THE LEGACY OF SANTOS CENTENO GARCIA
May 7, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sandy Stackler
(310) 617–2933
(MALIBU, CA) Garifuna writer and historian Jose Hipolito Centeno Garcia, known as Santos Centeno Garcia, passed away in La Ceiba, Honduras due to prostate cancer. He was 87 years old.
Mr. Centeno Garcia served as President of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH). He worked for over 40 years and retired from National University Of Honduras (UNAH-CURLA) in La Ceiba, Honduras. He was the author of nine books, most of which focused on the experience of Garifuna and other indigenous people of Honduras. His first book was titled The History of Black Movement in Honduras. Christian J. Padilla Romero, a PhD Student in Latin American History at Yale University, said of that book, “As an aspiring historian of Honduras, La Historia del Movimiento Negro en Honduras La Historia del Movimiento Negro en Honduras fundamentally changed my outlook on Honduran history. The book is a must-read for anyone concerned with the deep history of the country, especially as it relates to the history of the Garífuna communities and their social and political impact on the whole country. Narrated through the perspective of one of Honduras’ foremost Garifuna intellectuals, the book renders a first-hand account, alongside oral histories passed down from generations, of a promising and unfiltered history of black and Garífuna political engagement during the country’s most transformative periods. Centeno Garcia is a national treasure, and his projects, like these, are historical gems that continue to profundizar the history of black and Indigenous Honduras.”
Mr. Centeno’s last book, Making History in California, dealt with his experiences in Beverly Hills, Malibu, Marina del Rey and Los Angeles, giving conferences, speaking engagements, and interviews about Garifuna people, Mr. Centeno was the first recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Sandy Stackler on behalf of Malibu Toastmasters.
At a speaking engagement at the Garifuna Museum of Los Angeles, Mr. Centeno Garcia was presented with a Garifuna flag, a gift from the museum’s president, Ruben Reyes. Mr. Centeno Garcia stated, “I will keep this flag to the day I die.”
Mr. Centeno Garcia was interviewed by Duvalle Blanco, a Garifuna
(https://youtu.be/Ta1450mZo-8) and by Jerry Edling, a radio journalist based in Southern California. Sandy Stackler, who, along with her husband Ron, spoke with Mr. Centeno-Garcia about the similarities between the Garifuna and Jewish peoples including having own maternal language, own faith, own traditions, and common transnational experience while being part of Diaspora. One of the interviews, Ms. Stackler asked “Are there Garifuna millionaires?” Mr. Centeno Garcia described to The Stacklers about the historical success of Garifuna entrepreneurs despite of racism from Celestino Garcia, land owner who used to negotiate with Standard Fruit Company to Jose Angel Manaiza Sr who envisioned the first Garifuna Bank and export Cassava from Honduras to The U.S. making him and his enterprise ranked by Central Bank of Honduras. One of Mr. Centeno Garcia’s vision was for Garifuna communities to achieve financial independence and intergenerational wealth similar to Jewish families. He dedicated his last book to the Great American people such The Stacklers for their hospitality while he was visiting the USA for two years in a row 2018/2019 and 2019/2020.
Mr. Centeno Garcia had a lifelong marriage for over 60 years with her beloved wife Maria Gotay de Centeno until she passed away on April 2nd, 2018 and he is survived by 7 children, 27 grandchildren, and 37 great grandchildren.
