South Florida's Garifuna community preserving their history and increasing cultural visibility

South Florida is rich in diversity and there is a plethora of culture to explore, but there is one community working to increase their visibility and preserve their history, as part of the fabric of Central America and Black History.

“We come together and just treasure all of the things that we have, as Garifuna people,” said Mirta Castillo.

For Honduras born community organizer and singer Mirta Castillo, the effort to find and make space to socialize with other people who identify as Garifuna is vital. For Castillo, it is about holding on to a shared identity.

During the gatherings, there will be dancing, singing, drumming and communication through Spanish, English and the Garifuna language.

“We come from Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Nicaragua,” said Castillo. “St. Vincent as well, because that's where our history comes from.”

While the nations’ flags might be different, their culture remains the same, it’s called Garifuna.

Present day, the Garifuna people are known as the Black Indigenous people of Central America, but researchers believe their history began in the 1600s with a shipwreck and an escape from enslavement.

According to historical records, boats carrying West Africans to a plantation in the Caribbean did not make it. Instead, survivors washed ashore on St. Vincent. Eventually, the West Africans and Indigenous people began mixing, giving birth to a new culture: the Garifuna.

“Back in the 1790s,” said Castillo. “We got exiled out of St. Vincent.“

According to historians, after a war with the British who later invaded, the Garifuna, seen as rebellious were deported from the island. They landed in Honduras and expanded through Central America where the majority of the Garifuna people still live today.

“We're Garifuna, all of us have our history,” said Castillo. “All of us come together. We know where we're coming from, and we normally want to also grow together.”

From the gatherings and song writing, Castillo feels empowered and connected to her roots, but across town and up in Broward County for one man, it’s all about the food.

”Well, the food is central to the culture,” said Castillo. “But as you find the culture dying, it's not being taught to the younger children.”

Dr. Gregory Arana is originally from Belize. Not only is he keeping the Garifuna culture alive by cooking, he is sharing those recipes with the world, through his cookbook.

“So you find that the cassava bread that's made in Guyana, and the ‘Casabe’ that you can find in Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, is identical to the cassava bread of the Garifuna,” said Dr. Arana.  “So the food is really an amazing cultural integration of the many different influences that make the Garifuna culture.”

Although the Garifuna people spread through different countries, and ultimately adopted different languages Dr. Arana says their shared history will always unite them.

“Garifuna is not just the culture, it's also the Garifuna language, there's also the Garifuna religion,” said Castillo. “There's many other aspects to Garifuna that if the youth don’t grasp or understand, then how do you expect them then to carry the culture forward?”

You can find Mirta Alicia Castillo’s music on Apple Music.