Belize’s multi-ethnic background came to life at the San Pedro High School (SPHS) during their annual Cultural Day on Friday, November 17th. The anticipated event welcomed friends and families to a fun day with students dressed in cultural clothing and elaborate booths showcasing the different cultures of Belize, their food, music, and history.
Cultural Day 2023 started with a short ceremony, dance presentations, and visual information from the various cultures. The Cultural Day coincides with the long holiday weekend commemorating the Garifuna Settlement Day. As such, the Garifuna were represented by the students in the event along with the other groups that included the Creole, Mestizo, Ke’Ekchi Maya, Maya, and Yucatec Maya. The other groups were Chinese/Taiwanese, Mennonites, Lebanese, and East Indians.
The school organizes the event with the purpose of interaction and a way of teaching the students about the cultures of Belize. The SPHS administration added that it serves as a bridge to connect the different cultural groups on the island and raise awareness of the importance of preserving their identities. The cultural fair also serves as an interactive criterion set to evaluate the students on their research for the different projects they worked on.
The different booths included a spokesperson who cheerfully explained what they were featuring and a brief history of their ethnicity. The different presentations took those visiting the booths to different worlds, educating them on the invaluable wealth of the different cultures. There were also mini-presentations and ethnic food to sample.
The different booths were graded by a panel of judges and at the end of the day, the groups attaining the highest marks were awarded. In third place was the Mestizo booth followed by the Taiwanese group. The battle for first place was intense and the judges had no choice but to award two first-place winners. These were the Maya booth and the Creole presentation.
The San Pedro Sun congratulates the SPHS, the students, staff, and parents for supporting and putting together another well-organized event. The annual occasion celebrates the creativity and civic pride of the island youth who are the future of the community and the nation.
 during their annual Cultural Day on Friday, November 17th.){kind=link}