|  The Calm After the Storm - South Water Caye, Belize |
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Hon. Consul General's
Monthly Message
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Janine Sylvestre Vega
Hon. Consul General of Belize
in Florida
Trade Representative of Belize in Florida
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Welcome to our monthly newsletter, where we bring you human interest stories, current events and information on Belize!
The Consulate of Belize in Florida is proud to announce that in addition to processing Belizean Passports and Emergency Travel Documents, it is now issuing Identification Cards, facilitating many Belizeans living in Florida with the opportunity to hold an official ID from Belize. Acceptance of these cards at U.S. offices and other institutions, however, depends on their discretion.
Enjoy reading about our Belizean Star of the Month! If you are aware of a Belizean residing in the United States who is making a positive impact on the lives of others while contributing to their native country, please submit their story to us so that we may feature them in our newsletter.
Please remember to share with us your contact information so that you can be abreast of all the updates and news on Belize. Visit our website at
www.belizeconsulflorida and register!
See N Taste Belize News!
Thanks to the overwhelming support we received from you at See N Taste Belize 2015 held in Miami, Florida, we quickly outgrew the venue at Florida International University! We have finally identified our new and exciting See N Taste Belize venue where See N Taste Belize will come back bigger and better in 2017!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 7th, 2017 and stay tuned for more details in the coming months!
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Belizean athletes represented at Rio Olympics 2016
Belize was represented at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Three proud Belizean, Katy Sealy, Brandon Jones and Renick James competed in their respective disciplines in an attempt to grab gold for the Jewel. This marked the 11th time Belize has participated in the Olympic Games.
 The anticipated event had athletes from 205 countries from around the world competing in 306 events surrounding 42 sporting disciplines. These ranged from swimming to judo and even wrestling. The main event kicked off on Friday, August 5th with a grand inauguration ceremony with a parade of athletes. The event also included music and festivity along with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. During the opening ceremony, the Belize flag was carried by Brandon Jones. "It felt amazing, one of the happiest moments of my life," Jones told The San Pedro Sun. The games started on Saturday, August 6th and continued through August 20th.  Source: San Pedro Sun RESULTS:
Judo
Belize has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a judoka competing in the men's middleweight category (90 kg) to the Olympics.
| Athlete |
Event |
Round of 64 |
Round of 32 |
Round of 16 |
Quarterfinals |
Semifinals |
Repechage |
Final / BM |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Rank |
| Renick James |
Men's −90 kg |
Bye |
Uera (NRU)
L 000-100 |
Did not advance |
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BTB extends invitation to Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles
 Since the Rio Olympic Games commenced, US Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles has been the talk of the world. In Belize, the 19 year-old holds a special place in the hearts of Belizeans, as her mother is from Belize. The excitement grew more when the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) scored more than gold when they extended Biles, along with her teammates, an invitation to vacation in Belize, and they accepted.
BTB tweeted on Thursday, August 11th: "Congrats @simone_biles! Belize is so proud of you. We'd love to host you and the entire #FinalFive on a vacation once you're ready to relax." Biles, who is no stranger to Belize, responded, "My second home, you betta belize we're coming." BTB's offer is to host Biles and the US gymnast team for a five-day, all-expense trip to Belize.
Biles' Belizean roots stem from her adopted mother Nellie Cayetano Biles, the daughter of Silas Cayetano, a former United Democrat Party Senator. Just last year, Biles vacationed on Ambergris Caye, when she joined family and friends to celebrate her brother Ronald Biles' tropical wedding at Ramon's Village Resort.
 Biles is considered the best gymnast in the world holding a total of fourteen medals, of which ten are gold. At just 19, she is already one of the most decorated gymnasts in US history, and is the first woman to win three consecutive world all-around titles. So far, she has won four gold medals in the Rio Summer Olympics: women's team all-around, women's individual all-around, women's vault, women's floor exercise, and won a bronze medal in the women's beam.
Story by: The San Pedro Sun
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Source:The Reporter Newspaper
By Benjamin Flowers
Staff Reporter
Belize took a direct hit late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning from Hurricane Earl, the category one storm that caused tremendous physical destruction and economic loss but fortunately did not bring about any casualties.
After the storm, Prime Minister Dean Barrow held a press conference to discuss the preliminary findings of the post-storm damage assessment. Barrow, flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber and other ranking government officials, explained that while damage assessments are ongoing the storm caused more damage than GOB originally estimated it would, and those effects would be felt in the short and medium term.
Barrow explained that two of Belize's main industries, Agriculture and Tourism, were severely impacted by the hurricane and called on representatives from those sectors to elaborate.
Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Jose Alpuche, gave a presentation explaining that preliminary estimates project over $100 million in losses to the sector.
Alpuche said that between the Orange Walk and Cayo districts, the agriculture sector will lose around $49 million in corn. The storm damaged almost 40,000 acres of corn crop in Cayo, and almost 25,000 acres in Orange Walk. Damages to bananas totaled around $45 million, and other vegetable crops took losses valued around $12 million.
Karen Bevans, Director of Tourism, explained that major tourist destinations sustained heavy damages, and will take a lot of time to rebound. Bevans said that San Pedro, Belize's top tourism destination, lost 90 percent of the docks as well as all the businesses such as dive shops and restaurants along the beach. The Costa Maya pageant, usually held the first week in August, has also been cancelled. Caye Caulker suffered a similar fate. The storm also severely eroded the beaches on both islands.
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WHAT'S TRENDING
THE INSPIRATION CENTER
FAMILY FUN DAY 2016
The Inspiration Center is a first of its kind non-government organization headquarted in Belize City. It was founded by Mrs. Kim Simplis-Barrow, Belize's Special Envoy for Women and Children and Global Ambassador for Special Olympics International, in collaboration with CARE-Belize, the Government of Belize and numerous donors and stakeholders. The center provides physical and speech therapy, community based rehabilitation, basic medical services and social support for the holistic care of children with disabilities (birth to 16 years) and their families.
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Belize Business Directory
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If you are interested in joining the Belize Business Directory Memership please contact us at 305-503-5741 or email us at
[email protected]
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Landmark Beauty of the Month
Central Police Station, Belize City, Belize
Let us protect and preserve our historical Belizean landmarks
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Scheduling your September festivities? Here's this year's Calendar of Events for September Celebrations 2016!
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The Consulate of Belize in Florida, along with the joint efforts of other Consulates and Missions of Belize Abroad Raised Funds for the Relief Victims of Hurricane Earl in Belize. In the span of one week $5,370.00 USD was raised and donated to the Belize Red Cross for distribution of School Books and Supplies for the children affected by Hurricane Earl.
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"Food weh no killing, fattening"
Meaning: Don't be choosy about food.
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Recipe of the Month
Ducunu
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Ducunu
Ingredients
6-8 full ears of corn (grated or ground)
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
METHOD:
Cut ends of corn.
Peel off husk and save some of the large husks.
Grate or grind corn.
Melt butter under low heat. Add salt and baking powder to the melted butter and finally add butter mixture to powder to the grated corn.
Lastly add the coconut milk and mix well.
Place two or three corn cobs in pot to balance ducunu. Slowly add water and bring to a boil.
Put one large tbsp corn mixture into each corn husk. Fold over and place between corn cobs in boiling water. Boil for 20-30 minutes.
Serve with Belizean stewed chicken or enjoy just as is!
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