Late last month, thousands of Belizeans from across the country travelled to San Pedro to support the Belize International Music and Food Festival. 2024 marks three years since the event was established to boost tourism in the country, and while the turnout was the largest the festival has ever witnessed, it still struggles to turn over a profit. When we caught up with Minister of Tourism Anthony Mahler, he provided some insight on the successes and failures of one Belize’s biggest events of the year.
Anthony Mahler
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
“I don’t think that the festival will ever break even. We didn’t look at it as that. I’ve said this from day one, and we don’t consider it as a loss. It’s a budget for it. We consider it as an investment, but it’s getting bigger, and the spillover effect is happening in Caye Caulker as well. A lot of the rooms were booked in Caye Caulker. In fact, entrepreneurs started to offer shuttle services from Caye Caulker to San Pedro and back. The restaurants in Caye Caulker were filled. The same thing in San Pedro. It was buzzing. And so we’re heading in the right direction in only three years. Now, we have to ask ourselves. When we came up there with the idea of the music festival is it was coming out of covid And on emancipation day where we wanted to celebrate being free but the elements the weather Isn’t very cooperative. And so the last three years we’ve had major downpours and so maybe the only thing would change it is a time of year and maybe one of the drier months still in the going into a slower part of the season or where you have a little downturn, maybe in May.”
Reporter
“The leader of the opposition recently called to personally asking for an audit of the festival’s financials. Can I get your take on that?”
Anthony Mahler
“We’ve produced the report on our website and we’ll do so again. In fact, he called me to state that he wanted to join me out there and show a bipartisan approach. I waited for him. He never showed up. But he apologized because his party is in turmoil and I think that’s more pressing than him going to meet Vybes Kartel or being at the music festival.”
It’s the final night of KTV the Remix Season six and tonight, viewers across the country will find out who is the winner of the ten-thousand-dollar prize. It’s been seven weeks of intense battles and displays of vocal abilities, but only one contestant will walk away the champion. The finalists are Elijah Noralez, Flor Augustin and Chelsy Castro. After weeks of voting, a winner has been decided. KTV producer, Viannie Reyes, filled us in on what to expect for the season finale.
Viannie Reyes
Viannie Reyes, Producer, KTV The Remix Season 6
“We’re in for a lot of different performances from starting with the contestants. Then we moved to the judges, the vocal coach, and also we had to bring back the champion from last year Haziel Alanis. He will be here surprising us with a wonderful performance. We’re looking forward to having the contestants bring their original track to the stage tonight. So they took their time out in writing it, getting the audio perfect and everything. So we’re going to be able to see that part of the talent tonight on stage. And also it’s an opportunity for them to share their talent with a judge, or also a past contestant from this season or also from last season, or Belizean artist. So there’s different performances that we’ll be able to see tonight before we announce that winner. It’s emotional because everybody wants to win, but I think the talent this year really showed us exactly that there are people in this country that is worth taking a risk on when it comes to providing you with that beautiful voice on stage. We have seen that some of these contestants are already being booked for events across the country, which is something that we’re grateful for, and that’s what KTV is for. You get on stage, and even if you win or don’t win, there’s still chances for you to perform outside, to make that extra cash on the side, and also to be known. We’re looking forward to seeing exactly who’s going to win tonight because also, Elijah and Flor, they both went in battle rounds. So to see them at the finals, it’s wonderful to see that the hard work pays off.”
Tickets are available for purchase at the eighty-eight shopping center on Central American Boulevard, the Channel five office on Coney Drive or at the Bliss.
The Queen of the Bay Designate is twenty-three-year-old Deanni Laing. The beauty queen was selected from among a pool of eleven contestants who vied on Saturday night at the Belize City Civic Centre. After several segments of competition, Laing got the nod from the judges. She told us today that preparing for the pageant started in March when she signed up to compete. And after she got in those hours of sacrifice and rehearsals, it was smooth sailing from there.
Deanni Laing
Deanni Laing, Queen of the Bay Designate
“I had signed up for the Miss Belize Rural. So, it has been about five months training from work to the gym, gym to training. And so, it has been rigorous. However, it has been one that has really shaped me to be more disciplined and not only physically but mentally prepared for the pageant.”
Marion Ali
“And on pageant night itself, what was that like?”
Deanni Laing
“Pageant night was all fun for me. It was like finally the moment is here. It’s time to showcase all the hard work that has been put in behind the scenes so that my family and my friends, colleagues and the entire Belize can see my capability. My advocacy for the National Queen of the Bay was inspiring young women. While shaping society through entrepreneurship and building a connected nation. So most of the work that I’m going to put in will be catered towards our young women. However, not limited to them. I have been advocating for young entrepreneurs for the past four years. And so I just want to expand on the advocacy throughout this one year. And also to see how my advocacy diversifies throughout this one year and who all else I can connect with.”
The Bliss Center for the Performing Arts will come alive next week Tuesday night for KTV the Remix Season Six finale. Three contestants battled it out on stage this past Tuesday. Fans have up until Sunday to vote for their favorite contestant. The winner will be announced at the finale. Ahead of that show, we will be featuring each of the three finalists in our nightly newscast to learn more about who they are and their musical journey. News Five’s Paul Lopes travelled down to Harmonyville today to speak with Elijah Noralez. He brings us that story.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Twenty-four-year-old Elijah Noralez is one of the three finalists in KTV the Remix Season Six. Today, we stopped by his Harmonyville residence to learn more about his passion for music and his journey in this year’s competition.
Andazi Panton
Elijah Noralez, KTV the Remix Finalist
“I use to sing on the way to preschool. My aunty use to tell me that all the time. I use to sing the whole entire trip to preschool and that is probably where that started. I think that comes from a long line of musicians and musically inclined people in my family. My dad said he use to sing to us when we were in the womb. So, from I was very young and just the lineage, I think that is how I started.”
As Elijah tells it, he was born into a family of musicians. He says that his sister Alysia Noralez was his biggest inspiration growing up. In this video, a young Elijah and his sister are captured in a recording studio singing their rendition of I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. Here, that same young talent is taking on the Jackson 5’s Who’s Lovin You.
Paul Lopez
“Do you recall those moments growing up singing with your sister and your family?”
Elijah Noralez
“Yeah, I think those would be some of the most memorable moments in my childhood. We have done a lot of small stuff on TV and a lot of stuff. We have been on the stage before. She was the one that brought me into this singing thing. She is really the one that influenced me the most.”
Elijah says he spent time developing his voice singing in church. And, after several years of contemplating whether he should send in his application to be a contestant on KTV the Remix, he finally decided that season six was the opportune time.
Elijah Noralez
“I was giving up on singing around the age of sixteen to eighteen. It is not something I would generally pushed in Belize. It is something that I just backed off on. I was not singing at all. I said let us do this thing, so how we can go from here. It has been successful. I think I have gathered a lot of support and I am thankful for that. I have done a lot of small karaoke events, Double O’s Restaurant, Millers Depot, and OI have a lot of people bombarding me with text saying I want to vote for you, how do I vote, sending money and stuff like that. It has been a journey. Being in that battle round is nothing nice, because you could get a song you cant sing and you just get eliminated right there and then. The whole dream is cut short. I knew that week I was going to be in the battle round because I couldn’t do any karaoke because my voice was messed up.”
Off the stage and away his job at Acquity BPO, Elijah Noralez can be found with a weedwhacker or machete in hand working on his family’s farmland. He told us about the most fulfilling and the most challenging parts of his KTV the Remix journey.
Elijah Noralez
“Just the words of encouragement that people bring. People are telling me that you should just be full on take this on as a career, the messages, the support is so overwhelming, nothing like I have ever experienced before.”
Paul Lopez
“For you what has been one of the greatest challenges?”
Elijah Noralez
“I am very anxious about a lot of stuff. Sometimes I struggle with a lot of anxiety. So to perform in front of a lot of people. When I was young, I use to stand up with my hand in my pocket and I sing. Going from that I feel has been a very, it has been scary, because people make fun of you and it is a bit scary, I don’t like negative feedback, so that has been one of the hardest things for me.”
Andazi Panton
Andazi Panton, KTV The Remix Jude
“I will keep saying, you just do not imitate. You are always yourself. That is something that is so very special about you.”
Elijah Noralez
“For me it is not much of a show. It is just to captivate the people with my voice and see how I can get them to feel the song. It is not about the stuff around, the background noise. It is just so you can hear and feel the song. When I am up there I am feeling the song. It is going through me and I am feeling all these emotions.”
Elijah says if he wins KTV the Remix Season Six, he will use the ten thousand dollars cash prize to pursue a bachelor’s degree, purchase equipment to build a music studio or invest the money in taking a shot at America’s Got Talent.
Elijah Noralez
“People think I am cocky. The way I present myself on stage and the way I answer questions, it is not to be cocky. It is just to entice people and entertain. People think I have vocal training, I don’t. this is all just me listening to YouTube, listening to my mom and dad. Just listening to people around me. I have a lot of confidence in what I am able to do but I am also open to the criticism and stuff like that.”
A group of young basketball enthusiasts are breaking basketball’s barriers. Today, just over a dozen young girls under the age of twelve participated in the International Basketball Federation’s “Her World, Her Rules” campaign launch in Belize. It is one of the most recognized initiatives in women’s basketball. Commonly branded as #H.W.H.R., the campaign is designed to unite women and girls through basketball and help to define grassroots projects. News Five’s Paul Lopez stopped in at the launch inside the Saint Catherine’s Auditorium in Belize City. He filed the following reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
In Belize, basketball is mostly considered a male sport. A handful of school and community teams exist to develop basketball skills among girls, but most of the major basketball competitions are played among boys and men. It is a fact that Jacob Leslie, the President of the Belize Basketball Federation, acknowledges.
Jacob Leslie
Jacob Leslie, President, Belize Basketball Federation
“I think it is one of the sport that has neglected our females for far too long. I think you can see female participation in volleyball and football, but it has been nonexistent in basketball for far too long. Like you said, as a parent, but as a former basketball player, basketball has really impacted my life significantly and the things that I have learnt through basketball have translated into my personal life.”
Today, a group of girls, between the ages of six and fifteen, gathered inside the Saint Cahterine’s Auditorium to change that narrative. Led by Yenny Pinilla, Coach of FIBA’s “Her World, Her Rules Campaign”, they engaged in a series of basketball drills.
Yenny Pinilla
Yenny Pinilla, Basketball Coach
“The name is Her World, Her Rules. So, when we say welcome to the playground. It is this is my place where I feel comfortable, strong, where I can do better things for me and this is the place where you can have dreams and improve your skills not just on the court but off the court as well. So I was a basketball player. I played all the time when I was six-years-old. So, I played in the national teams, I played all levels, South American Tournament, Pan American Tournaments, Pan American Tournament, I was the captain in my country.”
From the youngest to the oldest girl in the group, they ran across the basketball court practicing their dribble, taking close-range shots at the rim, practicing their passing, and most importantly playing and laughing through the process.
Yenny Pinilla
“It is not only here. In my country it is the same. The sports and basketball is only with boys. They support more boys than girls. The goal here is that the government and the ministers see that the girls can play basketball and can represent the country, and this is the way we can do that. So, if you are not going to start with young girls and babies like her, then nothing happens.”
Three years ago, nine-year-old Kenya Gillett, a resident of Crooked Tree Village, played a game of basketball with her cousin and immediately fell in love with the sport, as she tells it.
Kenya Gillett
Kenya Gillett, Basketball Athlete
“One day I just mih the play with my lee cousin and I start to like it and I asked teacher mek I join the team.”
Paul Lopez
“Tell me a bit about why you like playing basketball?”
Kenya Gillett
“Because it is fun, and you get to meet a lot of people. I learn a lot of things about a lot of people. I learnt a lot of new activities that we never did in Crooke Tree.”
Gillett’s dream is to one day play in the WNBA. She has already developed the view that basketball is more than just a sport for boys.
Kenya Gillett
“I don’t think that is true, anybody could play basketball.”
Gillett’s much younger peer, Presly Parchue, is just as enthused about the FIBA Her World, Her Rules event.
Presly Parchue
Presly Parchue, Participant
“I like basketball when you have to fun and then you can beat other people in games.”
Paul Lopez
“How did you get to know about basketball?”
Presly Parchue
“Because one time I was at my niece house and I was starting to play, because the older kid he teach me how to play. That is why I love basketball now.”
Today’s activities come as the launch of FIBA’s Her World, Her Rules initiative in Belize. Coach Pinilla says that she will return to Belize in short order. In her absence, Federation President, Jacob Leslie, has committed to keeping the initiative alive through weekly engagement. His long-term vision is to secure athletic scholarships for these young talents to study abroad and further develop their skills.
Jacob Leslie
“I think we are sensitized. So, because our young men are committing all these crimes and different interaction, we try to find things to occupy them, and we forget our young ladies who are falling victim to teenage pregnancy and to different abuse and face the same challenges the young men face. These things are societal values. So, through sports we can impact the lives of these young ladies to engage in positive things, because they also need it and many times they are forgotten.”
The 2024 carnival season is in full swing. We are on the heels of the Miss Carnival Pageant that took place on Saturday night inside the Belize City Civic Center. Soca Moca was declared the winner in the senior mas band category. Jump Street Junior Band won in the junior category. With that event now behind us, carnival bands across the city are gearing up for upcoming events, including the highly anticipated Carnival Road March. Over the weekend, News Five’s Paul Lopez visited the Trench Town Masqueraders to get a glimpse into their practice session. He brings us that story in tonight’s installment of Kolcha Tuesday.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
For the past thirteen years Patricia Flowers has been leading the Trench Town Masqueraders in Saint Martin De Porres.
Patricia Flowers
Patricia Flowers, Leader, Trench Town Carnival Band
“I have been dancing since I was five, then you know your kids grow up and you don’t want to be in the same category, so I decided to do my own, because for the love of carnival, you don’t want to take it out of you.”
We paid a visit to Flowers and her band during their practice session on Oleander Street in preparation for the upcoming Carnival Road March. The atmosphere was energetic. The revelers were fully engaged in their choreography. Several people from within the community were present simply to spectate and feed off the high energy.
Patricia Flowers
“The only thing that has changed with carnival is people loving carnival for being carnival. Back then nobody fights over carnival. Anybody could have stood up at anybody’s band. You could have done anything, but today’s day carnival turns into a fight.”
Over the years, the competition between carnival bands has become fierce. With huge sponsorship and coveted bragging rights on the line, being declared the best of the best during the carnival season comes with its perks. Angie Pineda has been embracing the carnival spirit from the age of ten. Pineda’s commitment to this carnival group has seen her transition from the junior to the senior band.
Angie Pineda
Angie Pineda, Reveler, Trench Town Carnival Band
“So it feels very thrilling, very energetic. I feel so happy. It feels like you are in your own little bubble, you are being your own little person. It is something I really like and it is like there is no negativity in it at all. So, it is just a fun way, it is just basically energetic.”
Paul Lopez
“Is there anything you need to do or have to be a good reveler?”
Angie Pineda
“No, as shocking as may look if you just look at me you wouldn’t think I can dance or anything. I have gotten that a lot. When I was younger it was the same way. I didn’t know to dance really good. But they taught me. So you don’t have to be a good dancer or a dancer at all. We teach you and you just come along and you will be great.”
2024 is the third year that Trench Town Masqueraders is organizing a senior band. Many of the revelers, like Pineda, spent most of their childhood years competing at the junior level in this very group. Flowers decided to establish a senior section as a natural progression. We also engaged Chantel Serano, another reveler, during our visit. As a true testament to the unity that exists within carnival bands, Serano says she offers her time to assist where necessary.
Chantel Serano
Chantel Serano, Reveler, Trench Town Carnival Band
“When it comes to Trench Town, we want to bring things to the way it was back then where it is not about what you wear. Of course, you want to look your best and everything, but what you can expect from Trench Town is that you are going to see the family bond. You are going to see everyone smiling, having fun, clean fun of course. We have a lot of these girls who work very hard. They have their jobs, go to school, our group consists of a lot of people who have a lot going on. So, when they come out here, this is their free up, their release.”
But the longstanding carnival culture that comes alive during the September celebrations is by no means perfect. When we interviewed Band Leader, Patricia Flowers on Sunday she was still distraught over the results of the Miss Carnival Pageant the night before.
Patricia Flowers
“I mean everybody just the kill the love of carnival.”
Paul Lopez
“What do you mean by fight?”
Patricia Flowers
“Literal Facebook post bashing each other, after events having fights, it doesn’t make any sense.”
Paul Lopez
“How do you feel about that?”
Patricia Flowers
“Frustrated, mad and I can’t even explain the rest.”
Paul Lopez
“Are you all deciding to compete this year?”
Patricia Flowers
“After last night I have two minds, because fairness in carnival is also dead. I used to be a quite person, and after the years of carnival I can’t be quiet anymore, because what you see and what you put in, fair is fair. We all work hard.”
Paul Lopez
“Is this the most frustrating year for you yet?”
Patricia Flowers
“In the events yes. In the parts with sponsorship and so. I am use to it. I have been through tribulations, trials, drama and I still come out carnival day.”
The final showdown for KTV the Remix Season Six is here. Tonight, the top three contestants from this season will battle it out to see who will take home the ten-thousand-dollar grand prize next week. You certainly do not want to miss tonight’s live show inside the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. The music genre for tonight is R&B. It all goes down at eight p.m. We spoke with Producer Viannie Reyes about what can be expected.
Viannie Reyes
Viannie Reyes, Producer, KTV The Remix Season 6
“The songs are locked in. Choosing the song is their decision. We don’t have any say. The coach works with them. The judges would probably give ideas of this song matches your voice. But they have some songs that I think majority of the public would know. They are singing two songs tonight, one from the genre and also one they selected from any genre to gain additional points. So, tonight is the night where we will see who will make it to the top three, which is the finally for next week.”
Paul Lopez
“Why should people come out tonight to the live show?”
Viannie Reyes
“It is very different than what you see on live TV. You get to win great prizes. It even sounds different to be quite honest and just the ambiance and the joy of being with the contestants. You get to see the behind the scenes. We also have the halftime challenge where we invite people on stage to be a part of that. You get to see that live but you also get to participate and you never know what you can win when you are at KTV. You can purchase tickets here at Channel Five, Eighty-Eight Shopping Center or at six o’clock p.m. at the Bliss. So be sure to get your tickets, it is only give dollars per person. The earlier you come you get better parking and seat selection as well.”
Over the weekend, the annual, National Song Competition was held here in Belize City and one winner walked away with a grand prize of twenty thousand dollars. That Belizean musician is Wilson Grinage. He competed against several other artists who performed their compositions before a live audience at the Bliss. Here’s a glimpse of those performances.
The annual National Song Competition is organized by NICH, the Institute of Creative Arts, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology.
The National Agriculture Show Grounds will be the venue on Saturday for the third Beef Fest and Rodeo. It’s a family-oriented event that will give ranchers, cowboys, and chefs a chance to showcase their talents in their respective fields of work. It will run from eight in the morning to five in the evening and according to Operations Manager of the Belize Livestock Producers Association, Mindy Garcia, there will be competitions as well as displays of different breeds of cattle.
Via phone: Mindy Garcia
Via phone: Mindy Garcia, Operations Manager, Belize Livestock Producers Assn.
“We are having four major things happening tomorrow at our event. First is the grilling competition. We have three categories where we have beef, pork and lamb. We have already some grillers who have already signed. We still have a space for them. If there’s anybody who would like to join and this is showcasing quality meat that our processors have sponsored and we have mixed from Running W, Country Meats, Sandra’s Meat Shop that will be showcased in this grilling competition. We have four chefs that will be judging the event and then we will also have for those three categories. We will be having three winners. The first prize, one thousand dollars, second prize, three hundred and the third prize, two hundred dollars. For each category, on the other events side, we will also be having a rodeo, which is all day rodeo as well. In the morning, we will have the kids and the juniors and in the afternoon. We will have run Friday bull riding. So, it’s a day of events there at the show grounds. We have another section where we will have the barn where we’re bringing all our breeders from Belize that deal with improving genetics in our livestock industry. So we will have a display of top quality sheep, top quality goat, different kind of breeds that breeders have in the country.”
The Belize Music Project is officially here. Created by the ministries of Culture and Tourism, the initiative seeks to connect Belizean youths to their cultural roots through a love for music. The project was officially launched today at the House of Culture in Belize City. News Five’s Britney Gordon has the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
For centuries, music has remained one of the strongest ties to culture that a person can have. Playing instruments, singing and dancing together, music connects people. And the Belize Music Project is seeking to connect Belizean youths to their forebears. Music activist, Bilal Morris explains the significance of the project.
Bilal Morris
Bilal Morris, Music Activist
“The Belize Music Project is a documentation and celebration of Belizean music, both past and present. It’s placing Belizean music into a historical context and timeline so that present and future generations of Belizeans, students and non-students alike, Belizean musical enthusiasts, entertainers, and the Belizean community at large can hear, see, experience, and feel the Belizean soul. We can even play back this rich history of Belizean music through various musical technologies and medium today to enjoy the song of a people and their musically creative history that have not only developed a nation but globalize this rich and cultural heritage.”
The project is based on three main principles: research, education, and innovation, with the goal of unlocking Belize’s musical soul. Over the course of several months, the experts will attempt to create a digital archive of musical creations across Belizean history.
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“The Belize Music Project focuses on preserving Belize’s rich musical heritage while fostering innovative expressions that bridge past traditions with future artistic endeavors, instilling cultural pride and identity. It involves comprehensive research, including interviews and historical recordings to create a narrative of Belize’s musical journey culminating in a multi-format music box set titled one hundred years of Music in Belize which features significant historical recordings and detailed publications.”
Belizean favorites such as Mister Peters, Lord Rhaburn and Sam Hamilton will be featured but as the project progresses, researchers will also attempt to archive the works of still-undiscovered artists of the past. Minister of Tourism Anthony Mahler says that by doing so, the world will be able to look back for generations to come and appreciate the talent concentrated in the small country of Belize.
Anthony Mahler
Anthony Mahler, Ministry of Tourism
“Why can’t we have the next Bob? Why can’t we have the next Rihanna? Why can’t we have the next Marshall Montano or whoever it is, we have talented people here. And that’s why we’ve invested in the music studios that we’ve invested in and we’ll continue to do more. And that’s why we are investing in the music and food festival. I think art has a crucial role to play in our education and believing in what we are as Belizeans. It is important for far too often we take these things for granted but if you listen to the video and you listen to the talent that we had, and we have right now, I think we have to create that environment.”
