The Belize Tourism Board has embarked on another endeavor towards cultural preservation and community development with the commencement of a Multipurpose Center in San Jose Succotz in Cayo District. The project was launched in collaboration with Cayo West Area Representative Jorge Espat, in order to redefine the landscape of the Maya and Mestizo village of San Jose Succotz. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday, March first, where Jorge Espat spoke on the project’s launch.
Jorge Espat
Jorge Espat, Cayo West Area Representative
“History will continue in the village of San Jose Succotz through building of this multi purpose building and all of you residents and tour guides that at the end of the day, it’s of most benefit to all. Continuing to have a place where we will celebrate our activities, the festivities, weddings, meetings, trainings, and especially the day of San Jose Succotz. This was the area and will continue to be the area where the village will celebrate its day. So this is history and continues to be history. Forty three years we are shy away and twenty days for the anniversary of this specific building, Forty three years and after that we are going to bring state of the art building, something that this village really needs, something that will put Cayo on the map as well. Teaching all that is there to teach of our culture and heritage of this village and villagers. So at the end of the day, I thank each and every one of you for the support that you all had given us.”
The Belize Tourism Board has affirmed its commitment to developing areas throughout Belize in order to elevate their appeal in the hopes of boosting economic development and the preservation of Belize’s culture. As part of this initiative, a Multipurpose Center is to be constructed in San Jose, Succotz. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday, March first, where Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations, Anthony Mahler spoke about the importance of these projects beyond just the infrastructure.
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations
“The Cayo district is always among the top three destinations in the country. So it’s very, very important for an industry that generated 1. 2 billion dollars provides so many working opportunities for people, injects the foreign exchange that we get a lot of it. And so almost half of our economy is dependent on tourism. Now, for far too long, the infrastructure that supports tourism has been neglected. Multiple governments, and I’m not gonna say who or what, but they haven’t looked at the physical product. That we sell and say, all right, we need to inject some serious money into this product so that we can sell internationally. For most of it, it has been built organically. No planning, no zoning, no discipline, no structure. We have a beautiful area in San Pedro called Secret Beach that’s just chaotic. We have to corral that. You have Mountain Pine Ridge, again, that poses some opportunities for us, but also some issues that we have to rectify and address as we move forward as disciplined and organized leaders that we work every day to ensure that we make Belize a better place. So these projects that we’re rolling out are just a part of the product building exercise and exercises that we have going on, um, under the Ministry of Tourism and Diaspora Relations and the Belize Tourism Board. Now, a part of that, even though we have to fix the infrastructure, we have to continue to build our people, so training is important. We are going to launch some training initiatives on this side as well during the summer months. And so all of these things create a world class tourism destination.”
Pickstock Criterium Takes Over Central American Boulevard
Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. Benny’s Belize Hurricanes dominated inside the Belize City Civic Center on Friday night against the Belmopan Trojans. Hurricanes won their game against the Trojans by thirty-three points. The Hurricane’s entire starting five were good for double digits. The same was true for two of their bench players. Sidibe “The African” Bourama, played eighteen minutes and finished the game with sixteen points and nine rebound. Bourama displayed dominance under the rim, especially in the third quarter. 2023 league MVP Victor Evans finished with thirteen points and ten rebounds, contributing the most rebounds for his team that night.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Amar Ross “The Three Point Boss” played twenty-two minutes of this and finished with sixteen points. He exited the game and went back to the locker room with an injury to his angle. But, soon enough he returned and continued to play. Ross was sixty percent from the three-point line on Friday night. Off the bench, Marquise Cunningham was good for fourteen points and six rebounds. For the Belmopan Trojans, Jevaughn Mckenzie was good for fifteen points and Dartavious Young finished with fourteen points, lead their team in scoring, though they lost the game. After the match we heard from the Hurricanes’ lead scorers.
Sidibe Bourama
Sidibe Bourama, Benny’s Belize Hurricanes
“My teammates are looking for me, Ross and Vick and Cope they are always looking fo the big men. When you run the floor you get awarded with the ball and then after that I just came and play hard you know. I just wanted to come out harder and set a standard because in the first half I got into two quick fouls and I was mad about it but I said I was just going to come out and play hard and if I foul out I foul out and I just go after it.”
Amar Ross
Amar Ross, Benny’s Belize Hurricanes
“I mean it is God honestly. God has been here for me from the beginning. He ishere for me now. He keep me going through it. Even my angle getting rolled, it’s just him that I still have the strength to play through that. Like, so I am just thankful and grateful and blessed.”
Paul Lopez
“Are you concerned any at all about the games coming up, you have a huge game against the Belize City Defenders?”
Amar Ross
“Well I will just say it like this, you all going to see me play. There is no way I am sitting out, so that is it. You all are going to see me play, I will figure it out.”
From basketball we take you to some football action in the Williams Dawson Peace Cup. This weekend we were in Sand Hill Village for the match between Kelly Street and Port FC. This one ended two goals to zero in favor of Kelly Street. Here is how those two goals played out. In the eight minute of the game, Port FC’s goal keeper kicked the ball to his teammate on the right. That player kicked the ball towards his teammate near the goal.
Number eight for Kelly Street applied pressure on the goal keeper, leading to a turnover and placing Kelly Street’s number ten in position to score the team’s first goal of the match, a costly error there by Port FC. The second goal of the match came at the seventy-first minute. Good defensive presence and offensive strategy placed number ten on top of the penalty box to receive the pass. He missed kicked but his teammate was in front of the goal to save the play and make the goal. As we said, Kelly Street won the match.
And finally for tonight, we bring you some highlights from the Pickstock Criterium on Sunday in Belize City. This race followed the Belmopan Cycling Classic that was held earlier in the day and won by Wasani Castro. In the Pickstock Critirium, elite riders raced along the Central American Boulevard from the Pallotti Roundabout to the Hand Roundabout and back for twenty-five laps. Four laps into the race and a small gap has been opened by a group of seven riders as they made their way pass around the Pallotti roundabout. Eleven laps in and the lead has been cut down from seven to four riders.
Among them are Byron Pope, Gregg Lovell and Derrick Chavarria. with eight laps remaining, a group of seven rider, lead by Devonte Bennett is working to bridge that longstanding gap. With six laps remaining Wasani Castro and Giovanni Lovell breaks away from the chase pack and presses in an attempt to bridge that gap. Three laps remaining and Wasani Castro has taken the lead in this one, as his effort pays off. At the finish line, its Giovanni Lovell in first place, followed closely by Wasani Castro in second.
Well Folks that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.
