The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended a Garifuna cultural festival in Belize, recognising one of the oldest cultural groups in the Americas through food and dance.
Following their visit to a family-run cacao farm, William and Kate visited the small seaside town of Hopkins, which is considered the Garifuna centre of Belize, with its small population of people who still routinely use the Garifuna language to communicate with each other.
During their visit to the Garifuna festival, William and Kate joined in a dance session of the punta dance—a rapid dance that makes use of the hips and feet while the upper body stays immobile—and sampled Hudutu broth—a seafood soup cooked in a coconut broth.
“They are an amazing couple, and we would love them to come any time with their children Charlotte, George and Louis,” said Laura Cacho in an interview with People magazine.
“They really know how to dance. They took the culture from me, and I didn’t need to teach them. They’re so good at it. They were excellent.”
The Garifuna people are descended from West Africans who were shipwrecked on a slave ship and married with the Arawak Indians on St. Vincent. The Garifuna people have since settled in small towns along the Caribbean coast, including in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
The Garifuna culture is defined by its music and food. The music is defined by its percussion, use of drums and enthusiastic singing. The food is centred around fish, chicken, coconuts, bananas and plantains.
Cacho continued, telling reporters that the Duke was a good dancer, “and I told him he got the Garifuna culture in him. He did the punta dance better than me. He shook his waist to the music. He had beautiful rhythm.”
Vkeveen Martinez, a 15-year-old who danced with William, told People that she asked him what it was like to live in a castle (he replied that his grandmother lives in one) and that he told her that the Duchess was asking about dance classes. “It was amazing,” she said. “It was a lot to get a prince out to dance, and I held his hand.”
Following their dancing, Their Royal Highnesses met with schoolchildren in Hopkins and planted a tree to commemorate their visit.
Cacho said: “[William and Kate’s] visit is going to bring unity, especially after COVID—it’s a blessing for the economy to have them here.”
