[CarmJoeMom]

My mom called me tonight to tell me she had seen her cousin who had adopted a little boy from Guatemala about 4 years ago. She's not real close with this cousin so other than a picture of this little boy about 4 years, she hasn't seen him since. I had also seen the picture of him and he was absolutely precious

My mom was telling me that he looked more African American than Hispanic or Native Indian (That's what I told my mom he/she would look like). She said his hair and all his features were African American. My mom was really shocked and called to ask me if my future son or daughter would be the same way. She didn't mean it negative (she did say he was really cute but she was surprised), but was truly curious.

I could care less if my child was red, orange, yellow, black, white or brown, BUT I am just curious to know what the odds of having a child looking African American would be (more to prepare me and my family than anything else...I hadn't thought about this at all and from looking at all the babies, I'd never seen anything like that).

[Amykk]

When we were picking up, there was a gorgeous little girl at the Embassy who looked mostly African American. I have also seen kids who are very fair and look more German than what you would expect from Guatemala. I have no idea what the odds are - just that there are all kinds of people in Guatemala.

[tybeemuffin]

I would say that there is more of a likelyhood that if your child does not look hispanic, he/she would look Asian. I went down twice and didn't see any children that looked African American, but saw quite a few with Asian features. They were soo adorable! There have actually been some recent posts talking about some children looking Asian.

My DD is fairly light skinned, but her Bmom looked Mayan. She was very short and my DD is quite tall (75th to 90th percentile on the American chart). I am curious as to what the ethnic background was of her Birth Father. I think it's kind of fun to find things like this out.

[Mary Mulcahy]

Guatemala has a diverse poplulation. The costal area near Belise had a large AA poplulation. Like in the island they were brought to that area for labor in the previous centry. At one time my agency had a AA baby, but the birth mom changed her mind. Guatemala also has a large Chinesse population, German, Spanish ect...
The Africians even have a version of their own language.
Mary

[adoptnky]

Same here. Alex's bmom is very Mayan looking, but Alex is very fair skinned, and really doesn't have any Mayan features.

We were even at a football watching party today with half of the people being folks we didn't know. We went almost the whole party when I was talking to our hosts about being home for a few weeks. The one guy looked so confused. When I explained that we adopted Alex from Guatemala he was very surprised. He had no idea. I'm curious to see what he looks like this summer once he gets out in the sun a little bit.

Kim

[devildogwife]

I know that in Nicaragua, especially on the caribbean side, there is a large black population. There was also a lot if marriage between Germans and Nicaraguans after WWII. There's much more diversity in central America than people expect, IMO.

[CashCrew]

My sister went on mission trips to Belize and said it was almost all AA with the hair, features, etc (in the area where they were). When we said we were adopting from Guatemala, she actually expected our baby to be AA based on visiting as close as Belize.

[annaguat]

We adopted two waiting children that were Mayan Indian/African. They were hard to place because of a variety of issues but especially because they were part black. I very occasionally see waiting babies that I suspect they are waiting because they have African features. There are people that are Guatemalan that are of African descent. With this last adoption one of my younger DD's Guatemalan mother looks like she is part African. The baby herself does not look like she is at this time but I expect her to over time. I think you can chose to take a referral or not with many agencies even if it is based on looks. I have also been in Belize and most people there are of Creole descent and I believe are part caucasian. You might want to research Livingston in Guatemala online and see if you can find pictures. My older adopted children are now teens and they are drop death gorgeous and amazing teens. Just like many countries the people in Guatemala are often not just one race or ethnic group. Anna

[JanCA]

For those who want to read up a bit on the Garifuna Population, some of which remain in Northern Guatemala:


The Garifuna are an ethnic group in the Caribbean area, descended from a mix of Amerindian and African people. They are also sometimes known as Garifune or Black Caribs. There are estimated to be about 200,000 of them in Central America and the United States. Properly, the term "Garifuna" refers to the individual and the language, while Garinagu is the (plural or collective) term for the people.
The most common version of how 'Black Caribs' came to be states that in 1635, two Spanish ships carrying slaves to the West Indies from what is now Nigeria were shipwrecked near the island of Saint Vincent. The slaves escaped the sinking boat and reached the shores of the island, where they were welcomed by the Caribs, who offered their protection. Their intermarriage formed the Garinagu people, known as the Garifuna today. The name was derived from "Kalipuna", one of the Island Carib names for themselves. In addition to shipwrecked Africans or early explorer Africans, the Caribs also captured slaves when they raided the British and French on neighbouring islands, and many of them were eventually adopted into the tribe. A less common version of 'Black Carib' origin is that pre-Columbus African explorers intermingled with the indigenous population (see "They Came Before Columbus" by Ivan van Sertima).
When the British invaded Saint Vincent, they were opposed by French settlers and their Carib allies. When the Caribs eventually surrendered to the British in 1796, the "Black Caribs" were considered enemies and were deported to Roatán, an island off what is today Honduras. The British separated the more African-looking Caribs from the more Amerindian looking ones, and decided that the former were enemies who must be deported, while the latter were merely "misled" and were allowed to remain. More than 4,000 Black Caribs were deported, but only about 2,000 of them survived the trip to Roatán. Because the island was too small and infertile to support their population, the Garifuna petitioned the Spanish authorities to be allowed to settle on the mainland. The Spanish employed them as soldiers, and they spread along the Caribbean coast of Central America.
Today many Garifuna are settled around the Bay of Honduras, especially in southern Belize, on the coast of Guatemala around Livingston, and on the island of Roatán, and coastal towns of Honduras and Nicaragua.
Garinagu speak English, Spanish, and Garifuna. Guatemalan and Honduran Garinagu speak Garifuna and Spanish, which are also spoken by Belizean and American Garinagu. Belizean and American Garinagu also speak English as their first language. American Garinagu may speak English as their sole language.
They are also known for their unique style of music, which is called punta.

[ez4me2remember]

I was surprised when we received the DNA picture because when I first looked at Erick's bio dad I thought he was African. He is very dark and has African features. But he had straight dark hair (not curly). The DNA paperwork said he is "Guatemalan/Hispanic. I thought it was very interesting. Erick actually doesn't look like his bio dad. He does look very mayan. What is strange to me is that Erick's bio dad is from a rural village in Nahuala (Solola) and I think African descent in that area is unusual. Does anyone know?

[Quesita]

All along the Caribbean coast of Central America, from Belize, through Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, there is a population of Garifuna people, who are of African and Carib descent. They look more African, speak English, and the Garifuna language. They often, but not always, speak Spanish as well. They often live in cities with English sounding names, like Livingston Guatemala and Bluefields Nicaragua.

They are ethnic/linguistic minorities, who are usually marginalized from the mainstream culture.

Here is a link with some info about the Garifuna people.

Garifuna

[giovanni7460]

When we adopted Giovanni we were shocked at how much he looks like my Peruvian husband. No one would ever believe that he is not bio. When we went on our first visit trip in August to meet Antonio we could see at six weeks that he was not a Maya. His mothers DNA shows that she is Hispanic and not Maya. However there is that mixed look to him. It is clear that he is a mix, Guatemalan and African. I think he is georgeous. Well I am the mommy so I can say that.
Patty
mommy to Giovanni 4/1/03
new mommy to Antonio dob 7/14/06 in PGN

[janhelper22]

[quote=Quesita]All along the Caribbean coast of Central America, from Belize, through Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, there is a population of Garifuna people, who are of African and Carib descent. They look more African, speak English, and the Garifuna language. They often, but not always, speak Spanish as well. They often live in cities with English sounding names, like Livingston Guatemala and Bluefields Nicaragua.
QUOTE]

While the first sentence of this is accurate, the second and third are not---at least when it comes to the Garifuna community in Guatemala which does center around the Livingston/Puerto Barrios area. It is very much a Spanish-speaking population. When I visited there (and if you have the chance, I would encourage it---the Rio Dulce is beautiful! Seven Falls is fantastic.), it seemed a little strange, because the houses and everything looked very Carribbean (probably because of the similar climate) and the population was almost 100% African heritage---but only Spanish was being spoken. Don't know why, but it took me a little while to get accustomed to that. If you have a baby born in that area, odds are that there will be some African-based heritage.

[CashCrew]

So DNA will tell what race the birth mother is? I did not know that! Our birth mother's info says indigenous and the pictures of her shows her dressed in traditional mayan clothing. I know that's a very broad term though and I would love to know more specific info.

[Hopingsoon]

I'm not sure that DNA will tell you the race - my DNA indicates the mothers race is "Guatemalan", which is not a race.