The Presentation was about the Value of Writing Children’s Books in The Garifuna Language
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Copyright 2025 by Teofilo Colon Jr (a.k.a “Tio Teo”) for Being Garifuna. All Rights Reserved. Contact Tio Teo.
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Manhattan, New York – Children’s Book Author of Honduran Garifuna Heritage published a statement on her Presentation this past weekend in New York City about using the Garifuna Language in Children’s Books.
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STATEMENT by Elementary Educator of Honduran Garifuna Heritage, Miss Cintia M. Bernardez Lucas
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Thanks to the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA) for the invitation and for recognizing the efforts we are making in Honduras to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of African descent in the region.
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I am deeply grateful to God and my ancestors for guiding me along paths I never imagined I would travel. 🎉😍❤️🎊
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Sharing with sisters and brothers from Paraguay, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, the United States… all united by a common purpose: the rescue and revitalization of our mother tongues.
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Without a doubt, it has been a wonderful experience, full of learning, connection, and hope.
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From my position, I contribute to safeguarding our heritage through children’s literature, both in Spanish and in my mother tongue. 🌱📚✨
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It is deeply moving to know that my work has transcended borders.I remember a difficult time…
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I had published at least six books in the Garifuna language, and seeing that almost no one was buying them, I felt deeply discouraged.
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Some people bought them only to send me, at 1:00 a.m., lists of supposed errors. I wondered: who buys a book to find flaws and not to embrace the message?
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On another occasion, someone organized a video conference and took a few minutes to question a small error in one of my texts.
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Yes, they bought the book not to read it with love, but to expose me publicly.
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That day, I smiled in front of the camera… and made a decision: to stop writing books entirely in Garifuna.
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I switched from reading and writing in my native language to Spanish.
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Then, someone approached me and said: “No one is a prophet in their own land. Your work is beautiful.
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Maybe you should explore other paths and write for those who truly value your efforts.
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Ask yourself: Who are you writing for? To sell or to leave a legacy?” And those words left a mark on me.
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From then on, I walked with a different perspective: that of someone who sows without waiting for applause, knowing that each seed has its own time to blossom.
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I continued writing, not to sell, but to leave a legacy.
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So that our children have stories that speak in their language, with their voice.
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Where our worldview is reflected from our roots.
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The books I create are culturally relevant: the images are designed so that Black children see themselves, recognize themselves, and feel that they, too, are part of the stories. That they, too, count.
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Over time, the rest came as a bonus. 🌿📖
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And I realized that what’s most valuable, sometimes, isn’t seen immediately… but it lasts forever.
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Today I sell between 250 and 300 copies of my books a year…
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By now I’ve already sold more than 1,000 copies, incredible, isn’t it…
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The Endangered Language Alliance (ELA), which sponsored and hosted this Presentation, was founded in 2010 by Linguists Daniel Kaufman and Juliet Blevins and Poet Bob Holman and is a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting Indigenous, Minority, and Endangered Languages, supporting Linguistic Diversity in New York City and beyond.
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They’ve been featured in articles about Endangered Languages in The New York Times. As far as documenting the Garifuna Language goes, The Endangered Language Alliance has worked with Artist of Belizean Garifuna Heritage, Mr. James Lovell, on many projects over the years. Projects like Field Recordings in Belize, etc.
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Below is a 2010 New York Times report on the work the Endangered Language Alliance is doing featuring Mr. James Lovell.
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