All The Work to Eat One Chicken
If you thought that preparing for your corn tortillas was a lot of work, wait until you see all that had to be done just to eat one chicken. Today if you want to eat a delicious chicken all you have to do is go to Chico’s meat shop and in one hour’s time you […]
Making Hot Corn Tortillas
The other day our family was too lazy to go downtown to purchase some corn tortillas for the “taquitos”, so we ended up purchasing a bag of “Minza” or powdered corn mill. We simply added some water and proceeded to make our tortillas, but in the process we talked about how tortillas were made twenty […]
No Need for Shampoo
Do you think that it is possible to live today without shampoo? What will you do to keep your hair soft if you did not have any kind of shampoo, just plain bars of soap? People in the past used to live without shampoos and they managed to keep their hair soft and bouncy, as […]
Celebrating 10th of September
Will be updated soon.
Raising Babies 25 Years Ago
Now that there is a baby at home, I cannot help but notice some big differences in raising babies today and 25 years ago. The baby today is equipped with several bottles and a variety of nipples like soft, medium, one hole and two holes for different beverages. Then there is the electric bottle sterilizer, […]
What are Fajinas?
In the 1950 and 60’s we did not have a lot of committees in San Pedro, but things still got done in the small laid-back fishing village. We did not have the Lions Club nor the tourist guide association. Neither did we have a PTA, a Red Cross, youth groups, Chamber of Commerce, Costa Maya […]
No Breeze, No Problem, We'll get Breeze!
This Twenty Five Years Ago will take you way back into the 1950, when no breeze was really a problem, so a solution had to be sought. No breeze today and you turn on the ceiling fan or the air conditioner to have a good night’s sleep. Not so 25 years ago! You had to […]
El "Novio" Visits His Girlfriend
After writing letters to the parents of his girlfriend, Alberto finally received the letter of consent and he is overjoyed that now Angelita is no more his girlfriend but his official fiancé. They are no more “enamorados”; now they are “novios”. It is Monday, August 5, and it is the day that Alberto will start […]
The Acceptance Letter
So the custom 25 years ago was to write a formal letter requesting permission to visit a girl at her home and the father would write back either with a letter denying that permission or accepting. Finally here is the long awaited approval letter about a week or two after it was mailed, sorry I […]
Reply Letter to Young Lover
Last week we saw how 25 years ago Antoño requested permission from Don Pablo to visit his house and to formally declare Rosita to be his “novia” (fiancé). Here is Don Pablo’s reply. “Estimado Antoño” (dear Antoño), I received your letter requesting permission to visit my house and to formalize your relationship with my […]
Visiting One’s Girlfriend
Estimado Señor Pablo, (Dear Mr. Pablo) With all due respect that I have for you, I send you this letter to ask your kind permission to visit your house. Your daughter, Rosita, and I love each other and we would like to make formal our relationship. It has been several months now that we have […]
More Corn Than Rice
I am sure that in today’s diet we in San Pedro are eating more rice than corn. Think of the many dishes where rice is part of the main course. Not so 25 years ago. Corn was certainly the main part of most meals and that certainly was due to our Mexican roots. Let us […]
Ice, When It Was Scarce
Mr. Milo Paz of Milo’s Ice tells me that he has five ice machines that manufacture two thousand pounds each and even that is not enough for the needs of the town. Can you believe that? And can you believe that in the 1950’s there was no ice made in San Pedro? Today we take […]
Swimsuits and Bikinis
You might laugh at this or doubt me, but ask anybody who lived in the 50’s and you will believe me. Bikinis, swimsuits, bathing suits, G-strings etc., you see them everywhere today. I suppose they were made for the beach and swimming pool, but we see them on the streets, at the restaurants, and even […]
The Better Discipline? To Punish or Not!
A group of us teachers were conversing the other day and the topic came up on ways in which children were punished, especially in schools in the past. It seems that it was the same right across the country of Belize from north to south, east to west. After comparing the changes one can only […]
Embarcaderos Part 2
Last week we learned about the embarcaderos, which were basically the dump site for the village twenty five years ago. There was one at each street leading to the lagoon, so those embarcaderos are now buried and lying under some house. However, the meaning of embarcadero is a wharf for loading and unloading of goods. […]
The Famous Embarcaderos
Tell anybody who is 50 years or more the word “embarcadero”, and he will immediately carry his mind to the public toilets sitting over the lagoon 25 years ago. Young people today do not know that type of “embarcadero”. There is a famous embarcadero in Mexico known as Xochimilco, which is a waterway and tourist […]
Talk About Hardships Part 2
Whenever I think about hardships of the past I think about those Sanpedrano students who used to attend high school in Belize City, mostly at Saint John’s College. There are several things in their lives that were quite challenging and in a way a hard experience. Today the San Pedro youths have the pleasure of […]
Talk About Hardships
Adults in their 50’s and 60’s love to talk about hardships that they encountered 25 years and beyond. What could these hardships be when we hear that you could buy a string of fish for only ten cent or a can or corned beef for 25 cents? First, there were no meat products that you […]
Fighting Fires In The Past
As soon as the recent fire was over, someone asked me: “Okay Mr. Twenty Five Years Ago, tell me how were fires put out 25 years ago?” I am not certain if the person wanted to ask me if it was different or if it was done with buckets and in that sense no different […]
You Dance…You Pay!
It is twenty dollars for you come in and dance,” said the man at the ticket counter at the discotheque. “What do you mean? I am not going in to dance, just to have a drink,” exclaimed the young man who wanted to go in but only had twenty dollars, which he was planning to […]
Back Street & Lagoon Development Since the 50's
If you think that the building of the seawall alongside the lagoon is a big development, well think again for there has been a lot of development in that area that has brought about much change to the area. Here’s how that west side of the lagoon looked in the 1950’s and thereon. The back […]
Was Easter Different 25 Years Ago?
Was Easter different 25 years ago from today? Easter is indeed a religious festivity and as your can imagine, religious celebrations and rituals do not change much. A Mass is a Mass and the same Biblical passages are repeated year after year and the colors of Lent and Easter do not change. However, there are […]
5 Dances in 1 Year Now 5 on a Weekend
Twenty Five Years Ago does not like to lament nor does it like to criticize things that were different in San Pedro. In similar manner, Twenty Five Years Ago does not like to celebrate nor rejoice at changes for what is one man’s happiness is another person’s headache. One person likes a lot of lights […]
Loyalty, Patriotism and Self-Respect
At the Flag Raising Ceremony organized in San Pedro Town by Hon. Patty Arceo and the Ministry of Human Development, Women & Children, & Civil Society, the Mayor of San Pedro offered the welcome address. In his address I could not help reminiscing of strict loyalty, patriotism and self-respect taught to children in the 1950’s […]