Currently there are two major groups very representative of Afro-Caribbean Blacks : the Garifuna and the English-speaking Blacks.

These latter were located mainly in the Bay Islands and La Ceiba with their own cultural particularities . Their population is approximately 20.800 people.

The Garifuna in their native language are called Garínagu, which in English means “Black Caribs”.” They have their origin in the Yurumain Island, also known as St. Vincent, West Indies Minors.

They are descendants of the Carib, Arawak and black Africans, who arrived on the island to escape the enslavement of the Spanish and Portuguese ships. In the seventeenth century some of these boats sank in front of the Yurumain Island ( St. Vincent) in which the slaves took refuge, mixing gradually with the native Caribs producing the emergence of the Garifuna people.

The Afro-Caribbean partnership resulted in the fussion of language and culture, augmented by the inter-ethnic procreation and subsequent arrival of cimarrones (runaway slaves) from other islands.

In 1793, St. Vincent became the property of Great Britain, which succeeded in defeating the Garifuna after a series of battles that highlighted the strength of the legendary leader Chatuyc. In 1797, the Garifuna were deported to Roatan Island and then to Trujillo Bay, in which they had good relations with the natives, according to some documentation. From the area of Trujillo, whose villages Cristales (Crystals) and Río Negro (Black River) still represent the traditional capital of the ethnicity, it begins the process of coastal dispersion resulting in the current geographic distribution.

The language that Black Caribs speak today is of Amerindian origin: the Arawak, of European influence (French, Spanish and English), which gave rise to the Garifuna language.

The Garifuna have formed in 47 communities in the departments of Cortes, Atlantida, Bay Islands, Colon and Gracias a Dios. They have a population of 250 thousand inhabitants, including settled populations in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. They are also in Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

This population has a long and rich culture expressed in various socio-cultural factors, with an agricultural system that relies on the collective ownership of land used in household production for subsistence.

Their production system (fallow and crop rotation ) has allowed them to live in harmony with the land and its resources, thanks to their social organization, where women play a major role in agricultural and cultural activities. Also, many women contribute significantly to the family income, spending much of their time in the preparation and sale of casabe, bread and coconut oil.

The Garifuna social organization highlights the figure of the chief and the council of elders. In addition to the traditional occupations of agriculture and fishing they have a wide variety of foods and beverages, rich in proteins, vitamins and calories as the tatau (Garifuna soup with a variety of tubers, seafoods and coconut), the areba or manioc (large tortilla of baked cassava) and thehudutu (machuca). Among the drinks is the hin, a species of beer made from cassava; the Marmara, a beverage prepared with fermented corn and sugar cane juice.

As for singing, dancing and ritual, the most important and significant manifestation is , however, the Dágá, a rite dedicated to the dead in which the abaómahani is sung by women and the arumhani by men . There is also the punta, a fertility dance dedicated to people’s reproduction. The Chugé is also a rite dedicated to the spirits.

Most of the of them profess the Catholic faith, without abandoning their religious beliefs of the Dágá, and the Chagá (cult of the dead) which is a meeting for family unity.

Given the limited opportunities for training and local employment, many Garifuna men work as sailors (cooks, stevedores, cleaners and helpers) in commercial vessels and then migrate to the USA .

Among the first modern organizational efforts of the ethnic peoples is the foundation of the Organization of the Community of Crystals and Black River, a Garifuna association which in 1986 succeeded in titling the communal property of an area of 9 thousand hectares of land that is now invaded by the State itself.

In June 1977 a group of black leaders concerned about the future of their communities founded the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) as a civic and protest entity.

The Garifuna community has built up its nutrition and lifestyle relying primarily on marine-coastal resources.

Source: Diario La Prensa, 28 January 1996. Quoted in the book “Historia de Honduras” by Miguel J. Suazo Padilla.

Juan Ramon Matta Ballesteros, also known as Juan Ramon Matta Lopez, or Juan Ramon Matta del Pozo, was a very powerful Honduran drug dealer whose illegal deportation to the United States was very controversial, it was seen as an interference of that country in the internal affairs of Honduras, and as a flagrant violation of the Constitution.

Matta Ballesteros, who was born in Barrio La Hoya of Tegucigalpa, on January 12, 1945, was accused of the crimes of drug trafficking and murder in Mexico, United States, Colombia and Honduras. He escaped several high-security prisons, such as EGLIN (U.S.) LA PICOTA and MODELO (Colombia).

Upon returning to Honduras he was imprisoned, but was soon acquitted. Honduran and U.S. authorities captured him on April 5, 1988 for submission to the U.S. federal police in order to send him to court in the U.S. His sentence was life imprisonment.

When Matta Ballesteros was in a Honduran jail, someone asked how he had escaped from “Model” prison of Colombia, which at that time was considered the safest in Latin America, to which he replied: “Well, the doors were opening and one is passing.”

The reaction to the arrest of Matta

The enlightened opinion of Honduras qualified as illegal the expulsion of Matta, citing Article 102 of the Constitution, which states that “no Hondurans may be expatriated, or handed down to the authorities of a Foreign State.”

Among those who spoke out against this action was Mr. Guillermo Perez Cadalso, which was then dean of the Law Faculty of the National University and president of the Bar Association. Also the then Chancellor of the National University, lawyer Oswaldo Ramos Soto, and the then Representative Manuel Zelaya Rosales, this last one spoke on behalf of a group of fellow Representatives.

In response to the latter, the also parliamentarian and then Minister of Natural Resources, Rodrigo Castillo Aguilar, said in a phrase that became famous: “I understand that with the surrender of Matta to the United States the Constitution was violated, but, if it is for benefit of Honduras, THE CONSTITUTION MUST BE VIOLATED AS MANY TIMES AS NECESSARY.” President Azcona argued that Matta was expelled because of reasons of “social prophylaxis. ”

That same day, April 7, at 7:00 P.M., a crowd gathered at the facilities of the American Embassy in Avenida La Paz, and immediately began throwing stones and objects at the building. The peat, which was joined by college students, burned some cars that were on the road. This peat was suppressed by anti-riot agents of the Army around 10 P.M.

Days later, on April 19, the high school student Roger Gonzalez Zelaya was arrested by security agents on charges of being one of the people who set fired to the Embassy. This young man never appeared, and some say he was tortured to death by the National Investigation Directorate (DNI).

In response to the Embassy unrests, President Azcona declared a curfew, valid only in the cities of Tegucigalpa, Comayagüela and San Pedro Sula. In implementing the provision Azcona ordered the compulsory establishment of a compulsory Cadena Nacional de Radio y Television (National Network of Radio and Television), which only broadcasted government bulletins all night long, from April, 8 to March, 12. This was widely criticized by public international opinion.

In response to the expulsion of Matta, Jaime Rosenthal Oliva resigned from his position as economic advisor of Azcona, although he continued in his position as vice-president.

Source: Book “Evolucion Historica de Honduras” by Longino Becerra (2009).

Miguel Caballero Leiva

Famous homosexuals of Honduras

In Honduras there are important public figures of the social life that are homosexuals, although the majority of them has not confessed publicly their homosexuality.

Closeted Homosexuals

It is said, for example, that a former president is a homosexual. This rumor has circulated for years, in spite of the fact that this is a married man and professes the catholic religion. Also the malicious tongues say that a former first lady is actually a man. I find very difficult to believe this, because she is very feminine and beautiful, but that’s the rumor that circulates.

All these rumors go by word of mouth. In Honduras there is no “tabloid press” neither the paparazzi. The mass media in Honduras doesn’t meddle with the private lives of Honduran celebrities.

Openly Homosexuals

Perhaps the best-known openly homosexual in Honduras is Miguel Caballero Leiva, who works in the show business. Miguel Caballero Leiva is a respected figure of the Honduran society, he is a homosexual that does not make any exhibitionism of his sexual tendency, just the opposite behavior of his protégé, the transvestite Josué Abraham Cardona, who goes by the name of Chiquinquirá Lorenz. It is said that this personage, that has a celebrity gossip blog, took away the husband of a journalist of the newscast TVC: Alejandra Rodriguez. Another openly homosexual of celebrity journalism is Xander Reyes.

The attitude of Honduran society towards homosexuals

Honduran society, having a Christian cultural basis, does not welcome the homosexuals tendencies, but they are tolerated. No Honduran law discriminates against homosexuals, although no one favors them.

There seems to be no chance for the approval of homosexual marriages in Honduras. A few years ago a constitutional amendment was made clarifying that Marriage can only be between a man and a woman. The political influence of the Christian religion would not allow gay marriage.

There is still some stigma attached to homosexuality which prevents many from openly declaring their sexual orientation. This is understandable in a conservative society, but it is not true that the condemnation of homosexuality originates only from the religious sphere. Honduran writer Longino Becerra, who is an atheist of Marxist tendencies, says in his book Ética para Jóvenes ( Ethics for Young People) : “Anyone who suffers from sexual deviations, whatever they may be, is with no doubt, a candidate not only for unhappiness, but also for tragedy. Always remember this. “

Homosexuals can not miss in humorous radio programs made in Honduras. The gays are found laughable for their mannerisms. Homosexuals are stereotyped in these programs as stylists and fashion designers.

It is normal for parents to be ashamed for having a gay kid, but despite these attitudes, understandable in a conservative society, there is no organized persecution against homosexuals.

Lately there have been reports of homosexual killings in Honduras, but this is explained by the
wave of violence that affects the entire Honduran society. This violence does not discriminate by gender or by sexual orientation.

Homosexual Activism

In Honduras there are organized homosexual groups with legal personality granted by the Honduran State, like the “Colectivo Violeta.” Some of these groups have recently organized “Gay Pride” parades.

These groups use very loosely the term homophobia as a way to stigmatize those who oppose their political agenda. The “World Day against Homophobia” is also celebrated in Honduras, and has
the attention of some of the media.