Belize would not be the Belize that we know and love if it wasn’t for the many contributions of the Garifuna, and their proud history if one of the most interesting and enduring sagas humanity has known, beginning with a fateful shipwreck off St Vincent’s Island in the Caribbean in the 1600s, when surviving African slaves made it to shore and mixed with the local Arawak, or Carib, population.

English is the official language of the country, formerly known as the colony of British Honduras. In 1980 it won its independence from Great Britain and has appeared on maps as Belize (or Belice in the Spanish language) ever since.

Today is a very important holiday in Belize as the entire country takes time out to celebrate one of the most defining moments in our nation’s history – the arrival of the Garifuna people, or Garinagu, to the shores of Belize.

Today’s Belize photo of the day is the Belize and Garifuna Flag in Dangriga. Today also marks a special day since every year on November 19, we celebrate Garifuna Settlement day throughout the country of Belize.

Garifuna Settlement Day celebrates the arrival of the first Garifuna in 1832, descendants of the Black Caribbeans who were first deported from St Vincent in 1797. The day showcases their rich, unique culture with music and a staging of the arrival by the first settlers at the port.

The Belizean icon, Pen Cayetano‘s work will be featured at our Art Gecko Rules function on Saturday October 29, 2011. Pen Cayetano is a world renowned painter, singer, songwriter, percussionist, guitarist, leading cultural revivalist and ambassador for Belize’s Garinagu. Born in 1954 in Southern Belize, Pen Cayetano grew up in Dangriga, Stann Creek – the place known as the cultural capital of the Garinagu of Belize.