Celebrating Belize’s Carnival Through Legacy and Youth

Carnival in Belize thrives on the passion and vision of its band leaders, each adding their own rhythm to the national celebration. For over twenty years Carla Flowers and Mother Nature Creation have brought bold themes and enduring spirit to the road, a legacy deeply influenced by the late Leroy Green. In the junior category, Marina Welcome’s Jump Street Posse has become a safe and vibrant space for children, telling stories through color, movement, and music. Side by side, these bands show how Carnival bridges generations honoring the past while inspiring the future. Tonight, we share their stories.

 

Tanya Arceo, Reporting

For two decades, Carla Flowers has led Mother Nature Creation, Belize’s only senior mas band to keep its original name. Known for bold themes like 2013’s award-winning “Love,” the band blends culture, creativity, and natural beauty. Meanwhile, Jump Street Posse brings youthful energy and handcrafted flair, winning junior road marches like champs. Together, they prove that Carnival is a living tradition of color, rhythm, and pride.

 

Carla Flowers, Founder, Mother Nature Creation

“I understand that it evolved from some group of woman in 1975 and now we are celebrating our fifty years of carnival.”

 

Tanya Arceo

“And what does it take to run a carnival for so long?”

 

Carla Flowers

“I think the people.  You have to have motivation to do this its year in year out different people will come in and give you that support and encourage you. One of my biggest motivators for me to have carnival for so long was Mr. Green he was my motivator every year he’d come by and before the next year he would come and say “Carla let us plan for next year” and he said “I will bring the team by December” so he is the one that motivate me most of the time.”

 

Tanya Arceo

“Your themes are always creative and bold, where do your ideas come from and what inspires your designs year after year?”

 

Carla Flowers

“Like I said before its Mr. Green, Mr. Green he is the one that brings theme, well sometimes not even the theme sometimes he’d bring the drawing for us and afterwords when he see how the costume came out and everything like that then he put the theme to it.”

 

Tanya Arceo

“Now running a band isn’t just about costumes, it’s about the people, community and the energy what does Mother Nature Creation mean to you personally?”

 

Carla Flowers

“Well to me its like being like a family everybody that comes around becomes family we have dancers dancing for the past twenty one years you know they stick with us, they stick with me, they stick with Mother Nature and they are still sticking with us so its been a great big pleasure to have those people by my side for the twenty one years”

 

Meet Marina Welcome, the creative force behind Jump Street Posse. She’s a band leader and a cultural powerhouse who’s been shaping junior Carnival for years with vibrant colors, deep pride, and powerful storytelling. Whenever her band hits the road, they bring stories to life. Every costume, every move, every beat speaks to the heart of Belizean culture. Marina’s vision turns Carnival into more than a parade, it’s a celebration of identity and soul.

 

Marina Welcome, Band Leader, Jump Street Posse

“I could remember the blessed afternoon we were sitting down having dinner and my kids say “Mommy why don’t you do carnival?” I said “Carnival? What is carnival?” And they said “mommy don’t worry you do the design and grandma will sew and we will bring the kids from school” and my biggest mistake was to say yes! The evening Jump Street Posee full, carnival is starting the kids used to go to St Ignatius School, the kids came, the neighbor kids came and that is how Jump Street Posee formed, I remember that was the seamstress Norma Welcome and we got the name out of the street it was just named Wagners Lane Jump Street.  “I remember my first year I competed against I think it was Stella Maris they did Mr. neat and clean, they came in first Ms. Stew Lucky came in second and my first win was third place so for just starting out Ms. Bev said “You did good!” and right there I started creating a passion. For me it is always about the kids no where to go because the way they rush and come and join the band you know something is wrong they don’t have no where to go nothing to do well at least in those times the violence wasn’t as bad as it is today but it is something that the kids look forward for when you see school close the week before oh boy!  the kids come “Ms. Marina you got carnival? Ms. Marina you got carnival? How can you tell them no?”

 

With a bright smile and a faraway gleam in her eyes, Welcome recalls her very first carnival costume as if the memory carries her back to that unforgettable moment in time.

 

Marina Welcome

“My first costume was yellow, green, red and black and it was something simple it was a one sleeve with frills on the sleeve and frills on the tail can’t forget it”

 

Even after the music fades and the feathers settle, the energy of Jump Street Posse and Mother Nature Creation doesn’t miss a beat. Their spirit lives on, woven into the rhythm of our streets and the heartbeat of Belizean culture. One moves with the energy of youth, the other with the wisdom of endurance, yet both march to a beat rooted in pride and purpose. These Carnival legacies remind us that true culture isn’t preserved at a museum but danced boldly into life. I’m Tanya Arceo for News Five.