Benksaid Bembe Hits the Shelves for all Readers to Enjoy

Benksaid Bembe is officially for sale. The Kriol and English storybook written and translated by Belize Kriol language enthusiast, Silvaana Udz, hit the shelves today at the Angelus Press. The publication features illustrations from artist David Smith and promises pages of comedy and Belizean expressions that all readers can appreciate. Today, News Five’s Britney Gordon attended the book launch in Belize City for more details on the story. 

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

If you have ever been referred to as bembe, then chances are you enjoy a good argument. The word typically carries a negative connotation, referring to a bully or someone who’s confrontational. And nine times out of ten, it is a woman being labelled as such. But Belizean author, Silvaana Udz says that there is a little bit of bembe in all of us. Udz launched her first work of fiction titled Benksaid Bembe today at the Angelus Press.

 

Silvaana Udz, Belizean Author

“Benksaid Bembe. I believe everybody got a bembe inna dey. But, you know, the idea of this riverbank person weh inna everybody business. But ih da no really a bully bully. So, one of the things with Benksaid Bembe is, she get in a whole thing when tourists just mih dih start come da Belize, foreign visitors. And when they gawn da riverbank, they get in a big thing with what are the difference between Creole drum and Garifuna drum. And that’s basically the story.”

 

 

 

True to Belizean culture, the book is filled with laughter. For Udz, who had never published a work of fiction, it was a passion project. It was through the encouragement of her fellow Belizean authors that she was finally able to step into the genre.

 

 

 

 

 

Silvaana Udz

“I want to thank people like David Smith, weh do the cover and the illustrations, because that seemed fih draw in people when I had my first readers. And I also want to thank Ivory Kelly, who do pengereng stories, and lotta otha stories because Ivory Kelly and Colin B. Hyde, a columnist, and of course a writer himself, Invasion of the Mangrove Goons and all of that. I nuh mih a brave enough to do this thing. If they neva read it and tell me, yeah, guh deh strong. And give, then me give me some good feedback too, and mih make lee changes.”

 

 

 

Benksaid Bembe features both English and Creole translations, making it more accessible for children and non-Creole speakers. But it is not the average word-for-word translations. Udz explained that it is a meaning-based translation so that readers can understand the message and emotions of the passages. Krystal Dougal, Marketing Coordinator at The Angelus Press, says that the company was excited for the opportunity to support another Belizean author.

 

 

 

 

Krystal Dougal, Marketing Coordinator, The Angelus Press

“As you guys know, Angelus Press has been about for many years, for one hundred forty years to be precise. And when it comes to local authors or writers, we’re always all hands on deck with that because we believe that, you know, as a locally made business, we should support our locally made artists and writers and publishers. So that’s what we strongly believe in. Any person can come to us if they have inquiries about printing, all of those stuff, and we’ll definitely support them. Like, we had the luxury of having Miss Silvana’s book launch today. So that’s what we’re doing here, and we’re glad to support her and be the proud publishers for that.”

 

 

Udz has a long history with the preservation of the Kriol language and Belizean culture. This endeavor is another step towards ensuring that the language lives on in readers young and old for years to come.

 

 

Silvaana Udz

“And weh mih really, really strike me that some young people who done read it, when I mih di draft and so, they never know a lot of the expressions and sayings. Like, since Hachette da hammer you di wash gyal. They neva know weh that. So I hope da wa lee contribution as miss Ivory and Colin seh, but I hope they’re fun. More than anything else.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.