling trip to one of these reefs.  We actually got to swim with Caribbean Reef Sharks and we spotted a rare turtle.  The Belizean Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere, forms these reefs.  This reef system leads to the deposition of sediment on the relatively flat shore line, creating long beautiful white sand beaches, similar to the ones in Corona commercials.  These beautiful natural sites influence the Caribbean tourist trade.  It allows many people to experience the culture of these beautiful nations, in the end spreading the African Diaspora.

Below is a video showing the beautiful Belizean reefs.

Sources:     

http://www.travelbelize.org/

http://www.belizetourism.org/

http://www.belize.com/eco.html

Blog #3 : Economy

Up until the mid 20^th century, the main export of Belize was a dye extracted from logwood.  As dies became more man made, the main export shifted to mahogany; a type of wood that dominates the market in top end cabinetry and furniture.  Although mahogany is still an export today, its importance has decreased dramatically due to the fact it is a very slow growing wood.  Today, the main exports of Belize, similar to many Central American countries, are sugar cane and fruits.  A majority of Belize is uninhabited by humans, so these exports primarily help the rural living individuals.  For those who don’t work on a fruit or sugar cane farm, tourism plays a large role in the overall income of the citizens.  In the year 2000, it was estimated that $133.3 million dollars were counted as total income from the tourism contributions.  The main reason Belize is an amazing tourist attraction deals with the Belize Barrier Reef.  This reef allows for the development of beautiful aquatic nature in crystal clear water.  I’ve been lucky enough to snorkel in this region, and it has by far had some of the most beautiful reefs I have ever seen.  Along with the beautiful snorkeling, there are also beautiful Maya ruins to visit as well as deep sea fishing and boating in general.  Most of the people that live in Belizean coastal cities are dependent on the tourism trade.  Above is a figure that represents Belize's dependance on foreign investments.  This trade is by far the most important economic relationship between Belize and other nations.  Below is a picture of the Belizean reef, the longest in the western hemisphere. 

sepmstrata.org

Sources.

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/belize/

http://www.heritage.org/index/country/belize

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Belize-ECONOMY.html#b
http://www.eclacpos.org/profile/profileByCountry.asp?country_id=6&country_name=BELIZE

Blog #2 : Government

Dean Barrow

As Belize was once an imperialized colony of Great Britain, they have adapted a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster model of government.  Although technically the Queen of England is the head of their government, the most powerful representative is the head of the cabinet, the Prime Minister.  Similar to our government, they also have a National Assembly composed of House of Representatives and a Senate.  As of this day, the members of the senate were delegated but due to a recent vote, the new senators will now be elected by the people in the upcoming elections.  This will put a lot more power into the hands of the Belizean people.  The current day prime minister of this parliamentary democracy is Dean Barrow, seen to the right.  Barrow is a Creole, of African and Native Central American decent, and represents The United Democratic Party.  Dean Barrow’s main political goal is to increase development within Belize by increasing wealth and interest in the countries abundant resources.  He plans to do this by promoting incentives for investors to increase the overall investment rate into the country.  

The main influence Barrow has over the African Diaspora deals with his ethnicity.  Due to being Creole, there has been an increasing friction between people with Creole background and those who are Garifuna.  Many people feel as if the Royal Creoles are much more powerful than the Garifuna people leading to a division in class.  Here is an article from the Belize Times that explains the ethnic friction built up between Barrow and the Garifuna people.  Although friction is not a first-class aspect to promote anything under, I truly believe this conflict can greatly aid in the spreading of these African based culture.  I say this because, as partly discussed in the article, the offensive disrespectful actions of Barrow caused the Garifuna people to unite and stand up.  This would lead to a huge promotion of the suppressed culture, eventually solidifying their cultural identity.  It will be interesting to see where this situation ends up in the near future.
Below is a video that shows some of the political friction building up in Belize.

Sources:
http://www.state.gov/
http://belizean.com/
http://www.belizetimes.bz/2011/11/25/disrespecting-the-garifuna-vote/

 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1955.htm

Blog #1: History

             Belize is a phenomenal tropical country located in Central America, to the East of Guatemala.  To the right is a map of the country of Belize.  Belize has formed in part by the African Diaspora though its culture, religion, and most evidently its music.  A majority of the Belizean people identify themselves as Garifuna, a community with roots linked primarily to escaped African slaves and Caribbean Natives.  They have a strong sense of community and culture and are known for their music and dancing abilities.

               The Belizean natives in America generally tend to identify themselves with both their Belizean heritage and their Garifuna ethnicity rather than having to choose between "black" or "Hispanic".  This in its own right is a progressive movement for the Garifuna people.  

Belize 2009

                The reason I choose Belize is because I have been lucky enough to travel there two times in my life and I will visit for a third time this spring break.  While visiting I fell in love with what culture I came into contact with,  I saw some of the must beautiful scenery and snorkeled in the clearest water ever, and met one of the nicest people I have met to this day, our Garifuna tour guide, Jr.  To the left is a picture of Jr. helping me to jump off a cliff in Belize (into water).  Although I enjoyed every piece of Belize I encountered, I now realize what I saw was the tourist side of the country.  I am interested in researching Belize more now because I would like to get a full picture of what the overall country is truly like.  



Below is a video showing the culture of the Garifuna people, from their perspective, in the country of Belize.

Sources:
http://www.africandiasporatourism.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=617:caribbean-artist-aurelio-martinez-to-take-garifuna-music-to-world&catid=93:culture-3&Itemid=134

http://www.africandna.com/ScienPapers%5CThe_African_diaspora_Mitochondrial_DNA_and_the_Atlantic_slave_trade.pdf

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/afburns/afrotrop/Garifuna.htm