A wave of cultural pride coursed through the grand reopening of the Casa Yurumein cultural center near Crotona Park in the Bronx, with more than 100 people of Afro-Latino descent gathering to celebrate the community space just ahead of Garifuna Heritage month, which runs from March 11 through April 12.
The center — whose previous location shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic — is dedicated to the Garifuna, who originate from the Caribbean and planted roots in New York City nearly a century ago. It reopened on Feb. 25 with a night of solidarity for a culture that has fought to preserve its language and customs in the face of adversity.
During their heritage month, Garifuna people host a series of educational and community-building events in the Bronx, including pop-up shops and beauty pageants. The community also makes itself visible to public officials through visits to Washington, D.C. and the Bronx borough president's office, which recognizes Garifuna Heritage Month each year.
The Garifuna trace their ethnic origins to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with their lineage deriving from a mix of escaped enslaved African and indigenous Arawak people as far back as the 1600s.
The reopening of Casa Yurumein – whose entrance was adorned in yellow, black and white in honor of the Garifuna flag – is just one example of the steady inroads Garifunas have made in New York City. The center was previously closed three times due to a lack of resources and funding. Over the years, the small but burgeoning Garifuna community has sought to amplify its presence and needs through several community initiatives, notably recognition in the U.S. Census. But advocates say more needs to be done.
“They [Garifuna] recognize the power of making your presence known, of being engaged,” said Assemblymember Kenny Burgos, who was one of several guests in attendance and represents the district where Casa Yurumein is located. “And I think that work has led to the culmination of this. This is why I believe it’s just the beginning for this community."
Assemblymembers, George Alvarez, center-left, Kenny Burgos, center, the President of Casa Yurumein, Mirtha Colon, center-right, assemblymember Karines Reyes, right, and New York State Senator Nathalia Fernandez, right, and local politicians and community leaders.
Settling in NYC
The Garifuna trace their ethnic origins to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with their racial lineage deriving from a mix of escaped African slaves and indigenous Arawak people as far back as the 1600s. Skirmishes with British colonists ultimately led the Garifuna to be exiled from their homeland and sent to Central America on ships. They eventually settled and thrived in Honduras.
Groups of Garifuna settled in New York by the 1930s, with many finding employment through the United Fruit Co. or by loading ships in the city's docks, according to the World Culture Encyclopedia. After the Happy Land Social Club fire in 1990 – one of the biggest fires in New York City history, which claimed the lives of 87 people, including many members of the Garifuna community – Garifunas in the Bronx united to bolster their presence.
Jose Francisco Ávila, president of the Garifuna Coalition USA — a Bronx-based advocacy group dedicated to fighting for the rights of Garifuna immigrants and strengthening civic participation — said the fire inspired the community to unite in a new way.
“I represent the community that New York did not know existed until March 25, 1990,” Ávila said, referencing the date when the fire occurred.
Through his own research, Ávila estimates that some 250,000 Garifuna live in New York City. Of that figure, roughly 100,000 Garifuna live in the Bronx, according to estimates from the Bronx borough president’s office.
Drummers Alex Crisanto, left, and Dixon Morrison.
In the decades since the Happy Land Fire, Ávila has sought to increase the visibility of Garifuna within New York City. He began writing a newsletter for the community in 1998, successfully lobbied the city to implement Garifuna Heritage Month in 2008, and pushed the state Legislature to introduce a bill in 2018 promoting education on Garifuna history in public schools. Even with these accomplishments, Ávila said Garifunas living in the neighborhoods of Crotona Park and Soundview still seek a stronger political presence.
Ávila has also embarked on a journey to understand his own roots. When his family first migrated to the U.S. in 1969, he said he knew nothing of being Garifuna. And so his participation in the modern Garifuna movement started with having to self-educate. He’s since written a memoir tracing his Garifuna heritage.
“My parents spoke to me in Spanish. They knew that teaching me Garifuna would be great culturally, but it wouldn’t help me adapt to society,” said Ávila, who was born in Trujillo, Honduras. “I left Honduras now, I didn’t know Garifuna. I knew it because of traditions and language.”
Census recognition
Like in years past, members of the community were encouraged to take part in the 2020 U.S. Census. As a way of increasing their visibility, Garifunas were instructed to write in “Garifuna” under the section “Some other race – Print race or origin” found in the form, a decision that took into account the historical racial nuances tied to the Garifuna.
Given their racial origins, Garifunas were lumped in with Native Americans and Alaskan Natives in past census counts. But this resulted in an undercount of the population.
In a win for the Garifuna, the Census Bureau said it will publicly release the number of Garifunas counted in the 2020 census by this summer.
Because of their racial origins, Garifunas were lumped in with Native Americans and Alaskan Natives in past census counts. This resulted in an undercount of the population. In a win for the Garifuna, the Census Bureau said it will publicly release the number of Garifunas counted in the 2020 census by this summer.
While the Garifuna population in the city remains unclear, advocates say the community has potential as a voting bloc. Being counted in the census could translate to greater resources for the community, including money for public transportation, hospitals and schools in neighborhoods home to large Garifuna populations.
For organizers, Casa Yurumein’s purpose looks to reinforce the Garifuna culture, particularly among younger Garifunas. Mirtha Colon, Casa Yurumein’s president, said the space is essential for youth to “feel free to verbalize their feelings and needs.”
Edwin Alvarez, vice president of Casa Yurumein, said the center's programming aims to “share the goodness of the culture” with the upcoming generations of young Garifunas. Isha Sumner, a Garifuna cuisine expert living in Brooklyn, said making progress falls on the shoulders of all members and not just the next generation.
“I think when unity within a community happens, it becomes a force that is so powerful people cannot ignore it," said Sumner, a native of Honduras who grew up in a Garifuna community. She’s volunteered as a translator for Garifuna people looking to make their way around New York City. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, added the Garifuna language to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008, citing that economic migration, discrimination, and the complete absence of the language from school systems has “endangered its survival.”
“[We need to] establish the fact that not every Garifuna person speaks Spanish,” said Sumner. “If New York City has 52 languages available when people call nyc.gov, then let's work together to also establish the Garifuna language for those that need it.”
