COMMUNITIES

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Livingston, Guatemala

Livingston is one of the few Garifuna settlement in the coasts of Guatemala

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Roatan, Honduras

Exiled by British troops in 1796 and eventually shipped off to Roatan.

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Triunfo, Honduras

Triunfo de la Cruz, a beauty in the Tela Bay, Honduras.

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Labuga, Guatemala

Garínagu worldwide normally refer to Livingston as “Labuga”.

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Mission/Vision


Mission:

Contribute to the social, economic, and cultural development of the Garifunas living in the Seattle area. We strive to secure the social welfare of the Garifuna community, and to strengthen the cultural bonds within the group.

Vision:

We are a transnational non-governmental, non-profit organization conformed by Garifuna men and women dedicated to the integral development of our community. We are committed to defend our socioeconomic, political, and cultural rights, while improving the accessibility to the basic financing needs.

Board of Directors

Wilbor Guerrero, President.
President of Garinagu HounGua. Originally from San Juan Durubuguti Bey Bey Honduras and currently residing in Seattle, WA.

Ginsy Connor, Secretary.
Secretary of Garinagu Houngua. Born and raised in Seattle, WA with parents from Honduras

Martha David, Treasurer.
Treasurer of Garinagu Houngua. Originally from Triunfo De la Cruz, Tela Honduras and currently residing in Seattle, WA.

Yoelin Connor, Vice President.
Vice President of Garinagu HounGua from Agua, Santa Rosa de Aguan, Honduras. Currently resides in Seattle, WA.

Paulina Valerio-Guerrero, Fiscal.
Fiscal of Garinagu Houngua. Originally from Tela, Atlantida Honduras. Currently residing in Seattle, WA.

Projects

Prospective Cultural Projects:

Cultural Awareness

With workshops and activities aimed towards the general public, we are out to bring to the society and understanding of who the Garifuna people are and what type of cultural values, beliefs and our background. With this awareness, we could also help the newly migrated Garifunas to the northwest area, of the opportunities and challenges that they might face as part of their cultural shock and the awareness of other cultures. As a cultural tradition, Garifuna communities around the world celebrate the arrival of our ancestor to the Atlantic coast of Central America back in 1797 after being exiled from St. Vincent. Garinagu Houngua will host this event each April to give the public a chance to learn about the Garifuna people and experiences their traditional music, dances, and cuisine.


Teach the Language (Garifuna)

As a culture with it is own structure and language, Garifunas around the world tend to speak at least two to three languages. Garifunas primary language is call the same; "The Garifuna Language". Because of migration to different lands, mainly to the United States, the Garifuna people are now becoming Americanized and are assimilating other customs and languages and forgetting about their forefather's tongue, the Garifuna Language. Garinagus are no longer teaching their offspring's their native language and some just don’t have the time to do so because of their busy life. This program will remind Garifunas about the importance of teaching their children the Garifuna Language. This program will also provide teaching sessions to children of the Garifuna decent. This sessions will be thought by a fluent Garifuna, who will be able to translate words from Garifuna to English and Spanish and vice versa.


Gastronomy

This program will in tell in teaching the youth how to cook Garifunas most popular meals and snacks. The Garifunas have a very extensive menu. As part of understanding and learning about their culture, these youth grasp and enjoy cooking traditional meals like Machuca; which is a Garifunas delicacy made with fish and mashed plantain.


HIV/AIDs Awareness and prevention

Teaching about HIV/AIDS and the prevention measures is a very important task. This program will bring speaks/teachers and instruct the community about getting tested and about how to prevent being infected with HIV. this will also present programs available in the community to those infected with this virus.


References



Wikipedia contributors. "Garifuna people." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Jul. 2015. Web. 31 Jul. 2015.

Girma, Lebawit Lily. "The Hidden Beauty of Garifuna Belize." CNN. Cable News Network, 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 31 July 2015.

Post Rust, Susie. "Fishing Villages along Central America’s Coast Pulse with the Joyous Rhythms of This Afro-Caribbean People." National Geographic: Images of Animals, Nature, and Cultures. 2001. Web. 31 July 2015.

Griffin, Wendy. "Garifunas in Seattle and How to Find Out About Their Culture." Internet Para Hondureños. 24 Mar. 5014. Web. 31 July 2015.

Labuga, Guatemala



Jose Felipe Mariano Gálvez (1794-1862) rose to power in Guatemala as head of state in 1831. Gálvez had grandiose plans to colonize the north and eastern portions of Guatemala with European interests – areas he considered to be under-populated and apparently in need of rescuing. In a bold move that eventually failed, Gálvez authorized that the provinces of present-day Chiquimula, Izabal and the Petén be granted to the British, Dutch and Germans for business enterprises. Gálvez apparently thought of himself as a visionary and upon the suggestion of Manuel Pineda de Mont, Gálvez adopted the “Livingston Codes,” an innovative set of laws for prison reform, in Guatemala’s Codigo de Reforma y Disclipina (Guatemala 1934). The Livingston Codes had received world-wide fame with its implementation in various legislatures in the United States and Europe since it’s authorship in 1826. They were composed by Edward Livingston (1764-1836), United States statesman, politician, and wealthy landowner. In honor of Mr. Livingston and with little regard for the opinion of the Black residents of Labuga, Gálvez announced that a section of then-province Chiquimula would be partitioned off to form a new province (Izabal), and its head would be henceforth known as “Livingston,” which would “…include the already established populations and those that will establish the area of the north coast” (Mariano Galvez, November 26, 1831).

Triunfo, Honduras



Tela was founded by the Spanish conquistador Cristóbal de Olid on 3 May 1524; 491 years ago near an indigenous town named Tehuacán, ruled by a cacique named Cucumba which had a very good source of clean water, food and medicinal plants. Olid named his town Triunfo de la Cruz (Triumph of the Cross) as it was founded on this Catholic holy day. The name Triunfo de la Cruz continues to be used to day to refer to a small promontory in the bay. There are historians who say that the origin of the name is a contraction of Tetela, which in the Nahua language means "land of hills and craggy mountains."
In 1797, the English exiled the Garifuna, a group of Afro-Carib origin from St Vincent to the island of Roatan. Later they were moved to Trujillo and from there they are migrated along the coast. In 1808, they settled in Tela where they founded their own community. One of these communities was east of the El Triunfo hills, which they named Triunfo de la Cruz and another west of town named San Juan. In the political division of 1825, Tela was part of the department of Yoro, and in 1876 was classified as a municipality. With the creation of the department of Cortés, June 4, 1893, Tela became part of Cortés. Subsequently, on July 17, 1894, it was reassigned to the department of Yoro, but in 1902, it was incorporated in the department of Atlántida. The port of Tela was given city status in March 1927.

Livingston, Guatemala



Garínagu worldwide normally refer to Livingston as “Labuga” whether they are speaking English, Spanish or Garífuna. As with many foreign words nativized to the Garífuna language in which unvoiced stops are vocalized and mid-vowels are raised, (for example, Sp. caballo (‘horse’), MVG gaballu; Sp. México, MVG Míhigu), “Labuga” is the Garífuna pronunciation of the Spanish la boca (‘the mouth’), which was the name by which the early Spanish settlers referred to that area. Indeed, the Rio Dulce’s expanse mouth opens up into the Gulf of Honduras at the edge of Livingston. Another source cites that Garínagu used to call it Gulfu Iyumou, a Spanish-Garífuna toponym that also means “mouth of the Gulf.” Garínagu with whom I have spoken are not familiar with Gulfu Iyumou ever having been used as a name for Labuga. Whether one refers to this village as Gulfu Iyumoun or Labuga, the town acquired its current name, ‘Livingston,’ in 1831.

Roatan, Honduras



The West African transplants were either ship-wrecked or escaped from the Caribbean islands of Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada, depending on the source. They intermarried with local populations of Arawaks and Carib Indians (Caribs), immigrants from South America, to become known as Garifunas or Black Caribs.
With the help of the Spanish, the Honduras Garifuna community originally relocated from Roatan, the largest of the Honduras Bay Islands, to the Honduran mainland. Today, Honduras’ population of roughly 100,000 Garifunas can be found living mostly in towns and villages along the country’s northern coast, from Masca, Cortes to Plaplaya, Gracias a Dios. Travelers looking to experience elements of present-day and traditional Garifuna culture in Honduras can consider visiting Garifuna communities in the Tela and La Ceiba areas, Trujillo and Bataya.