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Belize is the only Central American nation where there's a majority of Afro-Caribbeans, although there's a pretty sizable number of areas along the west coast of Nicaragua.
Actually that is no longer true anymore. Mestizos are the largest ethnicity living in Belize making up 34% of the population. Kriol and Garifuna makeup a combine 31% which is still very high for a central American country. Though English is the official language 46% of the population speak Spanish as a 1st language.
Actually that is no longer true anymore. Mestizos are the largest ethnicity living in Belize making up 34% of the population. Kriol and Garifuna makeup a combine 31% which is still very high for a central American country. Though English is the official language 46% of the population speak Spanish as a 1st language.
That's interesting. Yeah, when I traveled through Belize, it seemed like the northern part of the country closer to the border with Mexico was more Mestizo and Mayan--pretty similar to the Yucatan. Belize City and some of the beaches and cayes to the south seemed mostly Kriol or Garifuna and that's where I've spent most of my time, so I think that's why it almost felt like they would constitute a majority.
Actually that is no longer true anymore. Mestizos are the largest ethnicity living in Belize making up 34% of the population. Kriol and Garifuna makeup a combine 31% which is still very high for a central American country.
But does that really mean anything? Belize is similar to Trinidad insofar as most people being mixed up with everything.
LA by far. They have as much influence on LA's West Indian population as Jamaicans (who dominate wherever they go).
I don't know about that. New York may actually have more though I would imagine that Belizeans make up a far greater percentage of the WI population out there.
I don't know about that. New York may actually have more though I would imagine that Belizeans make up a far greater percentage of the WI population out there.
Yeah, could be; they're lost in the mix of NYC's WI pop, but in the LA area most people from the West Indies are either Jamaican or Belizian.
What cities have the largest concentrations of Belizeans?
It's an interesting country, being next to Mexico yet culturally more associated with black Carribbean nations. Although the Carribean coast of all the Central American nations have areas closer in feeling to to the West Indies as well--Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama all have areas of English-speaking black populations, although the dominant majority of the population is Spanish-speaking mestizo or Europeans.
Panama has a larger black population descended from Spanish colonial times. They are Roman Catholic and monolingual Spanish speakers.
Yeah, the whole region has an interesting history. There were parts of the Central American coastline like Belize or the Miskito Coast and Corn Islands of Nicaragua or Bay Islands of Honduras that were actually under British control for some time and ended up developing similar to the British-ruled Caribbean islands. There was also historical migration from the West Indies to Costa Rica and Panama--a lot of Jamaicans migrated to the east coast as laborers, especially during the construction of the Panama Canal. The language spoken is mostly a Carribbean patios closer to what you'd hear in Jamaica, although some might speak Spanish also. You can tell by some of the names of the towns along the coast, places like Livingston in Guatemala or Bluefields in Nicaragua. In some places the architecture, food, music(lots of reggae), all feels closer to the West Indies as well. Belize is the only Central American nation where there's a majority of Afro-Caribbeans, although there's a pretty sizable number of areas along the west coast of Nicaragua.
There's also the Garifuna, who have a culture that's a mix of Carib/Arawak Indians and Africans that migrated from the West Indies to Central America. From Belize through the coast of Guatemala and Honduras, there's Garifuna communities. Apparently there's a number of Garifuna in New York as well.
It's interesting because Afro-Carribbeans and Garifuna from Central America might be considered Hispanic in the US because of their country of orgin, although culturally they're closer to Trinidad or Jamaica.
Actually, Livingston, Guatemala is predominantly Garifuna. West Indians in Guatemala can be found in Puerto Barrios.
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