Track 7 Settlement Day Commemoration Dangriga 19 November, 2009

After the THREE HOUR church service, there was still yet to come-The entire congregation poured out and paraded to the  
park in the center of town, right next to the ocean. They had a (slightly) more formal commemoration, hosted by the
Rasta Mayor of Dangriga. They presented awards to Miss Garifuna, a beautiful young woman in a bright home-made 
dress. Also present were Mrs Good Will-a woman around 85 years old, also in a beautiful handmade frock and the award winning
drum and dance team-outfitted in glittery Yellow, Black and White costumes-The colors of the Garifuna flag.


The Belize national guard came and did a drill formation-The guard was comprised of 12 or so Garifuna, male and 
female, raging in age from 6 to 90! They executed perfect British military moves and, while they wore guns, 
and we were constantly afeared for the shots, they never shot their rifles! Not once!


There were many speakers, and a couple of musicians. The song you hear on this track is a local songwriter, singing
about Africa. During the song, one of our friends asked Jason about his tattoo, A yin yang like circle, penned in four colors
 with footprints, red, white, black and yellow, to celebrate the 4 walks of life and the peace that will come when they
 share what they have learned. He was inspired to tell the whole story, inspired by a Nahuatl prophecy,  and the music 
created the perfect backdrop.(oh, and, as you can see in the pictures and the album cover, we again brought out the Hula Hoop!)


We also have a play for children based on this story, and we told it throughout Belize. I was inspired to write a song, which 
will be recorded soon, based on the prophecy. I feel, in some way, this is why the fates brought us to Belize.
To share the story and learn from the walks of life. We certainly had more experiences than ever before, of the four colors coming
together. Sometimes in 1 person, sometimes on a street corner, occasionally in a dance, and once in a family of 4 brothers,
each with a different color father-white, red, black, and yellow.