Alexander Chee

Down the coast from Belize is Punta Gorda, a peninsula. Here is a country store operated by Alexander Chee. He told an interesting story. When he was a young boy in China his province was invaded by Mao. He came from a family of aristocrats. They decided to flee. His mother sewed gold coins into a frayed jacket and he wore this garment to Hong Kong. There he was joined by his father and uncle. Later on they divided the gold and he went to Mexico and then to Punta Gorda where he opened this store. You could buy almost anything in his store. He added Chinese culture in a country which had native Indians, Spanish speaking whites, black residents and mixed races. During the time of Sir Walter Raleigh Belize was invaded by English pirates. From these raids came mixed races. The Indians still lived in nearby villages. The blacks were descended from former slaves. The primary languages were English and Spanish. This was an interesting mix of cultures.