Caribbean
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Curacao.
Curacao.
Culture:
Curacao has a very diverse culture, they have European, African, and the native Arawak influences. From it's European influences, you have the Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish, as well as Sephardi Jews. The African influences from the slaves that arrived in the island from West and Central Africa. The aboriginals known as the Arawaks.
In addition, in 1662 the Dutch West India Company made Curaçao a centre for the Atlantic slave trade, often bringing slaves here for sale elsewhere in the Caribbean. Sephardic Jews settled here with the Dutch and in then-Dutch Brazil; they have had a significant influence on the culture and economy of the island.
Cuisine:
Local food is called Krioyo (pronounced the same as criollo, the Spanish word for "Creole") and boasts a blend of flavours and techniques best compared to Caribbean cuisine and Latin American cuisine. Dishes common in Curaçao are found in Aruba and Bonaire as well. Popular dishes include: stobá (a stew made with various ingredients such as papaya, beef or goat), Guiambo (soup made from okra and seafood), kadushi (cactus soup), sopi mondongo (intestine soup), funchi (cornmeal paste similar to fufu, Mangu, ugali, and polenta) and a lot of fish and other seafood. The ubiquitous side dish is fried plantain. Local bread rolls are made according to a Portuguese recipe. All around the island, there are snèk's which serve local dishes as well as alcoholic drinks in a manner akin to the English public house.
The ubiquitous breakfast dish is pastechi: fried pastry with fillings of cheese, tuna, ham, or ground meat. Around the holiday season special dishes are consumed, such as the hallaca and pekelé, made out of salt cod. At weddings and other special occasions a variety of kos dushi are served: kokada (coconut sweets), ko'i lechi (condensed milk and sugar sweet) and tentalaria (peanut sweets). The Curaçao liqueur was developed here, when a local experimented with the rinds of the local citrus fruit known as laraha. Surinamese, Chinese, Indonesian, Indian and Dutch culinary influences also abound. The island also has a number of Chinese restaurants that serve mainly Indonesian dishes such as satay, nasi goreng and lumpia (which are all Indonesian names for the dishes). Dutch specialties such as croquettes and oliebollen are widely served in homes and restaurants.
Music:
The music of the former Netherlands Antilles is a mixture of native, African and European elements, and is closely connected with trends from neighboring countries such as Venezuela and Colombia and islands such as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Santo Domingo, Haiti, Martinique, Trinidad, Dominica, and Guadeloupe. The former Netherlands Antilles islands of Curaçao and Aruba are known for their typical waltzes, danzas, mazurkas and a kind of music called tumba, which is named after the conga drums that accompany it.
The remaining islands are much smaller than Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. They are Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Saba. Sint Eustatius has little nightlife, with only one nightclub (the zouk Largo Height Disco)[1] as of 1996. The inhabitants, "Statians", hold impromptu street dances called "road blocks", using booming car stereos. Saba has a number of dances at various restaurants, including a wide variety of hip hop, calypso, soca, kompa, zouk, bouyon, reggae and merengue. Sint Maarten has a well-known Carnival tradition featuring music and dance, held in mid-April and culminating in the traditional burning of King Moui-Moui, as well as a number of nightclubs and casinos featuring music; popular "spots" where locals go to dance include Boo Boo Jam and Lago Height, both located on the northern (French) part of Sint Maarten; the most popular recent casino band is King Bo-Bo, known as the "King of Calypso".
Ethnic Racial Composition:
* 85% Black & Multiracial (majority Mulatto, but includes up to 42 different ethnicities to varying degrees)
* 15% Other (mostly white, but includes Asians, Middle Easterns, and Amerindian)
People:
African-Caribbean Ancestry
Curaçao’s African-Caribbean descendants make up the majority of the island’s population, with a culture that beats like a proud and festive heart.
Rising up through the history of the slave trade, the Curaçaoan people have established rich traditions embraced by both natives and visitors. You can hear it the moment you arrive in the colorful language of Papiamentu, the keystone of Curaçao communication. There is also Tambú, the “Curaçao Blues,” which the African descendants used to express their outrage and sorrow at slavery through song, music, and dance.
There are other cultural influences to discover as well, such as food, religion, and spirituality. These African-Caribbean traditions, introduced in the late 1600s, continue to shape Curaçao to this day.
Dutch Influence
The Dutch influence on Curaçao is as omnipresent as the centuries-old colonial buildings. Since the time they first established themselves as the island's ruling class, the Dutch have had a major impact on why the island is so interesting to the outside world. In fact, several thousand Dutch people have made Curaçao their permanent home.
The legal, educational and political system is Dutch-inspired, and Dutch remains the language of instruction in schools and is widely spoken in government and business. Hundreds of Curaçaoan students set off to study in Holland each year and return with the professional degree they’ll need to move our nation forward.
The Dutch also have an enormous impact on tourism. Visitors from Europe make up close to 40% of Curaçao’s tourist traffic, with the island being especially popular with visitors from Holland.
Jewish Legacy
From the time they first arrived seeking a haven from persecution, the Curaçao Jewish community has had an extraordinary impact on the island's economy, politics, and culture. It is the oldest active Jewish congregation in the Western hemisphere.
The first permanent Jewish settlers; 70 Sephardim of Portuguese descent arrived in 1659. Relations with the local Dutch Protestant elite were good, and no laws limited Jews in their work or residences, which cleared the way for the community to become highly successful in trade and shipping. In the 20th century, other Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants worked their way up the economic ladder after having started out as peddlers and small-scale merchants.
This rich legacy is celebrated in Synagogue Mikvé Israel-Emanuel (Snoa), the oldest synagogue in continuous use in all of the Americas.
Languages:
The official languages are Dutch, Papiamentu, and English. However, the most spoken language and local everyday language is Papiamentu. Papiamentu is a mixed Portuguese and Spanish dialect with influences from West & Central African languages, there is also some influences from Amerindian languages, English, and Dutch. It is very clear, that Papiamentu in areas with large African population such as Curacao and Bonaire has alot of Africanisms in it's speech. When Portuguese and Spanish slave holders and masters were teaching and trying to communicate with Africans, the Africans did learn the European language but was unsuccessful in learning correctly or naturalizing the European language so they would be speaking the European tongues with some African pronunciations and words mixed in their. In Addition, the Dutch were trading slaves with the Portuguese and Spanish settlers in the islands as well as living there with business and companies, bring East Indians to the island to influence the dialect some more.
Religion:
According to the 2001 census, the majority of the inhabitants of Curaçao are Roman Catholic (85%). This includes a shift towards the Charismatic Renewal or Charismatic movement since the mid-seventies. Other major denominations are the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Methodist Church. Alongside these Christian denominations, some inhabitants practice Montamentu,[citation needed] and other diaspora African religions. Like elsewhere in Latin America, Pentecostalism is on the rise. There are also practising Muslims and Hindus.
While small, Curaçao's Jewish community has had a significant impact on the island's history.[14] Curaçao has the oldest active Jewish congregation in the Americas, dating to 1651. The Curaçao synagogue is the oldest synagogue of the Americas in continuous use, since its completion in 1732 on the site of a previous synagogue.
Sports:
In 2004, the Little League Baseball team from Willemstad, Curaçao, won the world title in a game against the United States champion from Thousand Oaks, California. The Willemstad lineup included Jurickson Profar, the standout shortstop prospect who now plays for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball.
In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Curaçaoans played for the Netherlands team. Shairon Martis, born in Willemstad, contributed to the Dutch team by throwing a seven-inning no-hitter against Panama (the game was stopped due to the mercy rule).
The 2010 documentary film, Boys of Summer,[59] details Curaçao's Pabao Little League All-Stars winning their country's eighth straight championship at the 2008 Little League World Series, then going on to defeat other teams, including Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and earning a spot in Williamsport.
The prevailing trade winds and warm water make Curaçao a location for windsurfing.[60][61] One factor is that the deep water around Curaçao makes it difficult to lay marks for major windsurfing events, thus hindering the island's success as a windsurfing destination.
There is warm, clear water around the island. Scuba divers and snorkelers may have visibility up to 30 m (98 ft) at the Curaçao Underwater Marine Park, which stretches along 20 km (12.43 mi) of Curaçao's southern coastline.[62]
Curaçao participated in the 2013 CARIFTA Games. Kevin Philbert stood third in the under-20 male Long Jump with a distance of 7.36m. Vanessa Philbert stood second the under-17 female 1500m with a time of 4:47.97.
Curacaoan videos
Early morning flight, Curacao to Miami
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