People of Belize

Belize is a country in Central America and has a population of about 300,000 people. It is bordered by Mexico on its north and Guatemala on its west and south. The people of Belize include the Creoles, Garifuna, Mestizo, East Indians, the Mennonites and Mopan/Kekchi Maya.

English is the official language although Kriol dominates all languages; other languages include Spanish, Maya and Garifuna. The Spanish spoken was adopted from the Spaniards from Spain when they came to colonize the western hemisphere. The accent is a bit different from the Spanish Spain but it is basically the same
language. Spanish is also very widely spoken.

The Creoles are descendants of the interracial unions of Africans - who were brought here as slaves - and early European settlers during the Colonial era. This gave birth of Kriol language which is spoken in all the Caribbean countries. It is like broken English and most of the Caribbean singers/rappers do so in Kriol.

The Garifunas are mainly African descendants whose fore fathers are from West Africa who were brought here during slavery era. I have only heard Garifuna language from music CDs done by the famous late Andy Palacio. The Garifuna people tend to value their background and roots of Africa and they try to dress like Africans most of the time even though most of them if not all have never been to Africa.

The Mennonites are traditional and conservative Caucasians who can be traced back to Germany. They practice traditional farming and are well grounded in agriculture which benefits the whole country. The men also do carpentry work and sell their furniture all over Belize.  The Mennonites are easily identifiable by their old fashion style. Women dress in long dark dresses with aprons and hats and the men wear coveralls and checkered shirts with hats. Their preferred mode of transport is a horse carriage though many of them use vehicles in major towns.

Belize is the only country in Central America that speaks English.

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