Guatemala’s Caribbean enclave of Livingston is dominated by the Garífuna population, the Afro-Caribbean group abducted by the British as slaves from St. Vincent to Roatán in 1797. Parts of the people, which today count several hundred thousand people, settled in Belize and in the Gulf of Honduras at the beginning of the 19th century.
In addition to Spanish, mainly English and Kriol are spoken in the streets of Livingston. Other cultural traditions also differ significantly from those of the Ladino culture, the most obvious being food and music. A typical dish not to be missed is tapado, a soup based on coconut milk with shellfish and plantains. The music is dominated by Punta rock, a commercial variation of the Garífuna’s traditional ritual music, whose characteristic drum rhythm is unique.
Livingston’s town centre is very clear and almost all restaurants and pubs line up along the two streets “Calle Principal” and “Calle del Comercio”.
Livingston, which was Guatemala’s most important Caribbean port before Puerto Barrios’ foundation, is still only accessible by water, so that most visitors arrive by boat via the Río Dulce, or from Belize’s south via the Gulf of Honduras.