Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in southern

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, located on the Caribbean coast at the mouth of the North Stann Creek River. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District. Dangriga is served by the Dangriga Airport. Commonly known as the "culture capital of Belize" due to its influence on

punta Punta is an Afro-indigenous dance and cultural music originating in the Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines by the Garifuna people before being exiled from the island. Which is also known as Yurumei. It has African and Arawak ...

music and other forms of

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian ...

culture, Dangriga is the largest settlement in southern Belize.Stann Creek Belize - Home Of Culture Capital Dangriga
Belize.com. (accessed 21 June 2015)

History

Dangriga was settled before 1832 by Garinagu (Black Caribs, as they were known to the British) from Honduras. For years it was the second largest population centre in the country behind

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, w ...

, but in recent years has been surpassed by San Ignacio,

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and Sa ...

and

Orange Walk Town Orange Walk Town is the fourth largest town in Belize, with a population of about 13,400 (Official Release of the Main Findings of the 2010 Population and Housing Census). It is the capital of the Orange Walk District. Orange Walk Town is locate ...

. Since the early 1980s Garífuna culture has undergone a revival, as part of which the town's name of Dangriga, a Garífuna word meaning "standing waters", became more widely used (but was initially adopted around 1975).

Demographics

The population is mostly a mixture of Garinagu, Kriols and

Mestizos (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

. According to the Statistical Institute of Belize, Dangriga's population in 2010 was 8,767 – 4,302 males and 4,465 females.

Culture

Dangriga is home to the

, a cultural and ethnic group, descendants of shipwrecked slaves and native Caribs. The Garifuna have adopted the Carib language but kept their African musical and religious traditions, while holding a central place in the history of the

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Catholic education Catholic education may refer to: * Catholic school, primary and secondary education organised by the Catholic Church or organisations affiliated with it * Catholic university, private university run by the Catholic Church or organisations affili ...

in Belize. Dangriga is also where the Caribbean music,

Punta Rock Punta rock, or Belizean punta, is a form of Garifuna music originating in Belize and created by Pen Cayetano. Songs are usually sung in Belizean Kriol or Garifuna and rarely in Spanish or English. Many Garifuna American singers perform the g ...

, originated and where some of Belize's folk bands can be found. In November each year there is a week-long festivity leading up to Garifuna Settlement Day, attended by Garifuna people from around the region. It includes a torchlit parade and wreath-laying ceremony at the monument of the patriot and social activist Thomas Vincent Ramos, selection of Miss Garifuna, parades and special church services, and The T.V. Ramos Classic Bike Race. The 19 November is

Garifuna Settlement Day Garifuna Settlement Day is a public holiday in Belize, celebrated each year on November 19. The holiday was created by Belizean civil rights activist, Thomas Vincent Ramos, in 1941. It was recognized as a public holiday in the southern districts ...

Attractions

Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is a nature reserve in the Stann Creek District of south-central Belize. It was established to protect the forests, fauna and watersheds of an approximately area of the eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains. ...

, located southwest of Dangriga. *Mayflower Archeological Reserve, consisting of three ruins, two waterfalls and a view of Hopkins village as well as of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. *Dangriga is also a mainland access point to popular cayes in Southern Belize, including

Tobacco Caye Tobacco Caye is a tiny island in Belize, about east of Dangriga. It is approximately in area, shaped like an yam, with a north-south dimension of about and an east-west dimension of . It has a permanent population of about 20, and sees a re ...

and Royal Belize.

Healthcare

The city is served by Southern Regional Hospital.

Notable residents

Arlie Petters Arlie Oswald Petters, MBE (born February 8, 1964) is a Belizean-American mathematical physicist, who is the Benjamin Powell Professor of Mathematics and a Professor of Physics and Economics at Duke University. Petters will become the Provost at N ...

, mathematician and astrophysicist *

Pen Cayetano Delvin "Pen" Cayetano MBE (born 1954 in Dangriga Town, Stann Creek District, Belize) is a Belizean artist and musician. Biography Cayetano is self-taught in the art of painting and music and claims his influences come from the native Garifuna ...

, artist and musician residing in Germany. Originator of Punta Rock. *

Maxime Faget Maxime Allen "Max" Faget (pronounced ''fah-ZHAY''; August 26, 1921 – October 9, 2004) was a Belizean-born American mechanical engineer. Faget was the designer of the Mercury spacecraft, and contributed to the later Gemini and Apollo spa ...

, designer of the Mercury capsule, and contributed to the later Gemini and Apollo spacecraft as well as the Space Shuttle. * T. V. Ramos,

civil rights activist from Puerto Cortez, Honduras. *Ada Mari Cayetano-Kax'Oxo / Pan Africanist, Nurse-Midwife and PhD Nursing Professor (University of the District of Columbia). *Benjamin Nicholas / Artist, Sculptor and Painter. * Osmond P. Martin, first native Belizean Catholic bishop. * Rebecca Rath, Model and Miss Belize 2016. *

Rakeem Nuñez-Roches Rakeem Nathan Nuñez-Roches (born 3 July 1993) is a Belizean professional American football nose tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round (217th overall) ...

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

References

External links

Official Dangriga website

About 100 photos with Garifuna, from early 20th century

Dangriga Tourism Website

Gallery

File:Grigadan.JPG, Dangriga main street File:Grigadan3.JPG, Garifuna Gulisi Museum File:Grigadan2.JPG, "Drums of Our Fathers" Monument Belize-dangriga.jpg, Dangriga, Belize Streets of Dangriga {{Authority control Populated places in Stann Creek District Dangriga (Belize House constituency) Government of Belize Garifuna communities