Belize in November, Celebrating Garifuna Settlement Day
Honoring the Garinagu people every November 19 with Garifuna Settlement Day, the nation of Belize celebrates the Garifuna culture’s resilience, positivity, vibrance, and thirst for life against overwhelming odds.
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About this Belize website
Honoring the Garinagu people every November 19 with Garifuna Settlement Day, the nation of Belize celebrates the Garifuna culture’s resilience, positivity, vibrance, and thirst for life against overwhelming odds.
- Publisher
- dutytaxfree.bz
- First discovered
- 15 September 2026
- Last checked
- 15 September 2026
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Highlights and services
Why Garifuna History Is Intertwined With Resilience & Resistance
It’s a ѕіgnіfісаnt еvеnt іn Веlіzе’ѕ сulturаl саlеndаr, but the spirit of Garifuna Settlement Day isn’t confined to just one calendar date. Throughout the month of November, elements of Garifuna culture come to the forefront as Belizeans honor a heritage that singularly shaped a collective identity—especially in Dangriga, where the first Garifuna people landed in Belize. The Garinagu people and their Garifuna culture began centuries ago during the slave trade, where first accounts place a Nigerian ship sinking in the Atlantic Ocean in 1635. While being transported to the Caribbean to work on plantations, many managed to escape to the coasts of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVI) where they
Garifuna Culture: An Integral Part of Belize’s Cultural Fabric
Today, Dangriga Town in Stann Creek District is considered the “culture capital” of the country, with all merit given to it hosting the greatest concentration of Garifuna people in Belize. There are other Garifuna villages and towns in Belize that Garinagu has also settled of course, which include Hopkins, Punta Gorda, Barranco, Livingston, Monkey River, Seine Bight, and Punta Negra. Within all, you can find the portrayal of their history through song, dance, food, and language. In fact, in 2001, UNESCO officially declared the Garifuna language, dance, and music in Belize to be a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, as a testament to the profound additions to Belize
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