Preservation of Culture

There is a major question many countries all over the world have tried to answer – that is “How do we preserve our culture?” Our world is continuously changing and we continue to gain closer access to other nations through our ever-improving technology. While modern ideas and developments can improve a country’s wellbeing, at times they can threaten the very things that make that country unique. This destruction of culture has fallen under many labels - one of the more familiar descriptions is McDonaldization. That is a society becoming more uniform, ration and predictable – based on American values of efficiency. The symbolism of yellow arches shine with modernization and promise of a better life, as well as the guarantee of greasy hamburgers and french fries 24 hours a day. Yet, while McDonaldization is based on improvement of society, it disrupts the very things that make a society distinctive. Yet, some people aren’t willing to hand over their cultural identity to Roland McDonald, and protests and demonstrations have surrounded attempts at integrating restaurants and ideas into a society. In Belize KFC suffered at the hands of Belizeans who preferred their chicken fried in coconut oil, and failed to thrive as a business.
Culture is a representative word that covers a great number of areas and subjects. In the book Taking Stock of Belize at 25 Years of Independence Michael Stone, in my opinion, effectively describes culture. Stone said that culture refers to an entire way of life, a people’s shared perception of what is essential to the human condition, a dynamic set of ideas expressing a common sense of place, history, and social belonging, framed in terms of language, values, norms, customs, traditions, spiritual orientation, and the like. Taking this into consideration Belize faces many things that threaten culture. Belize must not only be careful of modern, specifically American, ideas and technology, but also the lack of the means to preserve and promote culture. In a recent documentary about Belize musicians titled Three Kings of Belize, there were undertones of the difficulties of preserving culture. In the documentary producer Katia Paradis filmed the lives of Garifuna guitarist Paul Nabor, Mayan harp player Florencio Mess, and Creole accordionist Wilfred Peters. Though they still continue to express their culture passionately through music, they are not living the lives of national celebrities. This documentary may be the most solid way their lives and careers will be commemorated. You can find Florencio Mess in a dirt floor house, living off the land and carving instruments out of the wood from his backyard. Paul Nabor, who has become re-popular because of his collaborations with Andy Palacio, still makes appearances on stage at 79 – his small fragile frame clad in a sharp suit and hat. But, take a bus to Punta Gorda in Belize and you can easily find him sitting on a bench, smoking and strumming in the sun, his paranda music the background of daily routines. After living here and being immersed in the music, it’s hard to imagine such powerful expression of culture lost – but, because of the lack of documentation, outside of these borders not many know about these three kings.
Andy Palacio was one of the first Belizean musicians to gain international acclaim. He was an advocate for the preservation of Garifuna culture and produced the album Watina, which immediately became a hit in the Caribbean and is still spreading to the rest of the world. But Palacio, such a great expression of culture for Belize, recently died after suffering a massive stroke and heart attack. His death is a tragedy – passing at such a breakthrough in his career. I realized what Palacio truly meant to Belizeans one night when standing in line at a grocery store. The T.V. at the front of the store was showing local news on mute and the store bustled with people gathering things for the night’s dinner. When a story about Palacio’s condition came on the whole store stopped what they were doing and looked at the T.V. - everyone became quiet as the volume was turned up. As I glanced around at the people standing still in the store, absorbing every word of the report I could feel the collective holding of breath. Time was stopped for a second. The report, at that time, said Palacio’s condition was still critical, and when it was over the T.V. was muted and the bustle continued in slow motion as people processed the news.
The sad news of Palacio’s death brought thoughts about culture into the front of Belizean minds. I recently attended a discussion about culture held at the Image Factory, a business that produces and sells art. The focus was how to promote cultural awareness and preservation in the next 5 years. Many ideas and proposals were put forward, including an Art Fund to support new artistic talent by supplying loans and grants, as well as a project called “One child, One laptop” which will provide computers to children. The event was held next to the sea and attended by some of the most popular Belizean artists. In such a sad time, there was audible and tangible hope and perhaps a new passion to enhance and document culture.
It is promising that Belizeans realize the importance culture plays in a country. Artistic expression has historical implications and at times, reflects the true feelings and interpretation of events. For example, in Mexico, the art surrounding the Revolution played a major role in not only remembering the Revolution, but in forming ideas and opinions during the Revolution. So cultural expression not only acts as a history book, but can even be used as a tool for social mobilization.
So whether sung by Paul Nabor, written in poetry by Kalilah Enriquez, illustrated in cartoons by Charles Chavannes, painted by Michael Gordon, photographed by Noris Hall, or sculpted by Luke Palacio – Belizean culture will thrive. It stays alive through Carnival, through kite season, through bramming, through rice n’ beans and Maria Sharps hot sauce. Culture lives in the brightly colored homes, in the mahogany wood cut games, in the meat shops and in steel drums. Culture is preserved by Creole Project, which puts the Creole language in print, documenting a language that is prominently oral and given a promising future through the support of Yassar Musa and the Image Factory’s “Culture is Cool” program.
I’ve met Belize’s culture face-to-face and proud to claim roots in this small Central American country. Though there are things that threaten Belizean traditions, the pulse is strong and the vein runs deep from Belize City and through San Ignacio, Corozal, Dangriga, Orange Walk, and Punta Gorda. I look forward to keeping an eye and an ear on the developments. Watina will remain a powerful song to me – meaning “I called out”. Palacio’s passionate singing has found a place in the hearts of all Belizeans, and won’t be forgotten; therefore, because of him, the Garifuna culture has a found place in history.