Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson joined the Garifuna Coalition USA, Incorporated, to host the 15th Annual Garifuna Heritage Month celebration on Thursday, March 9, at the Bronx County Building’s Rotunda located at 851 Grand Concourse. During the ceremony, Gibson issued a proclamation announcing March 11-April 2 as Garifuna Heritage Month, in observance of the 226th anniversary of the forcible transfer of the Garifuna people by the British from their ancestral homeland of St. Vincent “Yurumein,” (presently known as St. Vincent and the Grenadines) to Central American in 1787.
“Since 2008, our borough has been proud to celebrate the heritage, culture, and tradition of the people of Garifuna descent,” said Gibson. “With a past that reaches back to the early 17th century on the Island of St. Vincent, then later in the countries of Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, and Honduras, their history has remained intact and over 100,000 residents now call the Bronx their home. It has been my honor to host Garifuna Heritage Month celebrations since my time in the New York City Council and to now continue the tradition as Bronx Borough President.”
In 2014, then-Councilmember Gibson was the first to issue a proclamation in recognition of Garifuna-Heritage Month in the City Council.
The evening included performances by the Wabafu Dance Theater and DJ Oscar Ordonez. Honorees were Ibert Julius Sanchez, Garifuna menswear designer of Honduran descent; Mirna Martinez Santiago, founder of Girls Rule the Law!; and Lizeth Arzu-Cacho, founder and CEO of Cosmetologist of Mirtha’s Beauty Salon, Inc.
Sponsors of the event included Montefiore Health Systems, Phipps Neighborhoods, SBH Health System and Ponce Bank.
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