|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Garifuna people are a diasporic community shaped by resistance and survival. They are a mixture African and Amerindian descendants, originating from Saint Vincent in the Caribbean, where they traditionally spoke Garifuna, an Arawakan language. They descend from Indigenous Arawak and Kalinago peoples from northern South America and the Eastern Caribbean, as well as Afro-Caribbean groups.
In the late 1700s, after resisting British colonization, the Garifuna people were forcibly relocated from Saint Vincent to Roatán, Honduras, laying the foundation for today’s Central American Garifuna diaspora. Other diaspora communities now exist across Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the United States.
Today, Garifuna identity endures not only in coastal villages and ancestral homelands but also in cities and other places where communities actively maintain language, food, and traditions through daily practices rather than formal education.
For many in the Garifuna diaspora, cultural community is rooted in proximity; what is heard at home, cooked in kitchens, sung during gatherings, and passed down through observation. The line between inheritance and reinvention is where Jessica Baltazar’s story begins.
Preserving Garifuna Identity
Baltazar was born in Brooklyn, New York, to immigrant parents from Guatemala. “Both of my parents are Garifuna,” she says. “My mother is from Livingston, called Labuga in Garifuna, in the Izabal region of Guatemala. She was raised there by her mother until the age of nine, when her mother passed away, and afterward she was lovingly raised by her aunt. My father was raised in Puerto Barrios until the age of nine and then spent his formative years in Livingston from nine through 18.”
Growing up, Baltazar was surrounded by Garifuna language, music, food, and tradition, though she was never formally taught the language. “When it came to Garifuna, I was always curious,” she says.
“My parents were still learning English themselves, so my siblings and I mostly spoke English at home. We were encouraged, but not forced, to speak Garifuna. So instead, I observed. I watched how they spoke, the tone in their voices, their expressions, their energy. That’s how I learned to understand the language.”
Although she does not speak Garifuna fluently, Baltazar reads it with intermediate fluency and writes it at a basic level. “I learned Garifuna through listening and observation,” she explains. “I understand it well, I read it with confidence, and I’m continuing to grow in writing and speaking.”
Living the Garifuna Identity
She credits her parents with preserving Garifuna culture in their home, the best way they knew how. “Garifuna people know how to speak Spanish because history forced us into it, but Garifuna is our first tongue. My parents used Spanish with others, but their language with each other was always Garifuna in our household and still is.”
Baltazar’s mother cooked Garifuna food every day. “Fried fish, hudutu (mashed green plantains in coconut stew), tamales, frijoles, ereba (cassava bread), pan de coco, pancakes (fried breakfast cakes), and bimecucule (sweet coconut rice). Food was one of my earliest teachers.”
She reflects on the inheritance passed down through the women in her family and how this legacy has shaped her identity and connected her to generations of women before her. “My mother’s patience and work ethic shaped me deeply. For a long time, I wondered where she got it from. As I grew older and began asking questions about my lineage, I learned more about my grandmother Alvina, my mother’s mother, who was known as a soft, tender, and patient woman. My mother always tells me that I look like her and says that I ‘have her air.’”
Baltazar says that she eventually understood that her traits—patience, tenderness, and discipline—weren’t random; they were inherited. “They live in my bloodline. That’s what gives me the strength to run my business when it’s lonely, to keep going when challenges come, and to stay grounded when life feels heavy. There were times I wondered how I survived certain personal storms. Now I know. I’m standing on the strength of the women who came before me.”
Her father shared his culture by encouraging movement, spreading joy, and teaching his children to embody it. “He loves to dance. He is known in the community for his presence and his energy. My father is a proud Garifuna man. At one point, other Garifuna families in the community sent their children to our apartment because my dad offered dance lessons. Our living room would be filled with laughter while my dad remained serious about passing down rhythm and movement.”
A Deeper Garifuna Connection
While Baltazar appreciates her parents’ cultural preservation, she began to realize her lack of a deeper understanding of what it truly means to be Garifuna. As she has grown older, she has made deliberate efforts to develop and reinforce her sense of identity.
“With age and clarity, I feel responsible for going deeper,” she says. “Now it’s on me to explore it more fully, what it means to be Garifuna, what makes up our identity, how it shapes my sense of self. I feel like everything is coming full circle for me. I finally feel that strong sense of belonging as a Garifuna woman.”
As she continues to connect with her Garifuna heritage, Baltazar notices how misunderstood her people and culture are. “I think people often focus on the visible parts of Garifuna culture,” she says.
“The dance, the punta, the drums, the food. Those are the things you can see, hear, taste, and immediately recognize. And while we’ve done an incredible job preserving the dance and the music, I now use my platform to remind people that our culture goes much deeper than the entertainment side.”
She explains that the ongoing discussion about tradition overlooks a crucial element. “There’s missing knowledge around the symbolism, the meaning behind the movements, and the purpose of the practices. Even people who grew up in the culture often can’t clearly explain it, like, ‘What’s the name of this dance? Why do we dance this way? What does it represent?’”
Those unanswered questions are precisely where she feels a strong calling to explore further and gain a deeper understanding. “They require us to ask harder questions and actually embody what we learn. If we discover that a particular practice means something specific, then we have to ask, ‘How do I apply this to my life now? How do I integrate these traditions into my 21st-century reality? How do they help me grow, move forward, and reach my potential?’”
Baltazar works to carry that meaning through her business, DailyUp Juice, which offers cold-pressed, Garifuna-inspired juice blends in single orders or as bundles that can be ordered through her Instagram page and website.
More Than a Business: DailyUp Juice
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Baltazar decided to seek healthier habits as a personal healing practice. “I was dealing with chronic fatigue and emotional heaviness. This started in college, when I was trying to better myself, and it continued after when I landed my first job teaching in the public school system,” she says, explaining how the physical and emotional toll built gradually, but the pandemic made it impossible to ignore.
“Between full-time work and personal responsibilities, my body kept signaling that it needed restoration, clarity, and natural support. Juicing became my remedy.”
She was pushed further during COVID in 2020, prompting her to consider her health. “The fatigue, the imbalance, the emotional weight; juicing helped me climb out of all of that.”
Baltazar bought her first juicer and started making ginger shots for her and her family, then she began experimenting with different fruits. “I asked myself, ‘What should I do first?’ Watermelon was the easy choice, affordable, abundant, and it yields a lot of juice. That’s when I realized how efficient, delicious, and joyful the process could be.”
After that, juicing became almost a form of prayer for her. “Every time I juiced, I went into tunnel vision, fully aware that what I was doing was serving my body. The results were balance and renewal.”
As her body gained more energy, a clearer mind, and deeper grounding, she realized how necessary this was for her community as well. “When I’d go back to Guatemala or attend Garifuna festivals and events, I noticed how few healthy options were available. Overall, the gap was obvious in the community. That’s when I understood the juices weren’t just for me; they were an entry point for my community to begin healing.”
So one Sunday during summer 2023, the New York-based entrepreneur made a batch of watermelon juice, went to her local park, and sold it to her Garifuna community. “The response was overwhelming,” she says. “People loved the taste, the freshness, and the intention behind it. That encouraged me to expand into more flavors, turn it into a real business, and bring this mission to life.”
In 2024, she began participating in farmers’ markets at Grand Army Plaza and in larger community festivals and events. She officially registered DailyUp Juice as a business and received her LLC the same year.
Baltazar balances authenticity by keeping flavors accessible and familiar to New York’s diverse wellness audience while infusing her brand and products with Garifuna cultural intention and energy.
“Garifuna shows up in my brand in ways that you can see and feel. The colors, the rhythm, and the language are all woven into DailyUp Juice,” she explains.
“I carry my Garifuna flag with me at vending events, and it’s not just decoration. It’s a spiritual anchor. It reminds me who I’m serving, where I come from, and who walks with me.”
She highlights how the flag’s three colors of black, white, and yellow symbolize important historical meanings. “When I display it on my table, I want people to ask who I am, because most people don’t know who the Garifuna are. We make up only 0.1% of Guatemala’s population; about 19,000 Garifuna people. There are more of us in Honduras and Belize, but my parents are from Guatemala, so that’s the lens I speak from.”
She also brings visibility to a seldom-recognized community that has been acknowledged by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) for its cultural significance, holding the prestigious title of “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”
This award points to the Garifuna people’s unique language, dance, and music, yet the Garifuna remain largely unknown. As Baltazar mentions, “My business and my work as a vendor is not only about selling juices, but it is an opportunity to reveal who we are because many people don’t even know we exist.”
RELATED: LaKeasha Brown Promotes Healthy Consumption with 1987 Juices
Ancestral Alignment
Last April, Baltazar visited Gangadiwali, a sacred place to the Garifuna people in Livingston, Guatemala. It is a prominent Garifuna settlement where residents maintain and archive their history and heritage.
Planting and farming persist, though at a slower rate than before. Baltazar said her experience there felt like stepping into both history and possibility. “We passed a hibiscus grove where the flowers grew everywhere. I didn’t notice at first, but it was an invitation for me to include hibiscus in my juice blends. It felt ancestral. I took a photo of a hibiscus flower, and weeks later, everything clicked: Hibiscus. Gangadiwali. What’s the ancestral blend I’m guided to make?”
She made a hibiscus and coconut blend called Hibiscus Luma Coco. “I use coconut water, and in our culture, coconut symbolizes nourishment. It carries our story. So many of our Garifuna dishes are made with coconut; it’s what has sustained us and helped us survive. It represents nourishment, healing, and purity.”
She also added ginger. “Ginger is also traditional in our culture for digestion, strength, and warmth, so I had to include that as well. Hibiscus, coconut, and ginger aren’t just ingredients; they’re cultural symbols. Incorporating them into my juices allows me to honor my heritage while offering wellness rooted in tradition.” Through these ingredients, Baltazar grounds DailyUp Juice in Garifuna tradition, transforming ancestral knowledge into a contemporary wellness practice.
Faith, Discipline and Continuation
Baltazar says that building DailyUp Juice stripped away every illusion she had about entrepreneurship. “It forced me into honesty, discipline, and real trust in God and trust in my ancestors.”
She continues, “There were days when profit was low, when exhaustion hit hard, when doubt tried to pull me out of my purpose. The weather tested me, the slow turnout tested me. Even my own questions about whether my effort was ‘enough’ tested me.”
She said the message shifted everything, and her faith deepened as she learned to stop leaning on outcomes and started leaning on presence.
“My purpose deepened upon realizing DailyUp Juice isn’t about control but continuation. My ancestors survived exile, building on pure will. I now build what they couldn’t, like forming an LLC, something some fear due to systemic failures. DailyUp Juice embodies their dreams, and I feel responsible for proving we’re no longer stuck in survival mode. We can thrive; ‘seremein lu sunti gabafu (thank you to the Most High).'”
If you’re in the NYC area, you can place an order online. During the summer months, you can also find Jessica Baltazar in person at the Grand Army Plaza Farmers Market in Brooklyn on Saturdays and at Linden Park in Brooklyn on Sundays.
Through the website, readers in New York can also reach out directly, and Uber delivery is available for added convenience.
