 Chetumal, October 10, 2005. There already exists between Belize & Chetumal, Mexico a strong historical bond recently intensified by shopping in the Free Zone and ocasional weekends for Belizeans to go to the movies or relax at a hotel. Now there is the occasion to pursue a committment of cultural exchange at another level, based on the acknowlegment of the fraternal relations as good neighbours.
Yasser Musa, President of the National Institute of Culture and History and Octavio Chávez Gavaldón, Director General del Instituto Quintanarroense de la Cultura, met this past Monday to meet to forge a new dynamic interaction between two friendly nations in the area of culture.
Octavio Chávez, host of the meeting, coordinated by Joan Duran, Belize’s Ambassador for Cultural Affairs who was also present, said -as an example- that he considers rice and beans Chetumal’s most typical dish and using this statement and others, presented his view that Belize has had a significant influence on the State of Quintana Roo.
On his side, Yasser Musa encouraged IQC’s Director to deepen the cultural relationship by addressing the urgency of both our peoples’ to participate and produce aggressively in the framework of contemporary modern culture. He called on Mr. Chavez to feel free to engage Belize as Belize would engage Quintana Roo to make pragmatic programs in cultural projects possible for the benefit of both sides.
Musa presented Mr. Chávez with recently produced books on African and Maya Civilizations now in Belize’s Primary School System. Musa stressed that many persons in Belize have fought for over thirty years to win the cultural battle of convincing the mainstream consciousness that the teaching of African and Maya Civilizations was a critical step to our cultural liberation. However, he stressed that this was only the beginning to our cultural awakening and that the partnership with cultural institutions such as IQC is crucial for us to move forward.
The meeting ended with Musa inviting Mr. Chávez to visit Belize in November for a tour of our cultural institutions to see how we can proceed with stronger exchanges between Belize and Mexico.
| 
