This southern town is the oldest and largest Garifuna settlement in Belize. Located in the Stann Creek District, it has been central to preserving Garifuna history, language, music, and spirituality, and played a key role in the rise of Punta Rock. The name, meaning “standing waters” in Garifuna, was officially adopted in the 1970s during a broader cultural resurgence. It is also where Garifuna Settlement Day was first celebrated here in 1941, drawing people from across the Americas to honor ancestral memory through ritual, music, and community.
Settled in the early 19th century by Garinagu arriving from Honduras after their forced exile from St. Vincent, Dangriga holds a central place in Belizean and Afro-Caribbean history. Officially declared a town on February 15, 1895, it developed along the mouth of Stann Creek, where its strategic location allowed early Garifuna settlers to establish a thriving port. This port became a center for trade in fish, coconuts, bananas, and timber with other parts of Central America, drawing additional waves of Garifuna migrants eager to build a self-sustaining and culturally rooted community. In 1941, civil rights activist and educator Thomas Vincent Ramos organized the first Garifuna Settlement Day celebration in Dangriga to commemorate the Garifuna people’s arrival and enduring legacy in Belize. The celebration later became a national holiday and remains a powerful expression of ancestral memory through music, dance, and ritual.
Today, Dangriga is commonly referred to as the cultural capital of Belize, a reflection of its deep influence on Garifuna music, spirituality, language, and the development of genres such as Punta and Punta Rock. Its population includes Garinagu, Creoles, and Mestizxs, highlighting the town’s diverse cultural fabric. While Dangriga supports key industries like citrus, banana cultivation, and shrimp farming, the majority of labor is imported from neighboring Central American countries, resulting in limited local economic benefits. As a result, the town’s significance lies less in economic metrics and more in its cultural impact. Though one of Belize’s smaller towns, Dangriga remains a vital center of Garifuna heritage, resistance, and creative expression.
Garifuna Settlement Day is a national holiday in Belize that honors the arrival of the Garifuna people and celebrates their enduring legacy of cultural resilience and resistance. Most prominently observed in Dangriga, the day begins with a symbolic reenactment of the Garifuna landing, as boats arrive at the shoreline carrying cassava, drums, and other meaningful items that represent survival, spirituality, and tradition. This public performance recalls the Garifuna’s forced displacement and their determination to preserve their identity in new homelands. The celebration continues with religious services, processions, and communal gatherings that reflect the community's rich spiritual life, blending Catholic practices with ancestral rituals. Music and dance are central to the day’s events, particularly the performance of Punta, Paranda, and traditional drumming, which serve not only as entertainment but as vital expressions of history, memory, and cultural continuity. These art forms reflect the creative ways in which the Garifuna have preserved oral traditions and affirmed Black and Afro-Indigenous presence in Belize. The holiday also serves as a platform for intergenerational learning, as cultural knowledge is shared across age groups through food, language, and ceremony. In Dangriga, Settlement Day is both a celebration and a powerful reaffirmation of Black cultural traditions and the ongoing struggle for recognition, belonging, and historical truth.
● Gulisi Garifuna Museum — Museum in Dangriga dedicated to preserving and educating the public about Garifuna history, language, and heritage.
● National Garifuna Council — The leading organization advocating for the rights, cultural preservation, and social development of the Garifuna people in Belize.
● Stann Creek House of Culture (NICH) — A community space supported by Belize's cultural institute that hosts exhibitions, workshops, and events celebrating local heritage and the arts.
● Pen Cayetano Studio Gallery — The home and gallery of artist and musician Pen Cayetano, showcasing Garifuna-inspired artwork and promoting cultural education through music and visual arts.
● Gough, Alex. "Garifuna Land Security in Postcolonial Belize: The Curious Case of the 'Carib Reserve' at Punta Gorda." The Journal of Caribbean History 57, no. 2 (2023): 55–87.
● McClaurin, Irma. Women of Belize: Gender and Change in Central America. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1996.
● Moberg, Mark. "Continuity under Colonial Rule: The Alcalde System and the Garifuna in Belize, 1858-1969." Ethnohistory 39, no. 1 (1992): 1–19.
● Palacio, Joseph O. "Family Continuity between Yurumein (St Vincent) and Belize, Central America." Caribbean Quarterly 60, no. 2 (2014): 10–126.
BCA is a platform dedicated to amplifying Black Central American history, culture, and scholarship. Through curated content, innovative programming, and collaborative initiatives, we explore the collective memory, cultural and political organizing, and creative place-making practices of Black Central American communities across the isthmus and its diasporas.
