Exchange of experiences and cultural dialogues for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage of Afro-descendant peoples through the preparation of inventories in the SICA region and Cuba

Benefitting country(ies): Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama

Overview:

To be implemented by the Central American Educational and Cultural Coordination (CECC/SICA) in cooperation with the Regional Center for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Latin America (CRESPIAL) and with the involvement of the Central American Black Organization (ONECA), this eighteen-month multinational project aims to build collective and participatory knowledge on the processes of inventorying the living ›››

Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening capacities for resilient communities through Sustainable Tourism and Heritage Safeguarding

Benefitting country(ies): Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama

Overview:

The project aims to enhance the role communities play in managing and safeguarding the region’s cultural and natural heritage and is designed to strengthen synergies between tangible and intangible cultural heritage safeguarding. It will support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through integrating heritage safeguarding into urban planning while enhancing sustainable tourism in the region. The project is being implemented during 2 ›››

News and activities:

• 2025-10-29 – Sharing insights and outcomes: hands-on workshops on living heritage and sustainable urban development in Latin America and the Caribbean
• 2025-10-20 – Sharing insights and outcomes: hands-on workshops on living heritage and sustainable urban development in Latin America and the Caribbean

Inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of traditional and religious festivities in the municipalities of Bluefields, Diriamba, León, El Viejo and Masaya

Benefitting country(ies): Nicaragua

Overview:

Implemented by the Nicaraguan Institute of Culture, this twenty-four-month project aims to prepare an inventory of Nicaraguan intangible cultural heritage and to contribute to the safeguarding of elements related to the following traditional and religious festivities: (a) the traditional May Pole Festival; (b) the San Sebastian Patron Saint Festival; (c) the Festival of the Virgin of the Throne; (d) ‘La G ›››

Capacity building for community leaders and public managers to safeguard the living heritage of Afro-descendant communities in the SICA region and Cuba

Benefitting country(ies): Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama

Overview:

This project aims to build a common conceptual and methodological basis for the safeguarding intangible cultural heritage of Afro-descendants in Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. It is the first stage (preparation and planning) of a larger initiative titled ‘Safeguarding of the Afro-descendant Intangible Cultural Heritage of the SICA region and Cuba,’ to be ›››

Strengthening national capacities for effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Central America

Benefitting country(ies): El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua

News and activities:

• 2014-04-07 – Increasing involvement of communities in inventorying intangible cultural heritage in Latin America
• 2014-02-25 – Community-based inventorying to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage in western Guatemala

Oral traditions and expressions of Rama people

Benefitting country(ies): Nicaragua

Overview:

The assistance resulted in the submission of a USL nomination, Traditions and oral expressions of the Rama people, to be examined for possible inscription in 2013. ›››

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Garifuna Language, Music and Dance

Benefitting country(ies): Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua

Overview:

The Garifuna communities, spread over Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, have kept alive their common language, oral traditions, music and dances. Although still practiced on various occasions, these are changing considerably as the Garifuna language is less often spoken. The safeguarding project focuses mainly in the preservation of the Garifuna language through language revitalization, lexical expansion programs and the promotion ›››

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of El Güegüense

Benefitting country(ies): Nicaragua

Overview:

Popular throughout Nicaragua, the El Güegüense is a satirical street drama accompanied by music and dance, developed in the eighteenth century. The beautifully costumed and masked protagonist, El Güegüe, cleverly uses verbal artistry in Spanish, Basque and Nahuatl, an Amerindian language, to demonstrate subservience to the colonial authorities while ridiculing them. The safeguarding action plan intends to strengthen the conservation of ›››