Special Oral History Videos Menu

Planting Corn - This video shows Ramón Guttieriz planting corn the same way the Maya have planted corn for centuries. (57 seconds)

Using a Pilón - This is a demonstration by Feliciano Keme of the way they used to break the hulls of rice in a pilón. (38 seconds)

Mestizo Dancing - This is a demonstration by the children of Armando and Deibi Avilez in San Narciso. The children are dressed in authentic Mestizo attire. (46 seconds)

Rafael Cob Music - Rafael Cob and his family share some of the music they love. (35:18 minutes)

Alejandro Avilez Music - Alejandro Avilez is a self-taught musician who plays the keyboard, violin and harmonica. (25:11 minutes)

Hog's Head Dance - This is a demonstration of the Cabesa de Cochino baila (Hog's Head dance). (3:00 minutes)

Quinceañera - Zuleima Yasenie Avilez celebrates her 15th birthday. This traditional ritual represents her passage from childhood to womanhood. It starts with a Catholic Mass and is followed by a fiesta. The fiesta includes her presentation to family and friends, the presentation of congratulations and gifts to the Quinceañera (Zuleima), a toast and an entertaining show that includes the traditional dance-the waltz. She first dances with her father, then her godfather, followed by uncles and male cousins, finally concluding with her father once again. She also performs several dances with her escorts. (37:15 minutes)

Building a Mayan hut - Filiberto Teck discusses, then demonstrates how the Maya built a thatched hut. He built a nearly authentic hut in his backyard to house some team members during mission trips. (25:09 minutes)

Old Belize Cultural Center - The Old Belize Cultural Center contains mostly static displays of features from the present and past of Belize. These include a mini rainforest with live butterflies and displays of the ancient Maya, Garafuna and Maya-Mestizo cultures. Other exhibits show examples of past and present industries in Belize such as the sugar cane industry, chicleros extracting sap for chewing gum and the logging industry. The final exhibit depicts Belize City in colonial times. (9:11 minutes)

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