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Present at the final day of the research study of the archaeological site was the Belmopan Area Representative, Oscar Mira. Love News understands that the area was sold to a private owner under the previous administration. Actions were reportedly taken to halt the process. As noted by Mira, the plans for the area will include the construction of a park and a leisure center for residents and visitors. In his interview with Love News, explained the other aspects of the reserve and spoke on the challenges they faced when the initial excavations began.
Oscar Mira, Minister of National Defense and Border Security: “It’s very exciting because it’s in Belmopan, you know, and it is one of those things that came in, I don’t know some people that said it was just luck. So there was these archeological sites being studied I think in the Spanish lookout area. But you need to have consent from the landowners for you to do these studies. And apparently a landowner said hear what, I don’t want you to be studying this anymore. It is not good for me. I’m into farming. I’m not into archeology. So there were some extra funds that were left and I said, you know what? When I met with archeologists I said listen this is a perfect opportunity for us to explore this site here in Belmopan. So we got all the paperwork done. The extra monies were put aside to do the Rivera area. And they’re very excited to see the work that was being done in the Rivera area. It is very, very close to the river and just across the river is a cave that was also used by the Mayas and is also an archaeological site. So very exciting. We want to ensure that we have an area in Belmopan, we want to make it into a park where people can go and enjoy and not only the site but also enjoy the river. During the summer I can remember that we used to go into that area we used to call it fridge. And the reason we call it fridge was because the water that was coming out, that is coming out of the cave is very, very, very cold, colder than the river. So we used to call it fridge, you know, and we used to go and walk to Rivera and go and have a good time during the summer. It is an area that is being used a lot by the people of Belmopan and surroundings.”
On Wednesday, the Institute of Archaeology had the distinct honor of hosting key dignitaries, including the Minister of Culture, Francis Fonseca; NICH Administrator, Eluide Miller; Belmopan Area Representative and Minister of National Defense and Border Security, Oscar Mira; Mayor of Belmopan, Pablo Cawich; and the General Manager of RECONDEV, Genaro Barrera. Also in attendance were members of the NICH Board of Directors, the Belmopan City Council, and RECONDEV.
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