their owners attempts to retrieve them. Thus the Garifuna society was born. On 12 April 1797, a total of 2,248 Garifunas were sent to Honduras and the Bay Islands in an attempt by the English to restrain the Garifuna from assisting the French in the English/French dispute over the islands of Martinica, and Santa Lucia. Scattered on the north coast of Honduras and in the Bay Islands, the Garifuna still populate much of the Bay Islands, maintaining their own cultural identity and language. On Roatan the Garifuna maintain a strong presence in the Sandy Bay community, on the westernmost side of East Harbor, a number of them having made the journey to Utila from Cayo Chachahuate, a small nearby island that is a bastion of the Bay Island's Garifuna. Tourism With favourable diving conditions, the island increasingly attracts general tourists, along with more traditional international backpacker visitors. More than eighty diving sites are located around the island among its extensive reefs teeming with marine life, including the elusive whale shark. Utila was also the home of the annual festival Sunjam. Sunjam is the largest electronic music event in Honduras, and one of the largest and most important in Central America. The date is fixed to the first Saturday of August every year. The event attracts world class international DJs as headliners and invites the best regional talent to perform. Unique local cuisine includes white bread made with coconut milk, mango jam, conch meat, and crab. The island is served by Utila Airport, and connects to all of Honduras's international larger airports. Although Utila has had minimal COVID-19 cases, the impact on Utila's tourism dependent economy had been completed shuttered since March 15, 2021. As of September 13, 2021 the ferries and airlines have resumed service to the island. During 6-month period, many Utilian's have been faced with economic hardship caused by the lack of tourists. In response, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Support Utila, was formed to provide additional food, medication, vitamins and other resources to the residents of Utila. Image gallery See also List of lighthouses in Honduras List of volcanoes in Honduras References External links Map Utila Municipalities of the Bay Islands Department Caribbean islands of Honduras Volcanoes of Honduras Bay Islands Department Pyroclastic cones Lighthouses in Honduras Underwater diving sites in the Caribbean Ramsar sites in Honduras