The placing of banners at strategic locations in the nation’s capital today marked the start of the September celebrations season in that municipality for 2013. The banners are just part of a larger programe called “Raise Your Flag and Win with Love” that organizers of Love FM, Love TV and their parent company, RSV Media Centre initiated in 2006 after the inventive idea was proposed by one if its former Managers, Alma Erskine. The event has evolved to an impressive, yearly tradition for households, businesses, and individuals who adorn their places or their bodies with symbolic, patriotic decorations at this time of year in the spirit of Belizean identity and pride. Chairman of the Belmopan Celebrations Committee, City Councilor Victor Perdomo, says that the postings of banners today heralds in the Council’s own initiative, which will take flight next week when it will rally its roughly 17 thousand residents to join the bandwagon.
Victor Perdomo, Chairman, Belmopan Celebrations Committee
“We have started with you guys and this Raise Your Flag and Win promotion from Love FM then the council will initiate our decorations on Monday. We have the Queen of the Bay contestant going up in Belize City and she won the talent competition so I must brag about that and congratulate her; then we have the Mesoamerican night coming up but there has been a change in the date for that event and we usually the 10th and the 21st, we have Latino nights and we have other cultural events in Belmopan.”
But Belmopan is only one of the urban areas where radio and television personalities visit to judge the decorations and acknowledge the winners. All six districts and the cayes are a part of the effort, says Julia Carrillo, the Program Manager at Love FM. And the underlying objective is to promulgate that spirit one oneness.
Julia Carrillo, Program Manager, Love FM
“It’s an amazing feeling when you are coming back into the country or you’re driving around and seeing all of the Belizean flags; you get this emotional feeling and we want to see the people being proud of who they are as Belizeans. The football incident recently, when you look around and see the flag flying.”
But talk aside, the introduction of the program six years ago has, according to Councilor Perdomo, injected a deeper level of patriotic display in the Belmopan proper.
MARION ALI
“If Love FM were not a part of this Raise Your Flag and Win competition, do you think it would take away from the spirit of the celebrations or would it be the same?”
Victor Perdomo, Chairman, Belmopan Celebrations Committee”
“Obviously it would take away because you would have an aspect of the decorating purposes and one of the things the individual council finds hard to do is finding the money for the prizes; so, you guys find the money and the prizes and we put up all the decorations and the citizens of Belmopan can get into that and we win both ways because you guys get the promotion and the City looks very festive.”
But apart from the festive look, Carrillo hopes that what is displayed for September is put into practice year-round.
Julia Carrillo, Program Manager, Love FM
“A lot of us say we love our country but we don’t show it; you don’t litter, you don’t mark up the place; you are going to stand at attention for the anthem and the flag; respect for the flag, respect for our country; respect for ourselves; again, love of country and love of self.”
