Belize at 41 National Celebrations Theme is Unveiled

Francis Fonseca

Co-Chair of the National Celebrations Commission and Minister of Culture, Francis Fonseca was asked about the symbolism of changing themes every year and whether it encourages patriotism.

Francis Fonseca, Co-Chair, National Celebrations Commission

“We have a very proud history in Belize of celebrating our heritage, celebrating our history, our culture. So I think that is what the September celebrations represents for me and it gives an opportunity for Belizeans from across the country to participate in this process. So this practice of submitting themes is a very good one. As we mentioned at the launch, hundreds of Belizeans from across the country participated; we have very young kids who take it on like a school project to school teachers like Miss Distan who won this year to elderly folks, grandmothers and grandfathers who feel this is something they want to participate in. So I think it is absolutely importantly, it is absolutely valuable. It is good for our spirit of patriotism. And yes, as we go through the themes and yo go back over the last forty years or so, you’ll find that they are repetitive and many of them we’ve seen before in some form or the other, but that does not take away from the importance of having this type of competition and having a theme that we can all celebrate together and unite around. The T-shirts, the mugs and all the other things that we put together, it is good for us.”