Last night we showed you the events that transpired with the Belize Territorial Volunteers at the Sarstoon over the weekend. And while Will Maheia and Audrey Matura may have tied for best swimsuit, one brave girl stepped up and claimed the defining moment of the day with a powerful declaration directed at the Guatemalan navy. 15-year-old Kristel Melchor told them, basically, don't touch our flag. They didn't listen, but her plain spoken courage may have burnt her name into at least a historical footnote.
We met with the young teen and the mother today at the Comprehensive School in Belmopan where Kristel is a student and her mother is a counsellor. We asked them about what took them to the Sarstoon - and about that moment. Jomarie Lanza Reports.
Kristel Melchor, Belmopan
"This is the property of Belize....in Belizean waters, this flag does not represent Guatemala, it represents us, so this flag has to stay here, in Belizean territory."
You may have heard her voice last night, and the powerful message she brought forward as she stood at the edge of Guatemalan Territory on the Sarstoon and defended her beloved Belizean flag.
She is the fearless 15 year old Kristel Melchor, who journeyed with the BTV, along with her mother and sister on St George's Caye day. But how did the teen end up at this historic juncture? Her mother - who is a football player and coach - told us today that it started off as a fun girls' trip for the family.
Rutilia Useda, Counsellor
"I had an invitation to play football with one of the teams in Guatemala and I had this trip to go do I decided to cancel my trip to the football game and decided to have a girls' day out."
"I Can say that it was a marvellous experience and it was my first time being there. I heard about it several times. I have to teach it to my students but this time I got a first-hand experience of how the place looks and how things are handled back there."
But a girl's trip turned into an appointment with history - one this mother was not aware of until she saw the news lats night:
Rutilia Useda, Counsellor
"We were on the same boat I didn't notice when she switched boats and all of a sudden I noticed she was no longer in our boat and I notice she was going ahead with the other group so when the video was posted last night it was new to me because I never saw that section."
Jo- "So you didn't know that she had crossed over to the other big and went to hold the flag and tell the Guatemalans you know this is our land?"
Rutilia Useda, Counsellor
"No no I saw the pictures afterwards but I didn't know she went by herself on the next boat."
Her mother says that Kristel acted out of confidence, and was moved by the actions of the Guatemalan military after they had pulled down their flags.
Rutilia Useda, Counsellor
"She is a self driven person with a strong personality and most of the time I would be telling her take it easy and lower the voice but this was her first experience as well and I guess this was her way of reacting to the situation because they were approaching us. They were approaching us very respectfully but what was disrespectful pulling out our flags rolling it up and giving it to the BDF so I guess she felt that and as part of her emotions that's how she responded."
For Kristel the experience was so profound that she felt the need to listen to her heart and push forth with that powerful outcry that made our headlines.
Kristel Melchor, Student
"It was great as in my first time I really loved it. I had fun at it and it was more interesting to me to see it than to not only hear it at school. So it was a really awesome experience to spend it with my mom and my sister and all of us being union for the tenth."
"I was getting motivated by everyone in the boat. And I really wanted to show how prideful I am of our country so I went to the other boat and I went with Miss Audrey Matura and I just let my heart guide me to what I had to say and that was it."
"I would definitely want to redo the experience again and maybe even give another speech. If God let me do it then I would really want to go again next year."
Although she and her sister's title is Melchor, Kristel was born and raised in Belize, and is currently studying Art at Belmopan Comprehensive Highschool. The family does have relatives in Guatemala. They are a football clan with both sisters playing on teams while their mom is a referee.
