Howard Smith Nazarene Students Dive into Local Creativity with Inside Cubola
As part of this month’s Inside Cubola programme, students from Standards 4 and 5 of Howard Smith Nazarene Primary School in Benque Viejo del Carmen were treated to an engaging and hands-on experience exploring Belize’s creative industries. The Inside Cubola initiative, hosted once a month by Cubola Productions, aims to open the doors of the publishing world to young learners, helping them understand how Belizean books are made and why local storytelling matters.
The students began their journey at Stonetree Records, where they immersed themselves in the rich sounds of Belizean music. From Punta to Paranda, they listened to a variety of local genres—and even danced along—celebrating the rhythms that help define Belize’s cultural identity. The visit was a lively introduction to how music can express community pride, emotion, and tradition.
At Cubola Productions, the young visitors got a closer look at the process of creating a book, using Booby Trap, an illustrated children’s book by Ian Gibson, as their guide. They learnt about the stages of publishing—from editing to layout and design—seeing how a story transforms into a printed book ready for readers. The interactive session showed how publishing is both a technical and creative craft that helps preserve Belizean voices and stories for future generations.
Inside Cubola continues to inspire the next generation of readers, writers, and creators by offering real-world exposure to Belize’s vibrant cultural industries.
