But regardless of what the letter said, Sanker is not backing down from his artistic expression, much like the Mayans refused to give in to colonial rule, and that's why October 12th has been designated Indigenous Resistance Day. But you'll remember that just weeks ago, it was Dia De La Raza. The Home Affairs Minister explained that that name was a mistake but we were reliably informed that it was the Nortenos in the Cabinet who pushed for it. The PM explained that with the absence of Columbus Day, which he said was sort of a Hispanic celebration, the initial idea of Dia De La Raza was born - and quickly changed.
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I don't remember if it was in the Nortenos that were pushing it. Actually, we did not have a long discussion at that moment. The first thing that happened was Norteno said well, how can you take away the 11th of October that was considered a Hispanic holiday? Where we celebrate our Ethnicity and our culture? And so at the time they said, well, they came up with the word in Cabinet, maybe Dia de la Raza. But it is something that has evolved from Columbus Day to Dia de la Raza to the Indigenous Resistance where we celebrate our indigenous culture or indigenous history and our resistance. Because, as I said earlier, the Mayans were never dominated by the British, they never gave in. They fought to the very end. I mean, the last public fight that we had was in Orange Walk with Marcos Canul, when he and a group of Indians attacked the British soldiers that were there. Unfortunately, at that time well he was shot and eventually died a few days later. And so in effect, it is the right decision to call it the Indigenous Resistance because it celebrates our history, celebrates our culture and celebrates the whole idea of resistance that we have that we represent in this country. All of us Belizeans."
