U.S. Congressman, Rep. Ritchie Torres, Honors Garifuna Men at The 2024 Chatoyer Awards

The Chatoyer Awards Recognizes and Celebrates the Contributions and Accomplishments of Garifuna Men

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Copyright 2024 by Teofilo Colon Jr for Being Garifuna. All Rights Reserved.

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Bronx, New York – On SATURDAY, April 6th 2024, The Bronx Headquarters of non-profit organization, Casa Yurumein / Hondurans Against AIDS Inc, hosted a special ceremony honoring Garifuna Men at its inaugural Chatoyer Awards.

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Mirtha Colon (Founder and Executive Director of Hondurans Against AIDS Inc/Casa Yurumein) at The 2024 Chatoyer Awards

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Presented by U.S. Congressman Rep. Ritchie Torres (who pushed for the Awards Ceremony) and Casa Yurumein/Hondurans Against AIDS Inc, Five Garifuna Men were Honored at this Awards Ceremony. They represented various aspects of life and culture.

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U.S. Congressman, Rep. Ritchie Torres (15th Congressional District-New York)

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The Garifuna Men honored were:

• Arnol Guity-Martinez (Health & Well-being, Physical Fitness – GarifunaRobics). Photos courtesy of Facebook.

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• Milton Guity Sr (Education Advancement / Garifuna Language Preservation)

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• Julio Guity-Guevara (Environmental Sustainability). Photo courtesy of Instagram.

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• Idi Aldo Guity (Community Leadership and Defense, Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement)

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• Angel Valerio Jr (Innovation in Cultural Preservation, The Arts / Cinema). Photos courtesy of Lake Street Films.

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The evening consisted of Remarks and Translations by Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Arnold Ciego, a Garifuna Man from Guatemala, and the Singing of the International Garifuna Anthem, Yurumein.

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The evening continued with Remarks by Edwin Alvarez, Vice-President of Hondurans Against AIDS Inc / Casa Yurumein and Remarks by Honduran Ambassador, Javier Bú Soto and Remarks by U.S. Congressman, Rep. Ritchie Torres.

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The Awards Ceremony continued with The Presentation of Citations to the Honorees and a set by Honduran Garifuna Music Group, Libaña Maraza. The evening ended with people eating and dancing to a music mix by DJ Suazo.

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Each Honoree present (two of the Honorees were not present, but had representatives there to accept the award on their behalf) expressed appreciation for the recognition and honor.

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In their speeches, in their own way, they each poetically referenced the moment at hand and uncovered meaning.

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For example, Mr. Arnol Guity-Martinez, who was honored due to the development and growing popularity of his GarífunaRobics Fitness program, where attendees do aerobics exercises based on Garifuna Dances, talked about how eleven years ago, he and his sister Cynthia canvassed for Ritchie Torres when he ran for New York City Council.

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Arnol noted the irony in that 11 years later, a politician he canvassed for, was presenting an award to him.

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Mr. Idi Aldo Guity, an Assistant Deputy Warden who was honored due to Community Leadership and Defense of the Community as part of his work in Law Enforcement as a Corrections Officer and previously as a Counselor to At-Risk Youth, talked about how personal the Award was to him.

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In that, his family is from Punta Gorda, Roatan, Honduras; where the Garifuna people were sent after being exiled from their original homeland of Saint Vincent Island.

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Mr. Julio Guity-Guevara, an Attorney who was honored based on his work on behalf of Environmental Sustainability, warned the audience that our communities could disappear very soon and suggested that we have to do our part to make sure that does not happen.

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He also thanked U.S. Congressman, Rep. Ritchie Torres for not only working on behalf of Garifuna people, but also Afro-Latinos and Black People throughout the Diaspora. What an expansive insight!

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We all could have done a better job letting more people know about this special event. Prior to the event, I only had information on the Flyer. Which named the Event, included the date, time, location and sponsors of the event.

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The Honorees were not announced before the event. It’s part of how Garifuna Events in the New York City area have been marketed over the Years.

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In that, Garifuna Organizations insist on having the public go to an event based on supporting the organization as opposed to supporting the people being celebrated at a given event. Therefore, generally, Honorees are not mentioned.

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Below is video of the First Ever Chatoyer Awards Ceremony. I will release portions of the event once I edit them.

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