San Pedro High Prom 2008

Las Vegas was the theme for this years prom at San Pedro High School. Hundreds gathered at Casino Belize to witness the glitz and glamour of the 57 couples as they arrived and walked the red carpet. A full gallery of pictures has been posted on Ambergris Today. Click on galleries.



Our very own Teen Talk Reporter, Eni Gonzalez, looked stunning. She graduated this past weekend. Congrats Eni!

Mexico Defeats Belize 2 - 0

If island residents were not at Cholo's Sports Bar, they were at home glued to their television set watching the FIFA qualifying match between Belize and Mexico that took place 0n Sunday, June 15. Cholo's was the place to be as it was erupting with people who flocked together to show their country's soccer team their support and enjoy the match. Despite Belize's loss, spirits were high as revelers took to the streets with their flags, cheering for our country. The Belize team played an excellent game and we were all happy that they did not lose with a large margin as Mexico players were predicting.

Mexico, ranked 14th in the world, was shackled by Belize’s defense for much of the afternoon before finding a late burst of offense to escape with a 2-0 win before a crowd of 50,137 at Reliant Stadium.

The teams will play the second match of their second-round World Cup qualifying series Saturday in Monterrey, Mexico. The squad with the highest aggregate score advances to CONCACAF semifinals.

Belize's amateurs, facing their neighbors for the first time, held out for over an hour before Carlos Vela and a Jared Borgetti penalty saved Mexico.

"We faced a team who were well organized at the back," Borgetti, Mexico's record scorer, told Mexico's TV Azteca after notching his 44th international goal.

“I was pleased with their effort; it was outstanding,” coach Ian Mork said. “They gave their heart and soul. They were playing one of the best teams in the region and in the world, and they never gave up, so I have to commend them on that.”

Ambergris Today at Bze vs Mex FIFA Qualifying Match

Ambergris Today is the only newspaper in Belize with a professional photographer covering the Belize vs. Mexico FIFA qualifying match in Houston, Texas, that is taking place today. With in-field press access, Ambergris Today will bring you the action coverage with up close photography in next week's issue of the newspaper out on Thursday, June 19. Keep watching this blog for more current updates.

We also get mentioned in this article published yesterday during Belize's practice session. Sorry that it is in Spanish. But coach Ian Mork tells the "Al Dia Texas" newspaper that he knows that Mexico is the favorite to win and with the most experience, but that if he and his team did not believe that Belize did not have a chance to win, they would not be there today.

"In soccer, everything is possible," he said.

Cultural Day at ACES

Ambergris Caye Elementary School invited Ambergris Today Newspaper to its Cultural Day exhibits as students displayed and showcased their knowledge on all the cultural diversity of Belize.

We were asked to judge the students presentations which included their knowledge of their food, clothing, music, customs and importance to the diversity of Belize’s cultures. The seven groups presented were the Garifuna, Maya, Mennonites, Mestizos, Chinese, Creole and East Indians.

Volunteer Work at Holy Cross Anglican School

The Holy Cross Anglican School is under construction once more, this time a group of Volunteers from El Dorado, Arkansas were on the island and were helping with the construction of the much needed computer lab.

Twenty two volunteers from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church were either helping out with arts and crafts in classrooms or outside with a hammer and nail, getting the building done. This is their fourth missionary trip to Belize; last year they were at Placencia and this year they decided to render their service to San Pedro’s Holy Cross.

Divine Mercy Adorns Church

Catholic faithfuls who pray for the intercession of The Divine Mercy now have a lovely image of the Divine Mercy set at the center of the church on the east wall facing the Caribbean Sea. The image is a large stained glass masterpiece of art that now illuminates the window space right above the eastern main entrance to the church.

The lovely piece of stained glass artwork was done by Mrs. Leisa Carr and money for the stained glass work was donated by Celi McCorkle, owner of Holiday Hotel. The installation services took place on Saturday, June 7 by Mr. Martin Leslie. Stained glass decorations are typical in many churches of various denominations, and the San Pedro Roman Catholic Church is no exception.

This one is very large and set in such a strategic spot that it radiates the early morning rays of the sun as worshippers attend the morning masses. The image was blessed this past Sunday by Reverend Father Tito Ayo. Church officials have thanked the donors of the window as well all those who donated generously towards the completion of the new rectory.

Police Beautify Park

Police week is set to be celebrated countrywide from July 6 to the 12 and as part of their activities all police departments have projects to fulfill. The San Pedro Police Department will be in charge of beautifying the Boca Del Rio Park.

The project commenced this past Saturday, June 7. Sgt. Paulino Reyes and PC Gonzalo Correa planted 18 coconut trees and other plants in the area. According to Mr. Reyes the San Pedro police department is divided into groups and each group will be in charge of a different section of the park, such as repairing the playground, replacing basketball rims, painting the basketball court, placing garbage bins, and placing benches around the park.

This project will help to keep the police officers involved in giving back to the community and having civic pride by maintaining the park. In an official ceremony to be held in July, several officers will be awarded with the Officer of the Month Awards as well as one Police officer will be awarded the officer of the year award. Kudos to the S.P Police Department for helping keep La Isla Bonita a beautiful and safe place to live in!

Relief Supplies for Southern Belize

Residents of southern Belize were very grateful to the residents of San Pedro that sent large amounts of donations to them this past weekend. A small delegation from San Pedro that included members of the Lions Club, San Pedro Red Cross volunteers, Reef Radio, NEMO representatives and San Pedro Business Association members, traveled to southern Belize and delivered a truck-load of clothes, water and food that was collected at a radiothon last week Friday, June 6 here in San Pedro.

Reef Radio's Eiden Salazar, exclaimed how grateful our fellow affected Belizeans were when they arrived with the relief supplies. More on this week's Ambergris Today Newspaper.

Two Trophies for San Pedro at Taste of Belize

Ambergris Today was very happy to witness two San Pedro establishments bring back home trophies from the BTB's Taste of Belize culinary competition this past Saturday, June 7. Rico's Bar and Grill won second place in the professional cooking competition and Cayo Espanto won first place in the amateur cooking competition. Four restaurants/resorts from San Pedro participated with no bartenders competing this year.

Ambergris Today, including Debbie from 'Where's Debbie', was at the Taste of Belize experiencing all the food, music, and competition. Read more on this year's event on this week's edition of Ambergris Today out on Thursday.


Rico's Chef Luis Cawich wins second place



Jason De O'Campo from Global Spice wins Chef of the Year.


Debbie samples some goodies at the Madisco display

San Pedro Kids for Recycling

School children took to the streets once again, this time for another cause. In an effort to protect the environment several schools on the Island have joined together to encourage their communities to make reusing and recycling a part of San Pedro’s education system.

Today, the marched through the streets of town with posters and placards on hand sending the message for residents to start being more conscience about the environtment and start making steps to recycle.

The goal is to jump-start reusing and recycling on Ambergris Caye by having people talk to the kids and explain why it is important. In the new school year the plan is to get kids making arts and crafts from clean and ready to use items that people would otherwise be throwing in the trash.

If you would like to help please contact one of the schools listed below to see what is needed. If there is a school in your area that is not on the list please encourage it to join the program. For more Information please contact Laurie via tacogirlblog.blogspot.com

* Holy Cross School – Miss Linda: 226-3456
* ABC Pre School – Mr. Will Alamilla Jr.: 226-3070
* Little Angels Pre School – Miss Marina: 226-2115
* R.C. School - Miss Kay: 226-2550
* New Horizons – Mr. Miguel Hernandez: 226-4155
* Ambergris Caye Elementary School – Miss Odelia: 226-4323

Lobsterfest Caye Caulker Sashing

The sashing of the Miss Lobsterfest contestants, originally scheduled for last weekend, but which had to be postponed due to Tropical Storm Arthur, has been rescheduled. The sashing will now take place tonight, June 6th at 7:00 p.m. at the basketball court.










Pictures courtesy of Caye Caulker Chronicles

Collie Buddz Not Confirmed for Costa Maya

It made headlines on the San Pedro Sun today that Reggae singer Collie Buddz is confirmed to perform at the Costa Maya Festival 2008, but the Costa Maya Festival committee had contacted both newspapers to pull that headline from this week's publications. We at Ambergris Today were able to do so just before press time.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the festival committee came to some problems prior to booking Collie Buddz. So for the time being Mr. Buddz is not confirmed to perform at the festival and another artist might be considered to replace him. Ambergris Today will keep you posted with the latest from the Costa Maya Festival. Keep reading Ambergris Today!

Leave your comments below on which artist you would like to see perform at the festival. Click on comments link below.

Radiothon for Arthur Relief

The San Pedro Business Association, along with Reef Radio and the Lions Club, organized a radiothon fundraiser for the victims of Tropical Storm Arthur in the southern part of the country. The donations quickly started pouring in on Wednesday, June 4 at the Lions Den. Residents donated clothing, canned goods and money.

By the end of the day about $19,000 and bag-loads of clothes and food had been collected, all of which will be delivered on Saturday, June 7.

Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Hon. Manuel Heredia was also on hand to plea for donations over the radio.

Miss Bikini 2008 Contestants

Last Saturday, May 31, The Lime presented 5 of the contestants of the Ms. Bikini 2008 at Jaguar's Temple Nightclub. The contest is scheduled for Friday, June 13, at Jaguar’s Temple Nightclub where they will be modeling four different bikinis. Clear your schedules for Friday, June 13, for Summer Of Fun! - photo by Luis Zapata

Island Supermarket Raffle Winner

Dr. Giovanni Solorzano was the lucky winner of a brand new golf cart that was raffled by the Island Supermarket on Monday, June 2.



Miss Lions Club 2008 Susie Rodriquez was in hand to pick the winning ticket.

Damages to Southern Belize

Astrum Helicopters just provided us with these spectacular aerial pictures of the devastation that Tropical Storm Arthur cause to Southern Belize. Astrum Helicopters assisted the National Emergency Management Organization to assess the damage to the southern part of the country. The pictures were taken on their first recognizance flight early morning on June 2, 2008.

Got to Astrum Helicopters for more.