Garifuna
Charlotte Gardens +2The most widely accepted account of the origins of the Garifuna people is that they are largely descended from West Africans who were transported to South America as slaves but escaped due to a fortuitous shipwreck off the island of St. Vincent, in the Lesser Antilles. Having arrived at St. Vincent, they intermarried with a local Indigenous Arawak tribe, adopting many elements from their culture such as the cultivation of cassava and its related technology, as well as their singing styles and language. Today, the Garifuna language is spoken primarily in Honduras and Belize, with smaller numbers of speakers in Nicaragua and Guatemala. A large population now lives in the United States as well, particularly New York City — with most Honduran Garifunas in the Bronx and most Belizean Garifunas in Brooklyn. Read more here.
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ew York’s Garifuna community began taking root in the 1960s, with nearly every Garifuna village was represented by at least one hometown association. Initially many from Spanish-speaking countries (especially Honduras and Guatemala) settled among other Spanish speakers in East Harlem, later moving in large numbers to the Bronx. The Happy Land fire on 1990, which killed 87 people, had a deep impact on the community. Multiple churches serve the community, and Ferry Point Park and Rainey (Waporu) Park are important gathering places, and the language is used and taught at Casa Yurumein. Many Garifuna coming today are fleeing an epidemic of violence and dispossesion in Honduras.
Note that the language above may be used throughout the New York area — this is just one significant site.