Myrna Manzanares

MBE
Born(1946-10-30)October 30, 1946
Gales Point, Belize District, British Honduras
DiedDecember 21, 2021(2021-12-21) (aged 75)
Belize City, Belize

Myrna Kaye Manzanares MBE (30 October 1946 – 21 December 2021) was a Belizean writer and activist, considered an ambassador of Belizean Creole culture. She worked to preserve this culture, particularly the Creole language, and advocated for racial justice both in Belize and among its diaspora.[1][2][3]

Early life and California years

Myrna Manzanares was born in Gales Point, a small village in Belize District, British Honduras, on 30 October 1946.[1] Her mother was the town's craft instructress. At age 8, she left her home village to attend St. John’s Anglican Primary School in Belize City.[4][5][1]

She moved to the U.S. state of California in 1965 to join family who had already left after Hurricane Hattie.[5] She obtained a degree in psychology at Pepperdine University, as well as taking English as a second language classes at the University of Southern California. She completed postgraduate studies in psychology at California State University, Long Beach.[1]

During her time in California, Manzanares became deeply involved in the Belizean diaspora community of Los Angeles, which she was active in organizing.[2]

Activism and career

Manzanares returned to Belize in 1986 and became involved in community organizing there, including through the now-defunct PRIDE Belize.[6]

She was a longtime activist and organizer around black identity and Belizean Creole (Kriol).[2][7]

In 1995, she co-founded the National Kriol Council, which aims to promote the culture and language of Belizean Creole people.[1][8] She was also a longtime president of the institution.[5]

Her cultural activism included extensive oral history work.[1] Manzanares also fought for women's rights and sexual and reproductive health,[1] as well as for substance abuse prevention[9] and against HIV/AIDS, serving as chair of the National AIDS Task Force and president of the Addiction Alert Rehabilitation Center.[10] She was also involved with the Belize History Association and the Belize National Library Service Board,[1] and she was politically involved in the United Democratic Party, including an unsuccessful run for the Belize City Council in 1999.[11]

Manzanares worked for Peace Corps Belize, the Belize Teachers College, and the University of Belize.[1][10] She was appointed a Justice of the Peace.[10]

Writing

Manzanares wrote poetry, prose, and nonfiction.[4] Her work was included in both Volumes I and II of Memories, Dreams and Nightmares, an anthology of short stories by Belizean women writers published by the Belizean Writers Series.[12][13][14]

She contributed to Tek Mi! Noh Tek Mi!, a collection of Caribbean folktales,[15][16] and edited Kriol language materials and journals.[1] She took part in creating the dictionary of Kriol and translating the Bible into Kriol.[17]

Her other published works include Tell Me a Story (folklore); Life Lines (poetry); Traditional Games of Belize (compiled for UNICEF);[18] Faith-Based Response to HIV and AIDS; and Healing Circle,[1] a 2017 poetry collection in collaboration with teenager Azizi Hoy.[19]

Personal life and recognition

In 2008, she was honoured as a Member of the Order of the British Empire "for services to education, culture and social development."[20][10] The same year, she was honored in Belize's Outstanding Women Awards.[21]

In 2018, she was named one of the first-ever Artists Emeritus by Belize's National Institute of Culture and History.[3][22]

Manzanares had two children, a daughter, Shalini, and a son, Robert.[10] She was admitted to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital on 15 December 2021 with a suspected stroke[23] and died several days later on 21 December at the age of 75.[24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Myrna Manzanares". Belize Living Heritage. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Morris, Bilal (March 2018). "Myrna Manzanares & The Creole Identity". Belada Magazine.
  3. 1 2 Polanco, Andrea (19 October 2018). "NICH bestows first ever Artist Emeritus titles". Channel 5 Belize. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  4. 1 2 Wilentz, Gay Alden, 1950– (2001). She : Belizean women poetry. Factory Books. OCLC 948165960.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 3 "Twenty Questions – The January Interview with Myrna Manzanares, President of the Kriol Council of Belize". Belize Magazine. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Studies on Belize Conference (5th : 1991 : Belize City, Belize) (1992). Independence ten years after : fifth annual Studies on Belize Conference. Published for SPEAR by Cubola Productions. OCLC 31268682.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ MEJIA, SHARON LOUISE. (2019). MAI BUK AH KRIOL/INGLISH POAYMZ. AUTHORHOUSE. ISBN 978-1-7283-3407-3. OCLC 1130769014.
  8. ↑ "National Kriol Council - History and Mission of The Council". National Kriol Council. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Conference confronts key issues affecting youth". Channel 5 Belize. 28 March 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Five JP's on Honors List 2008". STAR Newspaper. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  11. ↑ "P.U.P. takes City Council". Channel 5 Belize. 4 March 1999. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  12. ↑ "Women's literature anthology launched". Channel 5 Belize. 17 June 2005. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  13. ↑ Memories, dreams and nightmares: a short story anthology by Belizean women writers. Wilentz, Gay Alden, 1950–, Abraham, Iris. (1st ed.). Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize: Cubola Productions. 2002. ISBN 976-8161-03-5. OCLC 53082005.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. ↑ Meza Márquez, Consuelo (2007). Narradoras centroamericanas contemporáneas: identidad y crítica socioliteraria feminista. Aguascalientes, México: Universidad autónoma de Aguascalientes. ISBN 978-607-8227-26-6. OCLC 808349435.
  15. ↑ Tek mi! noh tek mi! : Caribbean folktales. Campbell, Hazel D., Manzanares, Myrna., Payne, Nellie., Mohamed, Yasin F., Grell, Jane., Petty, Michelle M. Kingston, Jamaica: Carlong Publishers. 2008. ISBN 978-976-638-096-0. OCLC 712603772.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. ↑ Elswit, Sharon (19 October 2017). The Caribbean story finder: a guide to 438 tales from 24 nations and territories, listing subjects and sources. Jefferson, North Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4766-6304-3. OCLC 984211155.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ↑ "Manzanares: a Listener, Creator, and Singer". Channel 5 Belize. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  18. ↑ "Traditional Games of Belize". University of Florida. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  19. ↑ "Poets Azizi Hoy, Myrna Manzanares Team Up for "The Healing Circle"". Channel 5 Belize. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  20. ↑ "Birthday Honours List — Belize". The Gazette. 14 June 2008.
  21. ↑ Griffith, Kendra (4 March 2008). "Outstanding women to be honoured". Channel 5 Belize. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  22. ↑ "Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Patrick Faber and Ms. Sapna Budhrani, President of NICH, Bestow Title of Artist Emeritus and Awards to Three Outstanding Belizean Artists". The San Pedro Sun. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  23. ↑ "Kriol Icon Critically Ill". Channel 5 Belize. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021. Belizean writer and advocate of the Creole culture, Myrna Manzanares lies critically ill in the Intensive Care Unit of the K.H.M.H. Reports are that she suffered what doctors believe was a stroke last Wednesday.
  24. ↑ "Myrna Manzanares, author and cultural activist, dies at age 75". Breaking Belize News. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
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