In celebration of Belize’s rich cultural tradition, Nelita Sambula Doherty – poet, painter, author, and teacher, released a rich, native, folkloric tale, while displaying a wide range of her oil on canvas paintings on Friday, October 24.
Gregsy’s Adventures in Crooked Tree, Doherty’s new book, was launched at the Crystal Palace Auditorium in Orange Walk Town – the municipality where the author lives.
“Nelita is an inspirational woman whose legacy to the Orange Walk community and to Belize will be firmly established in the compelling stories, wonderfully woven together by her desire to enlighten you, to entertain you,” said Luisa Gillett, in the welcome address.
Carmen Carillo read Chapter 3 of the book – A Tree Overnight, while Nelita’s daughter, Emma Jane Doherty, read her mother’s poem, Let the children speak, which is a prelude of sorts to the book.
Rosita Melendrez, Doherty’s childhood friend, in her introduction of the author, underscored the need to recognize and give encouragement to Belizean authors.
Sambula, a Garifuna woman who also calls herself an “Orangewalkeño,” having lived most of her life in Sugar City, Orange Walk, delivered her speech in both English and Spanish.
She spoke of the many years of work she invested in the creation of the Belizean folkloric tale, and enjoined the many young people present to pursue writing their own original stories.
“I look forward to some day reading some of your writings, because I firmly believe that each and every one of you can be a writer. But do remember that the key to being a good writer is reading. So you got to read, read, read.”
Nelita goes on to disclose that, “The main character in my book, Gregsy, took form in my imagination several years ago, and he actually resided in many villages before I finally picked the beautiful village of Crooked Tree as his home.”
Why Crooked Tree? The author said that she was simply intrigued by the way the people in that village live, continuing to hold on to many of the mores lost from the mainstream Belizean way of life today.
“The bond that exists in Crooked Tree reminds me so much of the Belize of yesteryear, where no one went without food… There was always a helping hand in Belize of yesteryear, which is fast becoming a distant memory. The people of Crooked Tree have held on to this almost extinct tradition. I congratulate and thank them,” said the author.
(I was the guest speaker for the book launch. For those residents of Crooked Tree who were at the time of the launch under the assault of the floods, I asked the gathering to observe a moment for prayer.)
In delivering the closing remarks, Flavia Burgos described the author as a very special woman, and congratulated her for combining experience, knowledge and wisdom in such a book.
“Ixtabai – somehow our children are forgetting these stories. We need to find a way that we can go back to those stories,” said Burgos, pointing to the resurrection of this almost forgotten tale on the pages of Doherty’s book.
“The book combines the spiritual and physical to send a message to those, like Miss Adele Ramos mentioned, who have yet to be born,” Burgos continued.
She celebrated the author as an example of the underlying theme in the book, making dreams a reality despite struggles and obstacles. The author is a testimony of that, said Burgos, adding that Doherty has, through her varied contributions to Belize, elevated herself to become “a role model for people, especially women, trying to make a difference in their community in their own and very simple way.”
Sambula’s vibrant paintings, featuring ethnically diverse peoples of Belize, scenes, collages of familiar Belizean images, as well as home-based landscapes, were also on display at the book launch.
The author donated the original oil-on-canvas painting used for the front cover of her book to the Orange Walk Library.
Gregy’s Adventures in Crooked Tree, an 89-page book, is affordable, selling at just $10 at Angelus Press Limited and A&R store.