Miss Garifuna

Maya and i also recently attended that most curious of Belizean obsessions - a pageant. they seem to pop up around the country like a contagion (that, and karaoke competitions). this one wasn't your typical beauty pageant, however. it was a competition to see who would be crowned Miss Garifuna Belize. the winners of all the regional Garifuna competitions gathered at the University of Belize gymnasium in Belmopan to show off their Garifuna language and dance skills, and to tell the audience how they plan to play a part in the celebration and preservation of Garifuna culture (a blending of West African slave culture with that of the indigenous tribes of some of the western Caribbean islands). as pageants go, it was pretty cool. Miss Seine Beight too the crown, in case you're wondering.


Maya at my desk at the Cayo District Education Center


fruit vendor outside the bus as we head out of town towards Belmopan. Maya kindly shared her mango.


maybe one day i'll be crowned Miss Garifuna Belize...