Healing Through the Beat of Creole Culture

Our culture shapes who we are and sometimes, it can also help us heal. Tonight, we take a closer look at Creole Kulcha Therapy, a unique experience that combines music, dance, and storytelling to connect people with their roots, their community, and themselves. Sabreena Daly shows us how rhythm and tradition are bringing healing to Belize.

 

Sabreena Daly, Reporting

Wilford Felix is the president of the National Creole Council and a passionate enthusiast of his cultural identity. Beyond the title, he lives and breathes Creole culture to preserve tradition while creating spaces for healing, connection, and cultural pride.

 

Wilford Felix, President, National Kriol Council
“ Being a cultural advocate, I draw from my childhood. We never used to drum, but we used to hit buckets. We used to hit pin bottles. We used to scrape graters and we sang songs and bram in the house.”

While his passion for Creole culture was shaped early on, drawing from memories of childhood expression and improvisation, that commitment deepened through mentorship. And with the passing of elder pioneers, the torch of Creole culture needed new hands to carry it forward.

Wilford Felix
“They are giants and I actually feel inadequate when it comes to fulfilling their life’s work, but as we say at the National Creole Council, “One, one ochra full basket”.  The example that Emit is setting, he’s still with us and I personally want to give him his flowers while he’s still alive. The Governor General recently acknowledged him for his dedication to Creole culture. Ms. Myrna had gotten similar acknowledgement, Ms. Leila also, but I looked at the age group that these advocates are in and then I looked at my age group and even the younger ones, and there’s not much of us in this age group that’s taking up the work.”

Felix lives his Creole culture daily through language, dress, and music. As a second-generation member of the Boom and Chime band, he keeps a traditional sound alive, rooted in storytelling and Creole identity, while supporting local creatives and celebrating Caribbean culture.

Wilford Felix
“ This drum is the original boom drum from Mr. Peter’s Boom and Chime band, according to Mr. Peter’s grandson, who is the current lead singer of the Boom and Chime, second generation band. This drum was built by Mr. Peter’s dad, close to either, or shortly after the 1931 hurricane. So we’re looking at a drum that’s closing a hundred years.”

Wilford Felix

“As a child, I didn’t understand what it was that I was attracted to in Bruk Down music. Mr Peters, Miss Leila, Lord Rhaburn, we grew up on their music and we enjoyed the music. But why? Because it’s healing.”

Formally certified as a mental health counselor, Felix believes the rhythmic sounds and dances of his culture’s music offer more than tradition, they hold a powerful connection to healing, helping people process emotions, strengthen community bonds, and carry forward cultural identity.

Wilford Felix
“ Taking my experience as a counselor and my experience as a cultural practitioner, the two merge traditionally. This is what the music is for, not just for us to feel good, not just for us to have fun. But on a deeper level, the reason it feels good is because it’s repairing us.”

While Felix channels the rhythms and dances of Creole music to promote healing and preserve culture, Michelle Shanti Williams of Om Shanti Belize uses yoga and meditation to foster well‑being and community connection. She spoke about the similarities between their work.

Michelle Williams, Owner, Om Shanti Spa and Wellness Retreat
“Like Wilfred describes his Creole culture therapy, It incorporates call and response, which is also something we call Kirtan. The dancing and the movement is almost like free dancing and we incorporate all the elements. And so I was so happy to find that. Um, he was also developing.”

 

Wilford Felix
“The human being is a social creature, so depression and anxiety specifically inhibits that aspect of your natural self. So the way that these sessions are designed culturally, it’s. Participatory. So there is the element of social connection.”

At the helm of Creole Kulcha Therapy, he invites participants at Om Shanti Belize to explore Creole culture through the artistry of rhythm, storytelling, and collective expression.

Wilford Felix
“ You might be in a place where you’re coming from a high stress environment, might wanna do nothing but just sit down or even just want to lay down. Maybe you want to sit in your lotus position and meditate to the music. We will have varied areas or designated areas set up for these types of interaction.”

While there’s room for conventional healing, Felix shows that holistic healing can also have its place when embraced. A space to connect, reflect, and find comfort, through someone else’s culture, or your very own. Looking on the Bright Side, I’m Sabreena Daly.