La Isla Bonita

San Pedro Town
San Pedro Town
Town
	San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye
	San Pedro Collage.
	Nickname: La Isla Bonita
Country	Belize
District	Belize
Constituency	Belize Rural South
San Pedro	1848
Government
• Mayor	Mr.Daniel Guerrero (UDP)

A nickname given to San Pedro Town which is said to be an inspiration to the song " Last Night I Dreamn't Of San Pedro" written by Madonna, Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch the famous singers.^[3]^[4] This island is located south of Belize and is sorrounded by water. It is said to be the second largest town in the Belize Districthowever, the largest in the Belize Rural South Constituency. According to City Population it puts the population of Ambergris Caye at ^[5] at 17,429. San Pedro's in habitats are know as San Pedranos. It is said that "your not truly a San Pedrano if you don't know how to fish!".^[6] Many of them speak both Spanish and English fluently. Due to Cultural Integration many of them also converse in a dialouge Belizean Creole and the hometown Spanglish also known as 'Kitchen Spanish'.

Over the centuries San Pedro has become one of the most popular tourist destinations with various protected areas such as Hol Chan Marine Reserve,Shark Rey Alley, Bacalarchico and many more. One of San Pedro's most priced possession is the Barrier Reef. The San Pedro Barrier Reef is the 'second largest' in the world, the first being the Great Barrier Reef. And is a home to a diverse amount of species.

History

The first permanent settlers arrived between 1848 and 1849. Which mainly included families of fishermen who previously constructed fishing camps in the cayes who then migrated their relatives over to the island for safety; when the Santa Cruz Maya revolted. It started out with only four families,that where in no time joined by others from the Bacalarchico Area. The village soon expanded to approximately 30 house and over 50 inhabitants. The refugees that arrived and reside here where farmers and fishermen in Yucatan who continued their practices in San Pedro.

On November 27, 1984, the island was officially given its township title. At the the time of the ceremony present was Governor General Elmira Minita Gordon, Area Representative Louis Sylvestre and many other residents of the island. The first mayor was Gilberto Chico Gomex. The island now has one of largest concentration of visitors accommodations in Belize not to mention its hotels, fishing and diving organizations which are some of the best in the Nation of Belize. Today San Pedro is known for various different festivals such one of the most famous being El Gran Carnaval de San Pedro.

Carnaval Festival

El Gran Carnaval de San Pedro goes back to the 1870’s a tradition that is centered around “ Juan Carnaval”. A legend that states “Juan was an island goddess,that had sex with over a thousand women from eight different countries and had several children. It is said that he was stabbed to death by his hurt and jealous wife leaving behind nothing but a will that is traditionally read on Ash Wednesday. A stuffed doll like idol of Juan Carnaval is burnt every year as symbol of cleansing the community's sins. This tradition started out with use of power and has now expanded into water paint and the breaking of eggs. However there are rules to this festival they include: first day restricted for only children between the time of 6pm-7pm from Ruby’s Hotel beachfront to the cemetery area and also the Barrier Reef Drive, they are not allowed to paint individuals that are not participating as well as public signs, buildings and the Comparsa participants and lastly they are not allowed to use rotten eggs,, spray paint or oil paints.