GUATEMALAN MILITARY MARIMBA BAND TO PLAY IN BELMOPAN

BELIZE WILL ENJOY SHARING WITH CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRIES ON SATURDAY SEPT 13th of the BELIZE INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATIONS IN THE CAPITAL BELMOPAN - FOLKLORIC ARTISTIC FESTIVAL PLANNED.

The Belize Independence day is actually September 21st, but the Central American and North American countries of Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua and Mexico will be sending folkloric artists to the capital of Belize in honor of our Belizean Independence Day celebrations. The artistic performance will be small, as befitting a small populated country. ( About 300,000 people ) and held this coming Saturday at 4 p.m., at the Governor General Field in the capital Belmopan , September 13th. 2008. The capital town itself has a population of 7000 people around the immediate area.

The childrens ballet “PILMIJTOIANIJ” from Vera Cruz, Mexico from a long way away, will be coming to perform, Chetumal , Mexico a frontier town, will be contributing a reggae group called “HIERBA SANTA” and will offer musical concerts. The entrance is FREE! I am extremely excited myself in hearing and seeing the Guatemalan Marimba group “UJUUM MAYAB”. The last time they were in Belize I missed them at a Benque Viejo town, frontier Fiesta on the Western Border with Guatemala . The Benque festival not being publicly announced to warn us. This Military MARIMBA ORCHESTRA is famous in the nearby State of Peten , Guatemala and belongs to the First Infantry Brigade of Peten. We nearly went to war with them back in the 1960’s and early 1970’s over Belize . They use two jungle made wooden MARIMBA orchestra instruments along with a drum set and the orchestra numbers twelve people. Three musicians play one Marimba instrument and four musicians play another different octave marimba wooden made jungle instrument. There are also up to five other musicians joining in with other instruments, like drums. This MARIMBA orchestra plays a wide repertoire of dance music. Belize will be contributing some ethnic cultural traditional dances from different sections of Belize .

Belize also has a declining population of traditional marimba players with over 150 years of history behind them out in Western Belize .

The Festival will also play down in the port on the coast, the political control capital of the country at the Bliss Institute on Sunday. The purpose of the Festival is to strengthen ties between Central American countries and Mexico in North America .

I’m really excited to hear and see this Guatemalan Marimba band as we have run Maya Mountain Folk Music Festivals for over five years, mostly to do with the Marimba. Photos can be seen on the internet at: http://falconview0.tripod.com/annualmayamountainsfolkmusicfestivalofwesternbelize2004/

http://falconview0.tripod.com/mayamountainsfolkmusicfestival/2005belize/

http://falconview0.tripod.com/belizeteenagemarimbacontestof2004/

http://falconview0.tripod.com/mayamountainfolkmusicfl/


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http://westernbelizehappenings.blogspot.com



News Service presented compliments of: “Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel” Santa Elena Town, Western Belize .