Hi I’m Audrisno, I’m 18 years old and I was born and raised in French Guiana in Saint-Laurent du Maroni. I speak French, English and some Spanish but my native tongue is Djuka : that’s my mother’s first language and what she speaks.
I’m going to talk about something I love very much and that is the paste of Açai. I like it because it’s something that I have been used to eating since I was a baby so I grew to love it, and also because it’s part of my culture.

Açaí is a small, dark purple fruit that comes from the açaí palm tree, which is native to the rainforests of Central and South America, particularly Brazil. The fruit grows in clusters similar to grapes (more common in Germany) and is known for its rich, antioxidant properties and health benefits.

Hello, my name is Jamiene, I’m 19 years old. I live in French Guiana, I was born in Saint-Laurent du Maroni in French Guiana. My parents are from a remote part of French Guiana, in the middle of the Amazonian forest.
I speak French, Sranang tongo, a little English and Spanish.
I like dancing and listening to music.
I would like to tell you more about tratitional clothing in my culture.

The pangi is a traditional garment of the boesinenge people, particularly boesinenge women.
The pangi is a loincloth which is wrapped around the waist, it is used as a daily feminine costume.

Hello, I am Garencely. I am 20 years old, I am Haitian. I moved to French Guiana 5 years ago and I live in Kourou, Europe’s spaceport.
I speak Creole and French, then a little English and Spanish.
I like football and basketball (Borussia Dortmund is a team I like very much). For leisure, I like watching series, films…

Fried plantain is a traditional Haitian dish, composed of sliced ​​green bananas, accompanied by fries. The golden banana pieces are soft on the inside and crispy on top, a real treat !
This simple dish is still one of the delights of Haitian cuisine, rich in tastes and flavors, one of my favorite cuisines.
We usually serve these bananas with spicy salad and griots. It’s excellent !
The Haitian community is very present in French Guiana and it is all this richness that I appreciate in the country. When I am at home, I never miss an opportunity to taste a good Haitian dish. This is the basis !

Hello, my name is Logan, I’m 18 years old, I live in French Guiana, more precisely in the village of Javouhey. My parents are of Hmong origins. The Hmong community comes from Laos in Asia : we moved to French Guiana in the seventies when a civil war broke out in Laos.
I speak French, Hmong, and a little English and Spanish.
As for my passions, I like playing video games, watching anime and reading mangas, listening to music and drawing.

Every year, between December and January the Hmong community celebrates the New Year for about ten days. It’s very colorful and traditional.

Hi, I’m Céfora, I’m 19 years old, I was born and live in French Guiana. I specifically live in Saint-Laurent du Maroni the second-largest city in French Guiana.
Anyway, I love making little sweets and cakes, I also enjoy embroidery.
I’m going to present you a traditional art that we call "Tembe".

Tembé is a marron art originating from French Guiana and Suriname. This art is expressed through wood carving, painting, sewing, and hairstyling (braiding).
Carving and painting are mostly practiced by men, and this art is used on canoe heads, house facades, paddles, doors, cloth, gourds, earrings, etc.
Tembé patterns have a meaning. During traditional weddings, men offer a tembé to their wives, symbolizing commitment : loyalty, protection, the desire to start a large family, etc.
Tembé art uses black, white, red, green, and yellow, with each color symbolizing an element or a state.
Personally, I own tembé jewelry, such as paddle-shaped earrings. They are made of wood and are very lightweight.

Hello, I’m Charmaine, I’m 20 years old and I was born in Suriname, but now I live in French Guiana
I speak many languages like Dutch, French, Djuka and English.
But Dutch and Djuka are my mother tongues, I moved to French Guiana when i was 10 years old.
But now I’ve been living in French Guiana for 10 years.
So I will present you the traditional soup named Afingi.

“Afingi”, this soup is made from manioc and you can cook it with any meat, chicken, fish, eggs, shrimps or whatever you like.
According to our grandparents, this soup is the strength of the Businenge, because when they had the flu, as soon as they ate this soup, they were immediately cured.
This soup doesn’t just cure the flu, but also when you’re feeling very weak, this soup gives you strength after you’ve eaten it.
To conclude, this soup is the medication “doliprane” of the Businenge.

Hello ! My name is Mogaïsa. I’m 20 years old, I live in French Guiana, I speak French, English and Djuka. Djuka is my mother tongue.

Today I’d like to tell you a little bit about French Guiana, and more specifically about the Awassa dance of the Bushinenge people, one of the cultures of French Guiana. Awassa is a traditional Bushinenge dance created in 1980. Everyone can dance this dance : women, men and children. To dance awassa, you need a pangui, the colourful cloth we wear around our waist. But men do not wear pangui in the same way as women. And you need to wear Kaawai around your ankles. The Kaawai is made of seeds : when you dance, it makes a sound.

I was born in Suriname and I moved to French Guiana when I was 14 years old.
My mother tongue is Djuka (a local language).
I speak Dutch because I have been in school in Suriname, which is a former colony of the Netherlands. That’s why Dutch became the official language in Suriname.
I have lived in French Guiana for the past 8 years !
I am going to present a typical food from French Guiana : couac (cassava semolina).

We have two types of cassava : sweet and bitter, but we use the bitter Cassava to make Cassava semolina. Cassava semolina is very grainy and dry, I can eat it both as a snack with water and as a meal with vegetables, fish, Açaí, meat, soup and red beans. I grew up with this typical food, Cassava semolina. I prefer this typical food because sometimes when i don’t want to eat rice or when i don’t have rice I can eat Cassava semolina.

Hey Guys ! My name is Meïly, I’m 19 years old, I’ve always lived in French Guiana and I live in Cayenne.
I was born in French Guiana and my mother was born in Saint Lucia in the Caribbean and my father in Martinique in the West Indies.
I like sleeping and eating. My favorite dish is Colombo, a traditional Guianese dish that I will present to you.

The traditional dish chosen is the Colombo because it’s my favorite dish, this dish is prepared with meat (pork, chicken…). This dish of French-Guianese origin is most often cooked on Sundays during family meals.
This dish is mainly made of curry which gives this dish a very bright color, and it also contains ingredients such as potatoes, French beans, eggplant, lemon and cucumber.
Colombo is a specialty that can be found in restaurants in French Guiana but also in the West Indies, it is eaten very hot and accompanied by white rice.