(Review)
GARIFUNA NATION
Documentary
by Carlos De Jesus
Garifuna Women Marlene Castillo and Marjorie Casimiro of The Sandy Beach Women’s Cooperative (Sandy Beach Lodge) in Hopkins, Belize; hold up a version of the Garifuna Flag in the Carlos De Jesus documentary, GARIFUNA NATION. Image courtesy of Carlos Productions
Copyright 2012 by Teofilo Colon Jr. (a.k.a. “Tio Teo” or “Teofilo Campeon”) All Rights Reserved.
New York City — New York University Associate Professor of Film and Television, Carlos De Jesus has been screening his latest effort, a documentary about the Garifuna ethnic group called GARIFUNA NATION. Ten years in the making and filled with multiple perspectives, this stirring work is an insightful investigation of contemporary life as a Garifuna.
The Garifuna people are black people of mixed ancestry (African, Carib Indian and Arawak Indian) from the island of St. Vincent. In 1797, After warring with the British, they were exiled from St. Vincent to Roatan; a small island off the coast of Honduras in Central America. After finding Roatan uninhabitable at the time, the Garifuna people quickly migrated to the Honduran mainland and settled in villages along the Caribbean coast of that country. They eventually also migrated and set up villages along the Caribbean coast of neighboring countries Guatemala, Belize (formerly British Honduras) and eventually Nicaragua.
Director of The Garifuna Nation Documentary, Carlos De Jesus taking a question from the audience after a screening at the Bronx Museum of The Arts in October 2011. Photo by Teofilo Colon Jr. All Rights Reserved.
The Garifuna Nation documentary begins with the director Carlos De Jesus detailing his background (he is Afro-Puerto Rican from New York City) to viewers and explaining how he came across the Garifuna ethnic group (it was while vacationing in the northern part of the multi-cultural / multi-racial Central American country of Belize, where a diving instructor told him about a poor, black community in southern Belize). Thus setting the stage for Mr. De Jesus to essentially ask, “WHO and WHAT are you?”. As he unforgettably explains,
“no sooner do I step out of the van (after a grueling day-long drive along the Caribbean coast to southern Belize) and I look out and see, old people and young people and their interaction, and I feel this instant sense of well-being, that I say to myself, ‘Hey! They are black, I am black, but we are two completely different people. How come?’ ” — Carlos De Jesus, Director of the documentary, Garifuna Nation
It’s that story that opens the Garifuna Nation Documentary, a documentary that not only serves to share the story of the Garifuna people but also is a parallel self-examination of director Carlos DeJesus as he explores his connection to the Garifuna ethnic group.
A viewer hearing the title Garifuna Nation might expect to see and hear from Garifuna people from the countries that make up the ENTIRE Garifuna Diaspora, that is, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua and St. Vincent. However that isn’t the case in this instance. As it’s set up here, Mr. Carlos De Jesus has Belizean Garifuna (and the Garifuna village of Hopkins, Belize) serve as the focal point of his questions regarding the Garifuna People as well as stand as a model of the Garifuna Community. That, along with a considerable portion of the documentary devoted to Honduran Garifuna Singer Percussionist Bodoma (Carlos Norales) showing his life in the United States and in Honduras is what makes up this cinematic inquiry or study of the life of Garifuna people as it is lived today.
Trailer to The GARIFUNA NATION Documentary
Subjects Mentioned in The Garifuna Nation Documentary
Through a series of interviews of Garifuna people as well as exclusive footage providing a glimpse of Garifuna rituals and ceremonies; Director Carlos De Jesus investigates Garifunas relation to (a partial list):
- Garifuna Spirituality (Pro and Con)
- Lure of Western Influence
- Race
- Work
- Class Struggle
- Ecology/Environment
- Conflicts Related to the Retention of the Garifuna Language
- Dance
- Tourism
- Future
Various people of Garifuna descent are interviewed and given the opportunity to provide their perspective on many aspects of Garifuna Life and they do so in a spirited yet sophisticated manner.
Garifuna Man Felix Miranda (Secretary General of The World Garifuna Organization) being interviewed in the documentary, Garifuna Nation. Image courtesy of Carlos Productions.
Garinagu (plural for Garifuna) like Felix Miranda (Secretary of The World Garifuna Organization), Conrad Lewis (Deputy Clerk of The National Assembly of Belize), Ethlyn Lewis (Principal of The Holy Family Primary School in Hopkins, Belize), Mary Castillo (Schoolteacher in Hopkins, Belize), The Women of The Sandy Beach Cooperative in Hopkins, Belize and others all talk about (and in turn, shine a light on) Being Garifuna. In their interviews for the Garifuna Nation documentary, they insist on the viability, vitality and humanity of the Garifuna Experience. They also slyly suggest the self-determination and projection of ethnic identity that must take place when you declare who (and what) you are. Note the Garifuna Flag held up by two women from the Sandy Beach Women’s Cooperative in Hopkins, Belize in the photo at the top of this posting. It’s something that wasn’t bought in a store. It was sewed and manufactured personally. Like the prideful photo of the Women of the Sandy Beach Women’s Cooperative (which is a progressive Tourist Lodge in Hopkins, Belize which caters to lovers of nature and the environment as well as introduce visitors to Garifuna culture) that’s shown near the end of The Garifuna Nation documentary (we see one of the women posing with rollers in her hair), this is an example of self-determination and self-worth if there ever was one. Damn it if you can’t be who you are!!!
I was struck by seeing these Garifuna take advantage of the rare opportunity to express their pride in Being Garifuna. You can hear it in the gentle, Caribbean lilt in the voice of schoolteacher Mary Castillo as she patiently talks about Garifuna history and among other things, the African influence on Garifuna culture. You sense it when Felix Miranda alternatively glances into the camera while being interviewed by Carlos De Jesus offscreen, or even Anthony Castillo (a restaurant owner in Hopkins, Belize) who with a fixed gaze in his eyes, talks about the subtle racial and class conflicts between Garifunas and Kriols / Creoles (while noting the irony that they are both Black) in Belize; they all clearly relish the opportunity to give of themselves and share the story of the Garifuna people.
Director Carlos DeJesus talking about his Garifuna Nation documentary at New York University in March 2012. Photo by Teofilo Colon Jr. All Rights Reserved.
In the midst of his study of Garinagu in Belize, New York City and Honduras; Carlos De Jesus explores various aspects of The Garifuna experience, particularly the challenge of dealing with western lifestyles and modern technology while trying to uphold the long-held values regarding their community. The practical reality of assimilation and acculturation are alluded to but not fully explored. In fact, in one moment of the documentary, the flip side of assimilation and acculturation is briefly mentioned.
There’s a moment in the documentary where a Garifuna woman is dancing and singing in a chugu (a miniature version of the sacred Garifuna ceremony, dügü) and Felix Miranda declares that,
“you would have never seen her dancing Punta if she was in Honduras. There are many of these people who came here not speaking Garifuna, (yet) they come into the United States and end up speaking more Garifuna now than Spanish.” — Felix Miranda in the GARIFUNA NATION Documentary
Now what Mr. Miranda is referring to is a VERY complex set of circumstances. But in that instance, the filmmaker doesn’t dig deeper into Mr. Miranda’s declaration. The lack of follow-through in that instance is representative of a lost opportunity to go into identity politics and get to the bottom of what it is about The United States and in particular what it is about people of color living in the United States that causes this projection of ethnic identity to occur? However, that may be quibbling as the documentary covers so much ground that it is dizzying. With globalization a mighty reality in this world, this documentary suggests America’s place and influence in the world, particularly as it relates to the Garifuna people. How so?
America’s Influence On The World and on Garifuna People
While watching the Garifuna Nation documentary, I couldn’t help but notice the American iconography on display and wonder about Western influence in Central America and be curious about it’s effect OR affect on Garifuna People. Whether it’s the Coca-Cola logo being plastered on basketball backboards (and walls all over Belize), or watching Marine Tour Guide Norlan Noel Nunez being interviewed while wearing T-shirt decorated with the Newport (a cigarette company) logo and tagline (“Newport With Pleasure!”), or even Young Garifuna Belizean men Fenton Lino and Agustin Lino being interviewed while dressed in the typical hip-hop clothing (A Chicago White Sox baseball hat, Baggy Jeans, an oversize Denver Nuggets basketball jersey and oversize shorts) common among black youths in the United States; the American influence is almost omnipresent, something the director Carlos DeJesus notices as well and that he expresses in a clever, cinematic matter.
About thirty minutes into the documentary, after some Garifuna people are interviewed about the environment in Hopkins, Belize; the camera cuts to a television set on the dresser. The television is already on and electronic images flicker on the screen. The images begin to change demonstrating that the channels are being changed. Eventually, the changing of the channels is stopped upon a music television show. The music video to the rap song “4, 5, 6″ by Sole featuring JT Money and Kandi (from the R & B group Xscape) is playing on the television.
JT Money is rapping while seated at a strip club and Sole is in a nurse outfit (and various other outfits) stripping and working the pole in front of JT Money. At the point in the music video when Sole’s leg is touching JT Money’s shoulder, the camera begins a slow ZOOM IN on the television.
In the music video, JT Money holds stacks of dollar bills while rapping and this is alternated with shots of Sole looking up at the Camera. In other shots, she continues dancing in her nurse outfit (and other outfits designed to tease and rouse any guy watching) while JT Money nods appreciatively.
In film school, this shot (photographing a television playing a music video–or any shot that is somewhat OUTSIDE the world of the characters in a movie or the subject of the movie) is called a Non-Diegetic Insert shot. While it is a bizarre and odd shot, in this context, it’s a undeniable sign that this documentary is being made by a savvy, smart filmmaker who knows what is going on in the world. To use street parlance, Carlos DeJesus, “knows what time it is”. Not only Mr. DeJesus, but so do the Garifuna people who are the subject of this documentary. This is crystalized in a quote by Conrad Lewis (Deputy Clerk of The National Assembly of Belize), who when talking about Crime, explained,
“Crime does not exist or happen in isolation. Crime is a function of some malady in society. As we are exposed to more foreign influences. As more of our children graduate from school and are unable to get jobs, etc. The chance of crime will increase. Jobs are not only very difficult to come by but the traditional way of living, the farming, subsistence living, fishing, have been challenged by globalization.” — CONRAD LEWIS in the Garifuna Nation Documentary.
People, I am not aware of another documentary that similarly explores the context of living in such an intelligent manner. Another example of the cinematic savvyness at display is a simple shot of Mr. Conrad Lewis talking about education in Belize, British Hegemony and it’s impact on Belize and Garifuna People in general. To underscore his point, while Mr. Conrad Lewis is talking, the camera cuts to a pan movement across the wall. We see a Chart of The National Assembly of Belize / House of Representatives, the camera then pans past a Garifuna flag that is hung on a wall. That, ladies and gentlemen is CINEMA at work.
Those looking for a by-the-numbers listing of different aspects of the food Garifuna people eat, the clothes Garifuna people wear or the history of the Garifuna people will be disappointed as that is not what this documentary is about. What it IS about though, is something people interested in learning about a marginalized culture may want to pay attention to. That is, life as a Garifuna and investigation as to the meaning of the lives of Garinagu (plural for Garifuna).
The Garifuna PUNTA Dance: Traditional vs. Contemporary Way of Dancing It
Aspects of Being Garifuna that have gotten considerable acclaim and notice internationally is Garifuna music and the popular Garifuna dance, Punta. Especially so in the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Nicaragua, where you can find most Garifuna people. Traditionally a dance performed at funerals and wakes, the Garifuna Punta Dance has been evolved into a erotic, suggestive dance that through its current popularity has produced a conflict amongst Garifuna people. Namely, while enjoying the spiritual, physical and sexual aspects of the Punta dance, has the manner in which Punta is now performed / danced bastardized the form? Has the dance now been prostituted?
Garifuna Percussionist and Singer BODOMA interviewed in the Garifuna Nation Documentary. Image courtesy of Carlos Productions.
Director Carlos DeJesus offers a number of perspectives on this matter, from Garifuna Percussionist Bodoma who gives a nuanced and thorough breakdown of the Punta Dance to Garifuna Women offering their take on how Punta is danced while the viewer sees footage of Garifuna dancing at Heckscher State Park during annual Garifuna gatherings there over the summer. From noting the influence of the West Indian style of dancing on Punta and debating whether that influence makes the dance X-rated or raunchy to commentary on the Punta dance’s impact on relations between the sexes, there’s PLENTY of intelligent opinions to mull over. In fact, there’s criticism of the Punta dance and how the vulgar nature of how it’s danced currently affects relations between men and women by a young Garifuna woman that is breathtaking in its eloquence, insight and poetic lyricism. Frankly, that young Garifuna woman’s monologue is a funny (and applause generating) highlight of the Garifuna Nation Documentary and alone worth the price of admission.
It’s in watching these Garifuna people talk, explain, chat, or articulate their feelings about this subject that lift the conversation out of the stuffy world of academia. It’s also in some of the priceless footage demonstrating various ways in which Garifuna people respond to the world around them in a distinct and humane manner. One example of this is seeing Garifuna Percussionist Singer Bodoma at work in the United States, negotiating with contractors in Honduras and performing with International Superstar Garifuna Singer Musician Aurelio Martinez in Spain. Seeing this multi-dimensional portrait offers a glimpse of the life of a Garifuna Man as he mediates and moderates his professional, personal and spiritual life.
An associate professor of film and television at The Tisch School of The Arts at New York University; Mr. Carlos DeJesus’s cinematic proficiency is evident throughout Garifuna Nation. Whether it’s in the deliberate postponement of text on the screen announcing just who it is that is being interviewed, or the use of voiceovers to link shots, subtly introduce a person before they appear onscreen or to serve as a transition from one scene to the next (a classic technique used in fiction films), Garifuna Nation is clearly the work of a professional. Kudos to Post Production Sound man Ryan Fagman for his subtle Sound Work on this documentary as well as to Editor Edgardo A. Parada for his smooth as a baby’s bottom editing. While at times, the image suffers from meager resources (some of the interviews are overexposed–too light), also the text on the screen is hard to read; the passion these Garinagu display in sharing the story of the Garifuna people transcend whatever limitations the off-and-on filming of this documentary imposed on the production.
As a result of filming the documentary being made intermittedly over the course of ten years (Mr. DeJesus filmed whenever he was able to save enough money), a viewer also gets to witness the evolution of video technology of the years. While watching these Garifuna people in different video formats like Hi8 or Mini DV, it’s touching to see their beauty and humanity shine through, despite the rough circumstances.
While it is disconcerting and disappointing to note that there is very little Garifuna spoken (relatively speaking, of course) in the Garifuna Nation documentary. This is more a reflection of the ability of Garifuna people to communicate in languages of Majority or Dominant culture, namely English and Spanish. However, it would have been nice to hear more of the Garifuna Language in the documentary. Why is this important? Well, when talking about the conflicts related to the retaining the Garifuna Language in Belize, Mr. Conrad Lewis explains,
“I certainly subscribe to the idea that our culture is our language. If the language disappears, how can we readily say, that we are this or we are that, without our language? Language transmits values, Language transmits ideas. You know, Values and ideas are how people are able to identify itself and that creates a uniqueness of a people.” — Mr. Conrad Lewis (Deputy Clerk of The National Assembly of Belize) in the Garifuna Nation documentary
That is an example of the wisdom and the philosophical inquiry consistently on display in the Garifuna Nation documentary. And the idea that Mr. Conrad Lewis expressed is certainly up for thinking about and debating.
Audience at Screening of Garifuna Nation documentary in the Bronx in October 2011. — Photo by Teofilo Colon Jr. All Rights Reserved.
Reaction to the Garifuna Nation has been mostly approving from what I can tell. Being that there are currently few documentaries on the subject of Garifuna people, it’s fair to say that many hopes and aspirations are invested onto any non-fiction (or fiction) project on Garifunas. Mostly, we all want to see the subject done right and reflective of our experience as Garifuna people. As I have discussed with the director of the Garifuna Nation documentary, Mr. Carlos DeJesus; there truly is a LOT to cover. It is a broad yet singular subject.
One criticism raised at a screening of The Garifuna Nation documentary was that while Guatemala is mentioned, the perspective of Garifuna people from Guatemala is missing; which for a documentary titled Garifuna Nation IS a fair criticism. I don’t know if Mr. Carlos DeJesus had the resources to travel to each main Central American country of the Garifuna Diaspora for his documentary but it’s important to keep in mind what Mr. DeJesus DID get. That is, multiple insightful accounts of what it is like Being Garifuna. Perhaps this documentary can serve as some sort of starting point on future documentaries exploring the contemporary aspect of life as a Garifuna. Also it’s worth mentioning at this point that as far as I know, there is not a documentary on the Garifuna People that covers the Garifuna Diaspora (the Central American countries of Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and for discussion’s sake, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and The United States of America). All the documentaries that I know of mainly focus on one or two countries, namely Honduras and Belize. Exploring the entire Garifuna Diaspora is a big challenge that one can’t take for granted.
Director Carlos DeJesus has explained that he was inspired by his meeting of the Garifuna people. That his learning of a people who by way of their successful resistance to slavery and their eventual exile from their ancestral land of St. Vincent to Central America; can not only trace their customs, language and culture back over 200 years but also EMBRACE their blackness was exciting and was something he felt that Black and Latino people in America and all over the world could learn from. It was that excitement that helped galvanize and energize his efforts into making this documentary over the years.
As the documentary progresses, we see less of the director’s self-examination (at times, rigorous and devastating) and philosophical statements as he reflects on what he has learned. After a while, his declarations take a back seat to the commentary of the Garifuna people that are the subject of this documentary. Perhaps the documentary needed more on-screen self-investigation from the director as he revealed more of what he’s learned about himself and the Garifuna people.
I suspect that it’s in the Embracing of Blackness by the Garifuna People where the director’s inspiration and connection lies. It’s something that truly is missing amongst Latinos especially when you look at the considerable number of Black people in Latin America, specifically Mexico, Central and South America. The notion of having Black people in your family tree is one that is troubling to many Latinos and perhaps upon uncovering an ethnic group of Black people in Central America who clearly embraced being Black was something the director found irresistible.
It’s taken a couple of months for me to write this review of the new documentary GARIFUNA NATION. In short, it’s been somewhat of a challenge for me to properly write about this work. So much is discussed and so many ideas worth sharing are introduced in this documentary. I didn’t want to reveal too much, yet at the same time there was so much to write about. Needless to say, there is much to discover in the new documentary, GARIFUNA NATION. I hope I have struck the right balance when writing about this new work.
Overall, the Garifuna Nation documentary is an personal and spiritual inquiry into the contemporary lives of the Garifuna people. It is also subtly about the soul connection that takes place between an intrigued outsider and members of an obscure ethnic group upon a chance meeting. Garifuna Nation should not be missed.
The Garifuna Nation Documentary is 82 minutes long. It is in English, Spanish, Garifuna with English subtitles. The documentary includes some graphic footage of a elderly woman dancing topless.
Those interested in seeing this documentary can leave a comment underneath this review or underneath this posting on Facebook.
Attendees approach Director Carlos DeJesus after the screening of his documentary, GARIFUNA NATION at New York University in March 2012. Photo by Teofilo Colon Jr. All Rights Reserved.
Readers of this review may be interested in other documentaries on various aspects of Being Garifuna. Other Garifuna documentaries out there that I am aware of include:
Garifuna Journey — Andrea Leland and Kathy Berger February 1998 (I have not seen this).
The Garifuna Heritage Part 1 and The Garifuna Heritage Part 2 – by the National Garifuna Council of Belize. (I have seen this, not sure what year this was released)
Play Jankunu Play: The Garifuna Wanaragua Ritual of Belize — by Oliver Greene. Released in 2006. (I have not seen this)
Soy Garifuna Part 1 and Soy Garifuna Part 2 Released in 2007 — by Honduran NGO, ODECO (I have seen this).
Los Hijos Del Destierro (The Children of Exile) – Released in France in 2010 (I have seen this).
Garifuna — Historia de La Punta — 2009 by Gari TV (I have seen this).
Garifunas en Nicaragua — May 2009 (I have seen this)
Aniha Dan (The Time is Now) — 2011 (I have seen this)
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Teofilo Colon Jr.