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A brief history of the Costa Maya Festival
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Denyse Plummer "The Calypso Queen" and Grand Marshall of
the 1992 Festival
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It is time once again to come together and join in the fun of Belize's most
awaited and festive event of the year - The International Costa Maya
Festival. During these six days of festivities, Belize joins Mundo Maya
neighboring countries El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico to put on
a one of a kind show.
As we get ready to celebrate the eight years of this festival, we must
not forget the hardworking team that came up with this bright idea. The
1992 Sea & Air Festival was created out of the imaginations of a few
individuals.
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Reigning Queen Astrid Ramirez and Belize hopeful Vanya Vasquez
| In 1991, a chapter of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and
Industry was formed in San Pedro and John Edwards was elected Chairman. He
and a few others such as Don Pearly, Kevin Gonzalez and Stuart "Taff"
Elliott, formed the nucleus of the planning committee for the first event
of this kind to take place on Ambergris Caye. They felt it was a natural
function of a Chamber of Commerce - promoting business in a normally slow
time of year. Don Pearly was chosen the Chairman of the Festival Committee.
The committee consisted of the San Pedro Sun Bruce and Victoria Collins,
Katie Brickey, Carlos Pariente, Eddie Halliday, Jack Westerhold, Ann
McGlaun, Kevin Gonzalez, Santos Acosta, Don Pearly, Eli Pearly, John
Edwards, Taff Elliott, Llewelyn Burgess and Alida Nuñez. The idea was a
result of a group of persons from the community that were looking for a way
to boost the economy in San Pedro during the "low season."
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The Creole
Gial was #1 at the cardboard boat races
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After a trip to
Honduras during Carmen & Jesus Castillo's wedding, some of the group
members attended the Festival Folklorico of San Pedro Sula where Central
American countries participated, with the exception of Belize. After
careful planning, they came up with a festival inviting the Mundo Maya
countries to gather in San Pedro to share their musical and cultural
diversities. They were hoping to attract many visitors to the island,
arriving by way of private air craft or sea vessel, thus making San Pedro a
port of entry. They named this event The San Pedro International Sea & Air
Festival. The first festival was held on July 21st - 26th, 1992 at the
Roman Catholic Primary School grounds. The festival was a five-day event,
as was the 1993 festival. A sixth day was added for the third festival in
1994, but the invited country did not show up. The festival proved to be
very successful, bringing much needed income to the island. Each night of
the festival was assigned to one of the visiting countries. During that
night, the country being depicted displayed their finest in music, cultural
dances and crafts. Every night was unique in its own way, attracting
hundreds to the island. The first festival featured Denyse Plummer "The
Calypso Queen"of Trinidad & Tobago as a headliner.
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Folkloric dances are a
key event at the festival
| Every year the festival got bigger and better. During the morning of
the festival dates, many events would happen at different locations in
town. These would include: bicycle races, cardboard boat races, parades and
much more. The organizers wanted to cater to all age groups, so they also
introduced mechanical games for the youngsters. Eventually a new attraction
was introduced: Miss Sea & Air Pageant. This event proved to be a favorite
of many. Ms. Sylvia Castro of Mexico was the first Ms. Sea & Air Festival,
starting a tradition of international contestants. In 1993, Ms. Diana
Galvan of Guatemala won the title. In 1994, Tessie Duran Tonaco of San
Pedro won the title; the first local to do so. Women from all over the
world participated, including representatives from Central America, North
America, Australia and Europe. As time passed the pageant was changed to
Reina de la Costa Maya Pageant. This pageant requires each contestant be a
title holder, making this event a first class pageant. In 1996, the first
Reina de la Costa Maya Queen was crowned; she was the lovely representative
from Mexico, Miss Maria del Socorro Retolaza. In 1997, the winner was Miss
Carol Aquino from Guatemala and the reigning queen is Miss Astrid Ramirez,
also from Guatemala.
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Sea & Air Queen 1995 Miss Patty Arceo
| Today, the festival has gained international exposure through great
entertainment from international performers of the Mayan Countries. To give
you a taste of the wonderful performers, the following are some of the
lively acts that have put many in the party mood: The Garifuna Kids, La
Gran Banda, Los Ilegales, La Salsa Clave, Chico Flores, Los Malecates,
Garibaldi, Los Phoenix, Santino's Messengers, Rene Alonzo and La Banda
Lazzer, Paloma Martin and Los Galleros Mariachis, Los Gatos Bravos and Andy
Palacio. This year the festival will also give an opportunity for the
public to meet renown Soap Opera star, Mauricio Islas, who will be the
official host of the Reina de la Costa Maya Pageant.
The festival has gained international recognition and is organized
every year by a dynamic and hard working team. Their main goal is to make
the community happy. This year the festival will once again feature great
dancing groups, folkloric dances, kids entertainment, food and drinks
galore and many surprises. We invite the general public to be a part of the
huge festivities.
Welcome to the Eighth San Pedro International Costa Maya Festival.
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A brief history of the Costa Maya Festival
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