Garifuna Community in Houston, Texas Profiled in Texas Magazine
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Copyright 2023 by Teofilo Colon Jr (a.k.a. “Tio Teo” or “T.O. Tayo”) for Being Garifuna. All Rights Reserved. Contact Tio Teo.
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Houston, Texas – When checking my Facebook friends list, I have noticed over the last six or seven years, that many of them have moved from New York City to Southern cities in the United States of America.
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In a casual scan of the profiles of my Facebook friends, I have seen that many have moved to southern cities like:
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Tampa, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Miami, Florida
- Dallas, Texas
- New Orleans, Louisiana
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And of course, the Fourth Largest City in the United States of America (after New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago in terms of Population), Houston, Texas.
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In the Fall of 2022, by chance, I came across an article in the Houstonia Magazine profiling the Garifuna community in Houston, Texas.
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Published by Season in both Print and Digital Editions, the Houstonia Magazine article by Juan Antonio Sorto is short, yet informative. It was published on September 28th 2022.
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One of the Garifuna People the article profiles is Business Owner, Mirna Lacayo. She is the owner operator of the Grocery store, Wadani Garifuna Store and Products. She is from New Orleans, Louisiana by way of Limon, Honduras.
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Located on Lyons Avenue, The Wadani Garifuna Grocery Store is unique in that, in addition to Food and Groceries, you can also buy Garifuna Cultural Items like Garifuna Dresses, Garifuna Shirts, Garifuna Drums, Mortars to make Hudutu, a Garifuna stew mainly consisting of Mashed Plantain Bananas, Coconut Milk and Fish.
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The other Garifuna Person profiled is Santos Sambula, founder of the Ballet Garifuna Dance Company.
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Mr. Sambula has been a Houston Resident for over 30 years and is a Historian when it comes to Houston Garifunas. He is from San Juan, Tela, Honduras and estimates that there are approximately 7,000 Residents of Garifuna Heritage in the Houston area.
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The article lists the neighborhoods where you can find Garifuna people. It also includes the rationale behind why some Garifunas gravitate towards those neighborhoods.
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As someone like me who does not know much about Houston in a geographic sense, that information is helpful.
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The article also lists locations where one can find Garifuna people. They include the popular Wani Kitchen, La Esquina Caliente HTX and a Christian Garifuna Church (I think the article is referring to the Evangelical Garifuna Church of Houston, but I have not confirmed that information as of yet).
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Wani Kitchen
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La Esquina Caliente HTX
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The article details the role these locations play in a social sense. It also lists the ongoing challenge Garifuna people in the area have in getting recognition in Houston.
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It is not listed in this article, but the tragic murders of Garifuna people due to conflicts in urban American living over the years are also worth remembering.
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If you have the time, read the profile of the Garifuna community in Houston, Texas in the Houstonia Magazine when you get a chance.
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ABOUT The Garifuna People
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