First conceived as a celebration of the wider Maya world with participants from Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Mexico in 1992, the festival has since blossomed to become one of the most popular events on the Belizean calendar. The festival begins with a beauty pageant featuring contestants from the “Mundo Maya” countries and then explodes in a celebration of dance, food, art, games, and music.

Why You Have to Attend the International Costa Maya Festival

A celebration of all things Maya, the festival is a colorful mix of a beauty pageant, music including Punta, Salsa, Merengue, Soca, Reggae, and traditional Maya melodies, riotous parades, and a celebration of food, art, and merrymaking.

The first night of the festival begins with a beauty pageant featuring the winners of regional contests from neighboring countries as well as representatives from Europe, North America, and Australia. Contestants demonstrate elegance, poise and beauty in evening gown, bathing suit, and talent categories, with the winner given the coveted title of Miss Costa Maya International.

The first night then rocks the enthusiastic crowds with performances from some of the country’s premiere musical groups, with dancing lasting until dawn. The following days of the festival include lively parades, entertainment for children, demonstrations of folkloric and traditional dance and music, a breathtaking array of food and drink, and merrymaking for festivalgoers of all ages.

Where in Belize Is the International Costa Maya Festival Held?

The International Costa Maya Festival is held in the streets of San Pedro Town, the capital of Ambergris Caye. Various locations in the town feature musical entertainment, games, face-painting booths, food stalls, and local arts and crafts.

When Is the International Costa Maya Festival Held?

The three-day festival is always held in August on a weekend but the dates vary from year to year. In 2016, the festival will be held from August 4-6.

How to get to the International Costa Maya Festival

The festival is always held in San Pedro Town, the capital of Ambergris Caye. There is regular domestic air service with Tropic Air between Belize City and other locations in Belize to the airport in San Pedro. Private watercraft services also offer connections to the island.

Best way to experience the International Costa Maya Festival

Bring your party hat with you as the International Costa Maya Festival is a raucous celebration of beauty, culture, art, food, music, and fun.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will present the 2016 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award to a group of extraordinary women from around the world tomorrow at the U.S. Department of State.

The Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award annually recognizes women around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk. Since the inception of this award in 2007, the Department of State has honored nearly 100 women from 60 different countries.

The 2016 awardees are:

• Sara Hossain, Barrister, Supreme Court, Bangladesh
• Debra Baptist-Estrada, Port Commander, Belize Immigration and Nationality, Belize
• Ni Yulan, Human Rights Activist, China
• Latifa Ibn Ziaten, Interfaith Activist, France
• Thelma Aldana, Attorney General, Guatemala
• Nagham Nawzat, Yezidi Activist and Gynecologist, Iraq
• Nisha Ayub, Transgender Rights Advocate, Malaysia
• Fatimata M’baye, Co-founder and President of the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights, Mauritania
• Zhanna Nemtsova, Journalist and Activist, Russia
• Zuzana Števulová, Director of the Human Rights League, Slovakia
• Awadeya Mahmoud, Founder and Chair of the Women’s Food and Tea Sellers’ Cooperative and the Women’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative for Khartoum State, Sudan
• Vicky Ntetema, Executive Director of Under the Same Sun, Tanzania
• Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit, Bookstore Owner and Co-founder of Creating Awareness for Enhanced Democracy, Thailand
• Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi, Minister of Legal Affairs, Yemen

Ms. Baptist-Estrada’s courageous contributions are highlighted as follows:

[blockquote style=”1″]In an institution largely dominated by men, 20-year Belize Department of Immigration veteran Debra Baptist-Estrada has consistently refused bribes and other incentives to look the other way. As Port Commander of Belize’s only international airport, Ms. Estrada worked with U.S. officials last spring to crack open a drug and human smuggling operation to the U.S. and Europe. After being transferred to Belize’s northern border this summer, Ms. Estrada continued to bring her incorruptible style to the job, enforcing immigration laws that had not been enforced for a very long time, and rejecting bribes to look the other way. While many might shrug off corruption as “the human condition,” Ms. Estrada is quietly and courageously effecting change and strengthening the rule of law.[/blockquote]

Full biographies and photos are available here.

On April 1, the honorees will travel to cities across the United States to engage with the American people through anInternational Visitor Leadership Program. They will visit Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, California, North Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania on their individual programs. The women will reconvene in Los Angles to reflect on their visit and discuss ways to work together to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.

To mark the milestone of honoring nearly 100 women from 60 countries over 10 years, the State Department will host a forum following the ceremony.

The International Women of Courage Award ceremony and forum will be open to credentialed members of the media and livestreamed at www.state.gov. Please click here for more information.

Use #WomenOfCourage for news and updates about this year’s award.

For more information on these events, contact Rachel Wallace at [email protected].

Source: state.gov

Marie Sharp is officially part of the New York City Hot Sauce Hall of Fame!

She was presented with an award over the weekend at the New York City Hot Sauce Expo and received a red jacket, commemorating the occasion along with a class ring engraved with her name and the present year, 2016.

The award and her induction into the Hot Sauce Hall of Fame is a milestone achievement for long time Belizean entrepreneur Marie Sharp. She started preparing her now famous hot sauce in her very own kitchen in 1981 using only the best local ingredients.

Fast forward to over three decades and what started as a micro business in a household kitchen has grown into an award winning and acclaimed Belizean product under the trade mark, Marie Sharp Fine Foods. Today, Sharp has perfected an entire line of hot sauces that feature exquisite flavours and heat levels as well as jams and jellies.

Marie Sharp Fine Foods has become a household name and has long been gaining international recognition in countries like El Salvador, Honduras, Canada, USA, Japan and Europe to name a few.

Sharp was the only woman entrepreneur to receive the award and only foreigner to have been selected for induction into the New York City Hot Sauce Hall of Fame.

She was accompanied to the event by her Sales and Marketing Manager, Jody Williams and General Manager, Rocio Aguilar.

Congratulations to Mrs. Sharp! Belize is proud!

By Dalila Ical of Breaking Belize News

The Football Federation of Belize (FFB) elected a new Executive Body during its 9th Ordinary Congress, held at the Ramada Princess Hotel on Saturday, April 30, 2016.

The Congress included an election process in which 14 District Football Association members and 6 members from the Premier League of Belize voted to elect the new Executive Body as follows: Marlon Kuylen – Senior Vice President; Shane Orio – Executive Member; Darlene Vernon – Executive Member.

Following 22 rounds of voting resulting in a tie each time, a new president and vice president for the FFB could not be elected. Vying for the post of president were former President, Ruperto Vicente and former Vice President, Sergio Chuc. The vice president post was contested by Jaime Perdomo and former Executive Member, Cruz Gamez.

Having been unable to break the tie, invited CONCACAF and UNCAF representatives conducted consultations with FIFA, after which Senior Vice President Marlon Kuylen was selected as Acting President of the FFB. He will remain in this post for one year, when the next Ordinary Congress is scheduled to take place and an election will be held to elect a president and vice president.

The FFB congratulates all new elected members and thanks all participants and members of the District Football Associations for being a part of this process.

(Ed. Note: Five (5) executive positions were contested – president, senior vice-president, vice-president, and two members. Three (3) individuals were elected, and they will serve as the FFB Executive until the other two posts are decided at the next Ordinary Congress.)

Source: Amandala

Much has been written and said of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in recent days, both noise and signal. But how is Zika relevant to the Caribbean traveler? That’s why we’re here to explain — both what you need to know about the virus and how you can avoid it.

First, Zika is generally transmitted to humans through bites from Aedes mosquitos, which often live around buildings in urban areas and are usually active during daylight hours, with peak biting activity occurs in early mornings and late afternoons, according to the World Health Organization.

The most common symptoms of the virus are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis, although around 80 percent of people who contract the virus through a mosquito bite exhibit no symptoms.

If you get it, the illness is usually mild, with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Hospitalization is uncommon, according to the CDC. There is no commercial vaccine or specific antiviral drug treatment for Zika virus infection.

Now, the biggest issue, and the one that has caused the most panic, is that the outbreak of Zika in Brazil led to a possible connection between contraction of Zika and to pregnant women giving birth to babies with birth defects like microcephaly (babies born with smaller heads) or poor pregnancy outcomes and to a possible link to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a muscle-weakness disorder, although both links remain the subject of research.

The former has led to advisories for pregnant women traveling to the Americas.

So where is Zika?

The Zika outbreak has been concentrated in Brazil and South America, with Brazil the leader with around 1.5 million suspected cases.

Thus far, there have been few cases in the Caribbean, scattered in nine countries and territories, and the majority of the 200 total suspected cases in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

That is 200 suspected cases in the Caribbean, compared to 1.5 million suspected cases in Brazil, to put things in perspective. Of course, that does not mean that things won’t change, but it makes the Caribbean situation quite different from the one in South America as we stand today.

“It is recommended that pregnant women and those considering becoming pregnant discuss their travel plans with their health care provider to assess their risk and consider postponing travel to areas where the Zika virus is circulating in the Americas,” Canada’s public health agency said.

And if you travel to the Caribbean, just like if you travel anywhere, be careful — there are easy steps to reduce the risk of mosquito bites, from repellent with DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) or IR3535  to mosquito repellent clothing and wearing long sleeves where possible.

And finally, what is the Caribbean doing about it?

Well, the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association are urging all of the region’s countries to “diligently work to control the mosquito population.”

“We are in communication with our respective stakeholders and are observing national, regional and international health protocols in dealing with mosquito-borne viral diseases which can be found in tropical countries as well as the warmer regions of the U.S.,” said Hugh Riley, Secretary General of the CTO.

And don’t forget, the Chikungunya virus that worried travelers in 2014 has been significantly controlled in most respects in the Caribbean, offering hope for the region’s ability to control a potential Zika expansion.

“An aggressive vector control program by hotels and governments is essential as is public awareness and training directed towards employees, businesses and governments,” said Frank Comito, Director General and CEO of CHTA, which has also been advising the region and travelers on the issue.

Follow this story and more on Caribbean Journal.

Jamaica has led Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in how effectively children can use the law to challenge violations of their rights.

In the first-ever global study on children’s access to justice undertaken by the London-based Child Rights International network (CRIN) showed that Belgium topped the 179 countries surveyed with 213 points out of a maximum 261 while Equatorial Guinea placed last with a score of 30.

“When we think of children and justice, the first image that comes to mind is usually one of children breaking the law. Rarely do we consider children and their right to use the legal system to protect their human rights or to seek redress when their rights have been violated,” said CRIN’s director Veronica Yates.

“Access to justice is about challenging the perception of children as just victims or somehow less worthy of justice than adults. It is about recognising that children, like adults, have human rights and that when these rights are infringed they should be able to trust and use the legal system to get justice.”

Jamaica is the highest placed CARICOM country at 65, with a score of 154.5 followed by Grenada at position 90 with a score of 137.

Trinidad and Tobago is the next highest ranked Caribbean country at 92 with a score of 136.5 followed by Barbados at 99 with a score of 133.

Guyana is the next  at 100 with a score of 132 while St Lucia is next at 110 with a score of123.5, closely followed by Belize at 111 2ith a score of 122.

The Bahamas leads the lower half of the 14 CARICOM countries surveyed, coming in at number eight with global placing 111 with an identical score followed by Antigua and Barbuda at 129 with a score of 107.5.

Haiti, the only French-speaking CARICOM country and considered one of the poorest in the hemisphere is at 10 on the CARICOM ranking with a world 103.5 to be placed at 138 followed by Dominica at 145 with a score of 93.5.

The Dutch-speaking country, Suriname, with a score of 91.5 is the next highest CARICOM country placing 163 on the global chart, followed by St. Vincent and the Grenadines at 173 with a score of 82.5.

St Kitts-Nevis it the CARICOM occupying the cellar position with of 79 and placing 178 on the global rankings.

The research takes into account whether children can bring lawsuits when their rights are violated, the legal resources available to them, the practical considerations for taking legal action, and whether judges apply international law on children’s rights in their rulings.

The report also offers a model of what access to justice should look like for children.

‘Eutopia’ was created by collecting examples from around the world. While many come from countries at the higher end of the ranking, others were found in countries such as Angola, Montenegro, Jamaica, Nepal, the Philippines or Eritrea.

CRIN said it wants this report to help provide new ideas and tools for those working to prevent violations of children’s rights and to demonstrate new avenues of legal redress, whether in the struggle for citizenship rights or securing access to education without fees.

“Country rankings are not just there to highlight who is doing well and who is doing poorly but more importantly they have the ability to stir States to action, prompting them to improve and claim a spot higher on the ranking ladder,” said the chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Benyam Dawit Mezmur.

“The Committee welcomes this research and already envisages its concrete contribution to its various engagements with States,” she added.

You won’t get in trouble with the law and removal of red notice won’t be a problem if you have a good lawyer.

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