Twenty-nine-year-old businessman Aaron Flowers has been charged for wounding a food vendor. The food vendor, thirty-year-old Salvadoran Katherine Saravia told police that Flowers visited her food stand at the corner of Raccoon Street Extension and began to harass her customers. She reported that when she told him to leave, he insulted her and threw bottles of ketchup, pepper and mustard at her causing injuries to her ear. Flowers, in his defense, is claiming that he assaulted no one and that he is the victim. Flowers appeared unrepresented in the Belize City Magistrates Court this morning where he was read two criminal offenses, aggravated assault and wounding. Flowers, who pleaded not guilty to both charges, told the court that he went to the police station to make a report against Saravia after she allegedly chased him with a knife. Flowers told the court that when he arrived at the Police Station and the officers there saw that it was him, they did not want to take his report. Flowers claims that he was injured during the incident and never got an opportunity to get any medical attention because the officer in charge at the station is a friend to the officer who was convicted of wounding him earlier this year. The sitting Magistrate explained to Flowers that the offense for which he is accused is a very serious matter and advised him to seek assistance from an attorney to make a report. Flowers told the court that he will try to obtain video footage of the incident to prove his innocence. In her statement to police, Saravia says that Flowers was harassing one of her male customers and behaving inappropriately when she told him to leave. She alleged that Flowers told her that he is from the streets and threatened to take her life and her husband’s. Saravia also told police that she picked up a knife in fear and that her husband stopped a passing police mobile at the same time. There were no objections to bail. The court offered Flowers bail in the sum of fifteen hundred dollars plus one surety of the same amount. He is due back in court on November twenty-second. Flowers spoke briefly after meeting bail.
Aaron Flowers
Aaron Flowers, Businessman
“Well you know weh happen, the lady the chase me with a knife and when me run to the police, the police spin the whole case pan me. Right now I gwen report the police dah prosecution branch. That is what I have to say. You ever witness somebody the run to the police for help and when they go the police nuh help the victim, the police help the accused. That dah weh ketch me. I nuh need fih know nothing weh the lady seh. I gwen bout my business. I done give you my side.”
The back and forth between the United Democratic Party’s leadership and members of the Alliance for Democracy movement continues with both sides issuing press releases on Monday, slamming each other. The U.D.P.’s release denounced what the party referred to as quote, “the deception and fraud being committed by the Alliance for Democracy Party in their continued efforts to disseminate outright lies regarding the U.D.P.,” unquote. The party accuses the alliance of using various social media platforms to do this and it again, vehemently states that it is not conducting a National Convention on October twentieth. In fact, the party’s release states that the next National Convention is not scheduled until after the 2025 General Elections. Today, U.D.P. Vice Chairman, Alberto August told News Five that the results of the votes at the upcoming will be totally void.
Alberto August
Alberto August, Vice Chairman, U.D.P.
“There is no national convention and, and we are, we are basing on the fact that the national party council had agreed by resolution that there will be no national convention of the United Democratic Party until after the next general elections and that we’re going to proceed to those elections with the current executive leadership in place. That is where we stood. But then we heard it talking about 205 delegates or something to that effect, requesting a national convention. There are several things that has to happen in terms of a national convention. And article six of the U.D.P.’s constitution deals with the conduct of conventions. And at article six, five of the constitution clearly informs Before you proceed to a national convention, there has to be what you call a voters list for the purposes of those conventions. Just like an ordinary election, um, the elections and bungo department and on nomination day provides you with a list of those persons who are going to the polls in the upcoming elections. The constitution of the U.D.P. is designed in similar manner. The constitution at Article six five informs that the list of the names of delegates and alternate delegates. must be provided, must, you know, say shall or should or maybe or must be provided to the secretary general of the party at least six weeks before the conduct of a national convention. The last time I checked with the secretary general of the party, there was no such list submitted to the secretary general. We had what, five, maybe even four weeks before this convention. So the six weeks period has already passed. So whatever they’re having on the 28th of October is basically being conducted with non-authorized delegates of the party. that way, if you want to put it that way, because there’s no official list in accordance with article six, five of the constitution, none.”
The Alliance for Democracy, meanwhile, maintains that the U.D.P. constitution does indeed allow them to conduct a convention and to vote. Albert Area Representative, Tracy Taegar-Panton, who is a member of the alliance, explained to News Five why they believe that their event and the voting will be totally legal and they plan to proceed full throttle with their October twentieth convention at the Bird’s Isle.
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“Delegates of the party are voted on or elected in a constituency convention in their respective constituencies. The last time constituency conventions were held were in 2022, when we were preparing for the leadership convention and thereafter. And so, those delegates, as far as we are concerned, as far as the constitution mandates, are in place until 2024, sometime in November of this year. For most constituencies, it’s November. For other constituencies, it’s a little bit beyond November. So those delegates are valid. I know that -I’ve heard – there’s an argument that delegates are not valid if they’re not registered with the Secretariat. All those constituencies registered their delegates with the Secretariat of the United Democratic Party and delegates can only be removed if they voluntarily resign or if there’s a new constituency convention that is held to lift delegates.”
Marion Ali
“So, there wouldn’t be another portion of the U.D.P. Constitution that would be contradictory to what this part of the Constitution is saying, that you are allowed delegates up until the next convention?”
Tracy Taegar-Panton
“As far as I know, no, as far as my understanding of the constitution of the party, no. The delegates are ultimately the trustees of the party. They are the highest decision makers of the party and they have said in an overwhelming number that we need to have a reset. They have asked for a convention to be convened.”
Participants from across Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean, have converged upon Belize for the Inter-American Sign Language Linguistics Conference. It is the first time Belize is hosting such an event organized by the Inter-American Confederation for Deaf Professionals and Civil Society. The confederation has brought deaf professionals and members of civil society together to formulate ideas on how to better the lives of deaf people and increase their accessibility in society. This four-day conference began one day after the International Day of Sign Languages and only a few days ahead of World Deaf Day. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The exact figures are not known, but a study done in 2013 indicated that the deaf population in Belize stood at roughly thirteen to fifteen thousand. These are people who struggle daily to communicate well, many times even at home. As a result, they often miss out on education and employment opportunities, as well as basic social interactions.
Sallah Davis
Sallah Davis, Sign Language Interpreter
“Well I grew up in a deaf community. It is a very common thing where you grow up and everybody around me signs, so of course you would grow up learning how to sign. It is just as easy for me as signing English, sometimes even better than speaking English.”
Sallah Davis grew up with a father who pastors a church for the deaf. She is now studying to become an international sign language interpreter. Today, Sallah and her father were our interpreters at the First Congress for Inter-American Sign Language Linguistics Conference in Belize.
Anabil Rene Coltat
Anabil Rene Coltat, Venezuelan Parliamentarian
“I came from Belize from Venezuela to facilitate communication and relationship with the Belizeans. I work in the law in the government for the deaf in Venezuela. I teach a lot of the kids so that when they grow up that they will be able to be functioning parts of society to create relationships between them and other people so that throughout time they will be able to work throughout all of the Americas, so that we will be able to all come together and work, especially in the media.”
That’s Anabil Rene Coltat, the only deaf parliamentarian in Venezuela who also heads a foundation for persons living with disabilities. Coltat advocates for policies that enrich the lives of individuals living with various disabilities. He is one of the main speakers at the conference. For Sallah, translating Coltat’s interview was not simple, because sign languages change in different parts of the world.
Sallah Davis
“Yeah that is the hard thing. Most people think that sign language is the same all across the country. I could see how you would think that, but in reality, every single country, most of them have their own different language. Here in Belize, we use a form of ASL so it is very common, same with United States. But, in different Spanish speaking countries, Mexico has a different one, Venezuela has a different one, Guatemala, so it is important to facilitate communication between those languages just as much.”
Juan Palomino, the President of Inter-American Confederation for Deaf Professionals and Civil Society, is also in attendance at the four-day conference. Palamino has a degree in education for the deaf. For this interview, Sallah’s father was our translator.
Juan Guillermo Palomino
Juan Guillermo Palomino, President, CAIPSOR
“I have come here to Belize and I was welcomed here to work with different individuals in Belize and I am really interested in meeting new Belizeans and see how I can support and help them and that we can work together to continue to develop things for all of the Americas and our hope is that at this event we will have different individuals from different countries from all over the Americas come together here in Belize to learn more about each other and how to support each other.”
The conference will see participation and presentations from numerous Central American, South American and Caribbean countries. Belizean, Svetlana Romero organized the entire event. She is also deaf and a member of the organization that Palimino heads in Mexico. Sallah and her dad partnered to translate Romero’s interview.
Paul Lopez
“Why did you plan this event?”
Sveltana Romero
Sveltana Romero, Member, CAIPSOR
“We hope that the information provided we as a country will learn and use to motivate the deaf community?”
Sallah and her father are bridging a gap that makes the world of difference for deaf people. Their roles as interpreters erase the challenges that come with communicating as a deaf person trying to navigate everyday life.
Sallah Davis
“I think the best way would just be like, first of all, to go online. There are so many accessible resources to just learn a few signs and just talk to a deaf person, because a lot of times they are very lonely. Even sometimes their family doesn’t speak sign language. So, learning sign language will make a huge difference and if you find that you like it like me then maybe you can get a career in it and it can pay a lot of money, so.”
It’s been five years since the death of the beloved Jane Usher, otherwise known as Miss or Ma Jane. She is remembered for her contributions to the credit union movement, working diligently at the Holy Redeemer Credit Union for over sixty-five years and as a humanitarian, assisting Belizeans with healthcare, housing, and financial security. Under her leadership, the H.R.C.U. grew to become one of the most successful financial institutions in Belize. In tonight’s episode of Kolcha Tuesday, we look back on the legacy of Doctor Jane Usher and her contributions to her country. Here’s the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Born Jane Ellen Mary Price, Jane Usher is the sister of whom many refer to as the Father of the Nation, George Price. But through her service to the Belizean public and contributions to the exponential growth of the credit union movement she made a memorable name for herself. She began as a clerk in 1944 and climbed the ladder, becoming CEO in 1956. Through her competency and hard work, the institution flourished.
[File: 2016]
Dr. Jane Usher
Dr. Jane Usher, Late CEO, H.R.C.U.
“I remember when the bishop of Belize told me I had to take over the credit union, I couldn’t even make out a deposit slip. Because the person they left in charge was not able to continue and they gave me the credit union. And I just stayed there and worked and worked. And I’m happy to have made the first million, then the second million and the third million. Don’t ask me how many millions we are now, but I’m still there.”
Miss Jane worked diligently to grow the H.R.C.U., but she is revered for her work in politics and government as well. She served as Deputy Minister of Health, housing cooperatives, and credit unions. She would assume the role of President of the Senate in 1989. According to her son, Francis Usher, service to others was a core value she instilled in them.
[File: 2016]
Francis Usher
Francis Usher, Son
“Well they raised us from childhood to help other people. First starting with the family and then outside. And it just got in us. So, we just kept on going. So we always put ourselves last. The person in front of you first.”
Her daughter, Carolyn Matus, reiterated her mother’s drive to help others in all circumstances. The lessons her mother taught her through her acts of kindness remained with her into adulthood.
[File: 2016]
Carolyn Matus
Carolyn Matus, Daughter
“I remember as a young child, there was something she said. I had just gotten out of the office, walking outside to go to the car. And then another lady stopped her, little old lady. And she just wanted to talk. And I remember telling mom come on let’s go, we’re hungry. And she neva disciplined e hard but she said things in such a way you feel so bad afterwards. She said, she just needed somebody to talk to. And I said but we hungry and she said but no. She probably noh have anybody. And she just want talk. She said you know sometimes Petie, because they call me Petie, you have to give somebody else and it’s not always about you all.”
She is fondly remembered for her interpersonal skills and her ability to liven up a room. Her son, Robert Usher, believes it was part of the reason people gravitated towards her for assistance.
[File: 2016]
Robert Usher
Robert Usher, Son
“I think her success at the credit union has been that she is a people person. Miss Jane walks into a room and she lights the room up because she is very vocal. She is going to speak, she is not gonna sequester herself in a little corner. She’s gonna get out there and she’s gonna talk to you and she will let you open up. And when you open up, you will relay to her your concerns, your fears, your desires. And she will then assist you in trying to find solutions to those desires that you have.”
This legacy is not supported solely by her children, but also by the people she worked with. The staff at the H.R.C.U. looked forward to greeting her whenever she stopped by.
[File: Sep 5, 2017]
Nigel Alvarado
Nigel Alvarado, Loans Officer, H.R.C.U.
“I’ve known Miss Jane for the past five years going on to six and I’ve never one day had a disappointment working here. She greets me every morning I go in her office; I always give her a kiss on her cheeks. She is a very lovely lady. Any person that is around her will always leave and say Miss Jane is one of a kind.”
Luanne Daniels
Luanne Daniels, Internal Auditor, H.R.C.U.
“Miss Jane is full of life; she is truly an inspiration to everybody. She is the first face that we see in the morning; your morning doesn’t start until you tell her good morning and you see her.”
This attitude of kindness and hospitability is a lesson that she also passed on to her staff.
[File: 2016]
Sonny Meighan
Sonny Meighan, Office Manager’s Asst., H.R.C.U.
“She taught me how to talk to people, how to greet people, how to do my finances, how to spend my money. She taught me that the credit union was built on trust.”
Jane Usher helped shape a generation of Belize’s national leaders, inspiring them to lead with kindness for the love of their country.
[File: Dec 12, 2018]
Voice of: John Briceño
Voice of: John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader
“People remember Miss Jane for the work that she has done at Holy Redeemer Credit Union, that most people when they talk about HRCU, dehn seh, “I gwein go sih Miss Jane.” Meaning that dehn gwein da Holy Redeemer Credit Union and it was amazing the life that she had, that she worked probably until sometime early this year when she got into, she had a spill and broke her pelvic bone. It’s just so amazing what Miss Jane has done that she has touched the lives of thousands upon thousands of Belizeans, the small man and woman that does not have access to the bank, that can go to Miss Jane, borrow wahn lee money to send their children to school to have an education, build wahn small lee house.”
Belize bade farewell to Doctor Usher in 2018, when she passed at the age of one hundred and one years old. At the funeral, her great-granddaughter, Sophia Usher, delivered a speech commemorating her life’s work.
[File: Dec 18, 2018]
Sophia Usher
Sophia Usher, Great-Granddaughter
“She is an incredible inspiration to women of all ages and walks of life across the country, an example of the possibilities that exist when women play an integral role in the development of our nation. In on the very formidable legacy that women like Miss Jane that we strengthen our efforts to receive parity for women and girls in this country. We are forever grateful for her service. Miss Jane is truly without comparison, I don’t know if she will ever join her brother in having official conferral of the status which befits her legend.”
Doctor Jane Usher believed that after she left the earth, her legacy of kindness would live on in memory.
[File: 2016]
Dr. Jane Usher
“I think they will remember me for what I really did in life. Besides the credit union movement, but the people that I have helped. The people that have come to me for help.”
The State of Emergency has expired and over one hundred young men and women who were swept up in the operation are now back at home with their families. From June twenty-fourth to just a few days ago, the prisoners spent the past ninety days in programs to discourage them from returning to the same life. They were picked up from areas of Belize City and the Cayo District, including Cotton Tree Village, and Another World in Roaring Creek Village. Volunteer with the Leadership Intervention Gang, Raymond “Footie” Gongora was a part of the program.
Raymond “Footie” Gongora
Raymond “Footie” Gongora, Volunteer, L.I.U
“We really needed to see what was the problem and why these guys keep doing what they’re doing and really coming back and forth. And we find out there was a lot of trauma in a lot of their lives. Things happen where it’s not dealt with none at all and it’s dealt with streetwise.”
Marion Ali
“Some of them say they had gainful employment, they were working for a living, maintain their families, sustaining their children. Now they’re back out on the streets with no job, no way to maintain their kids. What happens now? Will there be some assistance given to them, to their families for them to help them sustain their kids or to get back employment?”
Raymond Gongora
“All right, as it is, while they were there, the L.I.U., the head and the L.I.U. officers went to see them, each one of them individually, see what were their needs coming back out, see who all had kids, who needed help with their kids going back to school and who are part of the L.I.U. working program come on back. They had checks for them – who were working with the L.I.U. Some of the wives, and so went and received it and coming out back now, the L.I.U. is working back with them, having them come in and see where we go from there, nuh.”
But some of the men are not pleased with the treatment they received at the Belize Central Prison and today they told News Five that the last ninety days of their lives were hell. They believe that they were unfairly swept up and locked up for three months. Two of them were gainfully employed with children to sustain. Nonetheless, they want to uplift their lives for themselves and their families.
Voice of: S.O.E. Prisoner 1
Voice of: S.O.E. Prisoner 1
“I spent 90 days for no reason, no charge, nothing. I got my paper, I could send home for my paper. Cell Two da Multi-Max ah deh. Two weeks, they take we out, they talk about riot, they pepper spray all ah wi. When we go da tribunal, nothing deh nuh got pahn yoh. So, weh we di do da prison?”
Voice of: S.O.E. Prisoner 2
Voice of: S.O.E. Prisoner 2
“They say we di try start riot. That da when we just come. They want to make an example out of us. So then they just come and say we try di try start riot. They locked down the whole jail and spray we down, one by one. Everybody handcuffed behind. Then, in the tribunal, the police, they tell the tribunal chairman that I da wa gang member, I well known in the streets, all kind of things. So I tell the man, you done do my background when I work for a thing then? The man say we wa investigate that right now. I tell them straight. Then they say I mi wa get charged, but watch ya, I still deh out ya free.”
Voice of: S.O.E. Prisoner 3
Voice of: S.O.E. Prisoner 3
“Ih my rough, mammy, I di tell yoh cause at the end ah the day, you’re there for nothing and then you’re just there, have to goh through this with a lot of young boy and then a lot of them don’t know what they want, you know, because they gone da that place deh with a lotta rage eena dehn. I try to get ahead now, you know, mammy. I want to try to open a little food business and thing, you know, get pahn my foot and start doing my thing.”
Three years ago, his parents made the difficult decision to relocate him to the U.S. at the age of fourteen. Today, Douglas Langford Junior committed to playing college basketball at Harvard University. Langford grew up in the Culture Capital, Dangriga. His father, Douglas Langford Senior is a respected basketball player in Belize who had dreams of one day joining the N.B.A. Those dreams were never realized, but when his son came along with similar desires and the dedication to realize that dream, the best option was to get him into a high school basketball program in the U.S. Douglas Langford Junior has been excelling ever since, both academically and athletically. Life has now come full circle for his family, as Langford Junior is one step closer to the N.B.A. News Five’s Paul Lopez tells us more.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Belizean basketball athlete, seventeen-year-old Douglas Langford Junior is headed to Harvard University.
Douglas Langford Jr.
Douglas Langford Jr., Basketball Athlete
“It means a lot to finally get this accomplished, because upon arriving to America my freshman year when I was fourteen the coaches told me you have a lot of potential and you have the ability to change not only your life but your family’s life forever. It was not something I took literally. Harvard was never in my mind.”
Langford has officially committed to playing basketball at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He secured a four-year scholarship that is valued at approximately seven hundred thousand Belize dollars. Born and raised in Dangriga, Langford’s parents decided to relocate him to the U.S. at the age of fourteen.
Terri Langford
Terri Langford, Mother of Douglas Langford Jr.
“As a parent dedicated to trying to support your child as any other parent would, you make sacrifices and don’t think about them. You push through, you encourage, you hold on to their hands for as long as you can and then you let go for them to make good decisions, decisions that they will have to uphold as they grow older. For me, watching him grow into the young man they have become has been nothing short of incredible. I know people like seh “monkey nuh seh deh pikni black”? Well, the truth is Douglas Langford has always been a disciplined and dedicated young man.”
Douglas was the captain for team Belize at the FIBA Under-Eighteen AmeriCup 2024 held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in June. Standing at six feet, six inches tall, and weighing in at two hundred pounds, Langford received offers from at least six different tertiary education institutions in the U.S.
Douglas Langford Jr.
“Going into this process of hard work and just seeing how the chips were on the table, I think the best pick was Harvard. It means a lot because yes you can take away basketball, you can take away athleticism, but you can’t take away Harvard, especially a Harvard degree. That is something that will be with me for the rest of my life. That is why this was my best choice. It is just another step in my basketball journey to be a better player and a better person.”
Adding to his accomplishments, Langford was also named the 2024 MVP at the Basketball Without Borders. The NBA basketball camp brought together sixty of the top high-school-age prospects, from seventeen countries, in Brazil.
Paul Lopez
“What would you say you cherish the most, playing for Harvard as an athlete or the academic pursuit aspect at Harvard?”
Douglas Langford Jr.
“I would say, the academic pursuit at Harvard, because it is the best in the world hands down. It doesn’t get any better than that. But, playing basketball there with a head coach who I call a guru. I always had a passion for Coach K at Duke. He was the assistant coach there. And he went to being the head coach at Michigan and then he left. Now he is at Harvard. So, to me it is like if I can’t get Coach K, then I can get a sample of him at Harvard. So, that played a big role.”
We also spoke with Douglas Langford Senior. He was beaming with pride.
Douglas Langford Sr.
Douglas Langford Sr., Father of Douglas Langford Jr.
“My dream was to play in the NBA. I never made it. My son came along, and we made the decision for him to go to the states for him to get better at playing basketball, pursuing his education. It would have been best for us to let lose of him for him to go at the age of fourteen to get that start. I am so proud of him. It is like a dream come true. I would never have thought that when we sent James to the states at the age of fourteen that a day would come when he would commit to Harvard. I never had Harvard in my mind. It is a dream come true and I want to tell him congratulations.”
And his parents are not the only ones filled with joy. Langford has been receiving praises and congratulatory messages across social media from those at home. He begins his journey at Harvard in summer 2025.
Douglas Langford Jr.
“I am proud. It is just something I want to share with the people, because it takes a village to raise a child and I thank everyone for their support, for being in my circle and looking out. It means a lot to see that so many people support me and want to see me do good. So, that means a lot. I can’t let all these people down. And, I just want to say thank you Belize and Belize all the way.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
The Ministry of Sports has issued a release congratulating Langford for commitment to Harvard University. The release says in part, quote, “Langford Jr.’s journey in basketball is characterized by unwavering dedication and resilience. He has been an integral participant in the National Primary School Program, organized by the National Sports Council (NSC), where he developed both his skills and his passion for the sport. His outstanding performance at the recent Argentina Tournament further established his reputation as one of the premier young athletes in the region, ultimately leading to his recruitment by Harvard University”, unquote.
The average lifespan for Belizeans is seventy years, and while there have been quite a lot who have passed on well before this age from accidents or from some type of illness, there happens to be a few who surpass the three scores and ten. Such is a man named Gilbert Winston Ellis also known affectionately as “Mr. Bertie.” He lives alone on Nurse Seay Street and is quite the independent man, but his daughters now take turns to visit with him daily and care for him. Today News Five’s Marion Ali stopped in to wish Mr. Bertie a happy birthday and filed this report.
Gilbert “Mr. Bertie” Ellis
Gilbert “Mr. Bertie” Ellis, Turns 108 Years Old
“This is the truth. I don’t feel bad. I feel alright for a hundred and eight. I feel good.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
You heard right. Today, Gilbert “Bertie” Ellis is a hundred and eight years old, tying Leonora Patnett, who died in 2021, as the longest-living Belizean on record. Ellis, who lives alone, shared with reporters today that aside from just a slight hearing impediment, he has no known illness, does not suffer from any kind of pain and is not on any special diet.
Gilbert Ellis
“I have no special food, no special nothing to eat or drink. Anything you have about eating, I’ll try it. I don’t want no special food. I don’t have no pain like that, that’s like, keep me back from the pain. I was always fortunate being able to be painless. I never had pain.”
Ellis celebrated his hundred and eighth birthday on Sunday, a day filled with cheers and wishes, jokes and, yes, a birthday cake. For him, his life has been one of many joys and many pains. He has fathered many children and today, one of them, Gloria Ellis who is visiting from abroad, told us that her father was never harsh or mean with them.
Gloria Ellis
Gloria Ellis, Daughter of Gilbert Ellis
“He was an easygoing man. You see him with his voice there, I mean, he was always soft-spoken. He never hit me. That’s why I am like, no man will hit me because my father never did. He was soft-spoken and always, you know, listening and encouraging and stuff like that.”
Remarkably, Ellis still lives alone, and is still very active. In fact, he didn’t want to retire from the taxi service he offered, despite his children asking him to. He decided at age one hundred, to finally throw in the towel on work and labour.
Gloria Ellis
“My father is a very independent man. So, he lives alone with caretakers. We come and visit. Yes. He has, um, a caretaker in the day and at night. And he goes out, plays his dominoes when, as my sister said, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. We kept asking him to stop driving. But, you know, he said when he’s ready, he’s going to do it because he’s very. Independent, as I said, and he is self-assured and obstinate. So he stopped driving when he wanted to not when we wanted him to.”
The centenarian has survived four major hurricanes, including the one in 1931 and Hurricane Hattie in 1961. He loved sports and worked with many private companies, including Santiago Castillo Limited, and did his own work. Just two weeks ago, during the Tribute to Belizean Patriots, Gilbert Ellis was recognized for his contribution to Community Service. And he showed us that at a hundred and eight, he still has his faculties intact, as well as a good sense of humour.
Beyond Imagination: Art Extravaganza is open to the public. This exhibit is a collection of artworks from past students and adult artists, all participants in the Primary and Secondary Art Skills Training Project, led by artist Fiona Huang. The artistic works of seventy-five Belizeans are displayed at the Mexican Institute in Belize City, showcasing the origins of their creative journeys and the evolution of their craft. News Five’s Britney Gordon was there to witness the unveiling of the pieces. Here’s the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Art exists everywhere. It reflects society through the artists’ eyes, allowing others to resonate with them or view life from a different perspective. Today, around seventy-five students shared their pieces in an exhibit titled Beyond Imagination: Art Extravaganza at the Mexican Institute in Belize City. The display is a culmination of the ten years the students have worked with art instructor Fiona Huang. Christine Huang, Fiona’s daughter and fellow instructor, tells us about the showcase.
Christine Huang
Christine Huang, Instructor, Art Skill Training Program
“So, this exhibition is showcasing the work of our students for the past ten years that we are working in Belize, and these are the works that they continue to do even through the pandemic. So I hope to show everybody their passion and also for the youth that came to visit the exhibition for them to have a platform to exchange maybe their interest, the hobby, the techniques, different things.”
Huang explains that many students have grown with the program, developing into artists who inspire the next generation of creatives.
Christine Huang
“In the beginning. We started with primary school students and then like you said they grew up and they continue on to learn their arts. So we provide the courses for high school and all the high school students graduated. So we have actually, from primary school all the way to adults to teachers or past students who wish to become art teachers that they came back to the studio and asked for trainings for maybe the visual arts CXC teacher or, different kinds.”
Huang’s art studio specializes in drawings and painting. There, students learn to work with an array of mediums such as watercolor, gouache, or acrylic. Fourteen-year-old Isabella Waldman has been training under Fiona Huang for three years. Overtime, she has honed her skills in her favorite medium, watercolor. She told us about the five pieces she displayed in the exhibit.
Isabella Waldman
Isabella Waldman, Art Student
“There are some pencil drawings of some busts, like marble statues we have in the studio that I’ve done that I’m extremely proud of. But I’d say there are two paintings in there that I am definitely the most proud of. One of them is a street study that I did in watercolor. Both of them are in watercolor, by the way. It’s my preferred medium. And it’s of a street study and it took a lot of time. It took about three sketches, two of which failed, of bigger canvases because I did it in too much detail. And it took about four tries for me to get the sketch right. And then having to modify as I go along. And it was took a long time to finish. But I think that’s why it’s one of the ones I’m the most proud of. It took so much hard work to do. And the one I am for sure the most proud of is a painting I did. It’s a watercolor painting of Saint Joan of Arc. And it is like this full scale. It’s it was a replica of one of, like a, I believe a renaissance painting. But it is one of the bigger paintings I’ve done in watercolor.”
The program was created after Fiona Huang observed that most primary schools did not have a robust art program. Jayra Young has been part of the program since its inception ten years ago, while she was attending St. John Vianney RC Primary School. She told us about the four pieces she has on display.
Jayra Young
Jayra Young, Art Student
“Two of them were a part of my SBA. One of them was one that I did from a long time ago. And then one was a peace poster that I won first place on a couple years ago in standard six.”
Britney Gordon
“And what was the creation of these pieces like and what do they mean to you?”
Jayra Young
“Okay, so the ones for the SBA, those are what I did in third to fourth form, what I sent for my CXC. Those ones, my theme was life and death. And so I did two that were basically, one was an anorexic woman and the other was a woman trapped inside an hourglass. And it was just basically showing the fragility of life, seeing that at any time, life could just go like that. The one behind the peace poster, the theme of it was peace, so I just went and I thought about something that is, how peace should look in beliefs. And then the first one, that was just a little crazy one that I did when I was younger.”
The exhibition is sponsored by the Foreign Ministry of Taiwan through the Embassy in Belize. The Mexican Institute periodically hosts art competitions and began collaborating with the studio to train students to compete in Mexico. The studio offers a space for the students’ pieces to be appreciated by a greater audience.
Britney Gordon
“As an art teacher, how rewarding is it for you to see your student’s art displayed and appreciated by other people?”
Christine Huang
“Extremely rewarding, especially for Miss Fiona. I know you never see her on TV. It’s always me on the TV, but she wished to let you know that she prefers to sit at the back. But she wants her students to shine and that’s her whole purpose in Belize, to help the students to find their passion and help them to give them opportunities, to help them find a career path in art and, to let them shine.”
The display shines a light on the multitude of artists in Belize waiting for an opportunity to showcase their talents.
Christine Huang
“The art program’s actually very important because if you may say, oh, it’s art, what can you do with it? A lot of things, book illustration, advertisement, all of that. And that’s what Miss Fiona wished to bring to the students in Belize. It’s not just about doing painting as an independent artist, but there are a lot of other works that involve art, like design, graphic designs especially. Even videography, that’s one of them as well.”
