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Saturday 31 May 2025 locAl
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Aruba’s cultural and literary development: Then and now

(Oranjestad)—The Aruban literary works.
culture has seen many sub-
stantial developments over The 50s and 60s also saw
the course of a century. the influence of interna-
With the introduction of the tional cultures, especially
Lago Refinery at the turn of that of the United States.
the 20th century, followed During this time, because
by the breakout of the Sec- of international influences
ond World War and the as well as the continued
general incentive for politi- prosperity of the oil refinery,
cal independence during cultural traditions in Aruba
the mid-century, a cultural began to really take form
identity on the island be- and become widespread,
gan to take form and have as different worldly and lo-
since developed through cal concepts were intro-
international and local in- duced in the Aruban soci-
fluences. ety. With the establishment
of local television broad-
In the pre-industrial era of cast station Tele-Aruba in
the 19th century, much 1963, and with time and
could not be said about a possibilities, local programs
cultural identity on the is- such as “Nos Tera”’ (“Our
land. Still being a part of a Land”) started to pay more
Dutch colonial territory at attention to the Aruban
the time, as well as not hav- culture and worked to form
ing political or economic a cultural consciousness
autonomy (Curacao was of the E.R.N.A agreement within the community. The
the center of commerce, in 1951 and the signing of 1960s also saw the rise of lo-
cultural life, and politi- the Statute in 1954, which cal authors and artists, who
cal management of the allowed more space for were more comfortable in
Netherland Antilles at the and control over the eco- producing works in our na-
time), the small population nomic and cultural devel- tive tongue, Papiamento,
of Aruba consisted mostly opment of Aruba, that the but who also produced
of farmers and fishermen, literary life on the island be- works in Spanish, English
tending to their crops and gan to grow substantially and Dutch. This new phe-
their cattle, or going out compared to decades be- nomenon was in response
to fish to provide for their fore. This was in response to the interaction between
family. As Quito Nicolaas to local institutions estab- economic growth, individ-
states in his article Historia lished in the 1940s for cul- ual prosperity, cultural life
di Literatura Arubiano: E tural and literary growth and literary expression.
Bida Cultural (Literary His- on the island, but that did
tory of Aruba: Cultural Life), tations and entertainment, after church. not yet capture the atten- The 21st century
“during the pre-industrial as farmers left the ‘cunucu’ tion of the general public. Nowadays, international in-
period, there were no sig- (country) life to work in the Literary life The 1950 brought with it a fluence on our culture is still
nificant economic activity refinery, which resulted in Throughout the 19th cen- boom of literary produc- prevalent, especially those
that could have created Aruba acquiring a different tury and up until the 1940s, tion on the island, like those from Latin America, the
a cultural ambience, with economic pilar. Before this, there were also not much of V.S. Piternella, as well United States and The Neth-
only one way to generate entertainment and cultural trace of a cultural climate as migrant authors José erlands. Nevertheless, there
profit at the time for the sub manifestations were mostly for the cultural-literary sec- Ramón Vicioso y Rings Wil- also exists a strong cultural
existence of Aruban fami- experienced by local par- tor on the island. Primary liam Rufus, who have also identity and traditions that
lies.” ishes and the island’s elite, education was introduced contributed to the literary are exclusive to the Aruban
who often partook in cul- on the island in the mid- development on the island. culture, often manifesting
It wasn’t until the intro- tural and entertaining ac- 19th century, followed by The literary movement was during traditional celebra-
duction of the Lago Refin- tivities around the island, secondary and higher edu- further promoted by local tions, like Dia di San Juan/
ery in San Nicolas in 1928, like going to the movie the- cation around the late 30’s broadcasters Voz di Aruba Dera Gai (St. John’s Day),
that the island saw a small ater or coming together to and 40’s. It wasn’t until the and Radio Kelkboom, with Dia di Himno y Bandera
boom in cultural manifes- share poetry on Sundays 1950s, with the introduction their regular broadcast of (National Hymn and Flag
Day), Camping during Eas-
ter and much more. With
the surge of social media
in the last decade, artistic
voices, especially those of
the younger generation,
has become even more
prevalent and easily acces-
sible to the community of
Aruba through online plat-
forms such as Facebook,
Instagram and TikTok.q

Source: Historia di Literatura
Arubiano: E Bida Cultural by
J.R. “Quito” Nicolaas