Things You Didn't Know about Spanish Lookout, Belize
You know for a fact that Spanish Lookout is a modern community of Mennonites, that Farmer's Trading Center is located there, that Universal Hardware (the motorcycle place) is there, and yes, Western Dairies: Belize's one and only Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, A&W's, and Chick-Fil-A all rolled into one, is there. But there are a few things that perhaps you did not know about this colorful and vibrant colony so I have decided to list them down below:
1. It has its very own team of volunteer firefighters complete with 2 firetrucks and equipment as well as its own ambulances. In fact their medical rescue team has developed a reputation for promptness...most of the time.
2. It has a team of plain-clothes constables who also act as traffic control. However these constables are confined to the Spanish Lookout area only.
3. The territory of Spanish Lookout you cannot see is much larger than the commercial district you can see. To the north and northeast are thousands of acres of fertile crop land and cattle ranches. There are yet other tracts of land in southern Belize being farmed by Spanish Lookout farmers.
4. It has a private airport with several aircraft of varying models and designs. Besides Blue Creek (another Mennonite colony in the north) it is the only other community in Belize with the most privately owned airplanes.
5. The large labor force is made up of mostly Mestizos ("spanish"). Unlike Shipyard or Springfield, if you visit the community you will see more non-Mennonites than the actual ones who bear that name.
6. Spanish Lookout is one community where the phrase "divided we stand, united we fall" would fit perfectly. You see not all the residents attend the same church. The colony originally started out as Kleine Gemeinde, but in the 1990's and early 2000's a series of schisms occurred, resulting in two factions: the traditional, conservative Kleine Gemeinde and those who left that church but remained in the colony. This second half is subdivided into several different churches affiliated with mainstream "worldly/modern" religions, for example the evangelical EMMC, the charismatic Fountain of Life, the prosperity gospel (Word of Faith), the Pentecostal type, etc. You can choose, pick or refuse. Despite the clashes in beliefs and doctrinal differences, the members of these modern churches who dress in tank tops, shorts, sweatshirts, use jewelry and musical instruments, live, work, eat, play and sleep side by side with the traditional ones. Better yet, they welcome anyone from anywhere to join in their worship.
7. The horses and buggies you see on the roads are not from any "Amish" group, and they are not part of Spanish Lookout. They are an ultra conservative group who live in their own little colony a few miles south of Spanish Lookout.
8. Although on the outside the colony appears prosperous, united and harmonious, there is discrimination yet thankfully not in a structured form such as in southeastern US nor has it reached levels where individuals stage public protests or employee walkouts. Classism: migrants from traditional colonies such as Shipyard are generally looked upon as...ahem...low class. Social: those with money and power to their name tend to isolate themselves with quite a wide gap between the few wealthy business owners and the rest of the residents. Racism: a controversial subject since the word covers a broad assortment of cultural definitions but sadly yes in Spanish Lookout, white-skinned North Americans/Europeans and local Mestizo people are usually favored over black people. Gender inequality: some businesses pay their female employees less than the males even though both do the same work and have the same level of experience.
9. It has a community-owned clinic with certified full-time nurses, delivery room and a non-Mennonite doctor; a private clinic which offers organic and natural treatments; several health and nutrition stores; three pharmacies, at least 3 certified chiropractors, and one dentist.
10. Spanish Lookout has a retirement center for the elderly with a unique system. A plot of land, a house and caretaker can be provided for your loved one at a very convenient place...next to the graveyard. No offense intended.
11. It has a gospel radio ministry (Horizon Radio) which can be heard on the following frequencies: 97.3 and 103.5FM.
12. Due to its status as a commercial center, it has the greatest concentration of Mennonites than any other autonomous community in Belize. On any given day in Spanish Lookout you can see Mennonites from various groups as well as from abroad. Dark-skinned Beachy Amish ladies from Belize City with their white headcovering contrasting beautifully with their hair; solemn-faced traditional Hoover Mennonites from central Belize clad from head to toe in dark clothing; beautiful Maya girls from other Conservative churches (not the same as Beachy); shy boys in coveralls and straw hats from the Old Colony in northern Belize; Mennonite missionaries from outside the country, chiefly the US; Mennonite men from central Mexico with checkered shirts and baseball caps.
Yes, these are some things you perhaps did not know about Spanish Lookout, one of the most important commercial centers of Belize.
A. Mendoza
