Opportunities have always presented themselves on these tourist islands in the form of local Mandingo's and foreign Sponsor.
I talk about it plenty because it is so prevalent on my little island. In many ways, it is a match made in heaven for both parties. The lonely older tourist (this whole story applies with an older man/younger local woman scenario too) who hasn't been told how beautiful and generous he/she is for the longest time back in home country and the impoverished Third World person hoping for a better life.
A Mandingo once confessed to me that he got his Sponsor to spend a lot of money on him just by constantly inflating her ego and telling her to not be afraid to spend and show these people that she earns EUROS and is smart and successful.
"We bought lots of stuff, generous with the kids - and after every shop purchase, she lets me keep the change"
He also confessed that in the Mandingo trade, it is useful to borrow from a friend, a small puppy which they will fall in love with mutually a few days prior to Sponsor's departure. That way - he shamelessly admits the secrets of his trade, weekly conversations will always center around something or other that is wrong with the dog and why a western union transfer is necessary to take the dog to the vet, be it a pitbull attacked him or he swallowed a ball etc...
So Sponsors come here and in rapid speed, get more attention than they can handle and fill their quota of love attention to last sometimes a whole year. They walk around in a perpetual blush with rosy cheeks and floating on air and everybody seems happy. Both parties are usually aware of the sweet nothings (meaningless bullshit compliments and love declarations) being whispered.
Mandingo's job is to make sure just about every unaccompanied female gets complimented on a regular basis as she goes up and down the one main street of Caye Caulker on her way to anywhere on the island. Mandingo's lean on light posts, fences or coconut trunks lining the roadside; dishing compliments all day long; some women buy into it.
The strategy for Mandingos, they know, is in the high number of compliments dished out by the hour which raises their chances of finding a sponsor for the week and often guarantees success.
For a Mandingo to reach the pinnacle of his success, his goal he is working for, that would be that one of the foreigners would actually fall in love with them , marry and take them back to First World where they will reach the cities paved with gold and life will bo so much easier than their existing 'laissez faire' one.
In some cases, Mandingo's dream would not materialize and the Sponsor has outsmarted the fox and found an easier way to get residency in Belize than all the usual red tape and expenses. These type marriages rarely last as Mandingo quickly resumes what he is accustomed to, still trying to reach his goal of going abroad.
So my friend was just telling me about one such Mandingo-Sponsor quickie wedding he recently attended here on the island under beautiful palm trees with the turquoise seas as a backdrop.
My stomach was in knots and cramped from laughing by the time he finished telling me about the evening. Keep in mind that Mandingos are usually reared in the slums of Belize city from areas with names like Ghost town; where they have been abandoned by their mothers who are in First World and were supposed to come back and get them - like twenty years ago. So forgotten with ailing grandma, they are usually uneducated which would include perhaps the entire family on this status which usually makes for raw ignorant conversations, poverty definitely an issue of cause and effect. These foreigners love exchanges present new possibilities - I'm not here to judge anyone BTW, I'm just setting the scene for the story.
The wedding went of beautiful enough and now it was time for the toast. The Sponsor bride had her parents present for this dream Caribbean wedding. She by now, is one step closer to being disinherited.
The Groom gives his speech first while his blushing bride sits next to him. He proceeds to talk about all the other foreign girls he almost had a chance to go to foreign with, one by one naming them and asking his relatives if they remember the near misses, and how grateful he is that this one finally stuck by him.
Groom: "I want to thank my bride for marrying me and taking me away with her to foreign because people, I have really tried to go away as you know, with Sheila, Lucy and Thelma and none of those other relationships had worked out"
The proud Uncle stands to give his speech.
Uncle: "I want to thank this lovely bride for giving my nephew the opportunity and help he needs to get a VISA!"
The old grandmother who raised Mandingo gets up to utter a few words to the newly wed couple.
Grandma: "I hope you two do a lot of juking and juking; because I want to see some young beige ones soon"
The brides parent's sit there horrified to hear his family elated about him getting the chance to leave Belize and become their burden.
I talk about it plenty because it is so prevalent on my little island. In many ways, it is a match made in heaven for both parties. The lonely older tourist (this whole story applies with an older man/younger local woman scenario too) who hasn't been told how beautiful and generous he/she is for the longest time back in home country and the impoverished Third World person hoping for a better life.
A Mandingo once confessed to me that he got his Sponsor to spend a lot of money on him just by constantly inflating her ego and telling her to not be afraid to spend and show these people that she earns EUROS and is smart and successful.
"We bought lots of stuff, generous with the kids - and after every shop purchase, she lets me keep the change"
He also confessed that in the Mandingo trade, it is useful to borrow from a friend, a small puppy which they will fall in love with mutually a few days prior to Sponsor's departure. That way - he shamelessly admits the secrets of his trade, weekly conversations will always center around something or other that is wrong with the dog and why a western union transfer is necessary to take the dog to the vet, be it a pitbull attacked him or he swallowed a ball etc...
So Sponsors come here and in rapid speed, get more attention than they can handle and fill their quota of love attention to last sometimes a whole year. They walk around in a perpetual blush with rosy cheeks and floating on air and everybody seems happy. Both parties are usually aware of the sweet nothings (meaningless bullshit compliments and love declarations) being whispered.
Mandingo's job is to make sure just about every unaccompanied female gets complimented on a regular basis as she goes up and down the one main street of Caye Caulker on her way to anywhere on the island. Mandingo's lean on light posts, fences or coconut trunks lining the roadside; dishing compliments all day long; some women buy into it.
The strategy for Mandingos, they know, is in the high number of compliments dished out by the hour which raises their chances of finding a sponsor for the week and often guarantees success.
For a Mandingo to reach the pinnacle of his success, his goal he is working for, that would be that one of the foreigners would actually fall in love with them , marry and take them back to First World where they will reach the cities paved with gold and life will bo so much easier than their existing 'laissez faire' one.
In some cases, Mandingo's dream would not materialize and the Sponsor has outsmarted the fox and found an easier way to get residency in Belize than all the usual red tape and expenses. These type marriages rarely last as Mandingo quickly resumes what he is accustomed to, still trying to reach his goal of going abroad.
So my friend was just telling me about one such Mandingo-Sponsor quickie wedding he recently attended here on the island under beautiful palm trees with the turquoise seas as a backdrop.
My stomach was in knots and cramped from laughing by the time he finished telling me about the evening. Keep in mind that Mandingos are usually reared in the slums of Belize city from areas with names like Ghost town; where they have been abandoned by their mothers who are in First World and were supposed to come back and get them - like twenty years ago. So forgotten with ailing grandma, they are usually uneducated which would include perhaps the entire family on this status which usually makes for raw ignorant conversations, poverty definitely an issue of cause and effect. These foreigners love exchanges present new possibilities - I'm not here to judge anyone BTW, I'm just setting the scene for the story.
The wedding went of beautiful enough and now it was time for the toast. The Sponsor bride had her parents present for this dream Caribbean wedding. She by now, is one step closer to being disinherited.
The Groom gives his speech first while his blushing bride sits next to him. He proceeds to talk about all the other foreign girls he almost had a chance to go to foreign with, one by one naming them and asking his relatives if they remember the near misses, and how grateful he is that this one finally stuck by him.
Groom: "I want to thank my bride for marrying me and taking me away with her to foreign because people, I have really tried to go away as you know, with Sheila, Lucy and Thelma and none of those other relationships had worked out"
The proud Uncle stands to give his speech.
Uncle: "I want to thank this lovely bride for giving my nephew the opportunity and help he needs to get a VISA!"
The old grandmother who raised Mandingo gets up to utter a few words to the newly wed couple.
Grandma: "I hope you two do a lot of juking and juking; because I want to see some young beige ones soon"
The brides parent's sit there horrified to hear his family elated about him getting the chance to leave Belize and become their burden.
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Rammmer @ youtube
Rammmer @ youtube