Page 13 - AHATA

Monday 15 SepteMber 2025 locAl
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Forgotten gems: Open air movie theaters

(Oranjestad)—During the that time.
span of over 100 years,
Aruba only saw five open The last and most recent
air movie theaters. Now open air theater was con-
practically obsolete on the structed in the form of a
island, these theaters were drive-in theater. A popular
once frequently visited by American concept, the
locals and migrants in the Drive Inn located in Balashi
20th century. was a hot spot for teenagers,
who had the habit of cram-
The first open air theater ming all their friends in one
was constructed in 1920 car to go see the movies.
and was commissioned by For this phenomenon there
Shon Eduard (Eddy) de Veer. was a separate price that
This theater was located at you had to pay called the
the Hotel Colombia in Oran- “car crash”.
jestad, which is now where
the Aruban census office is This theater closed around
located. The theater was 2012, but was re-opened
simple; it only consisted of during the pandemic in
a screen, and visitors had July 2020, where movies
to bring their own chairs to were streamed on a gigan-
enjoy the popular silent mov- tic screen set up in front of
ies of the time. stacked containers. How-
ever, this nostalgic form of
American migrants who entertainment did not last
worked in the refinery and very long as it was closed
lived in the Lago Colony again only a year or two
in Sero Colorado also had later. Nowadays you can
their piece of the pie with still see the stacked contain-
their Open air Theatre, ers when you drive near the
which formed part of the bridge in Balashi.q
Esso Club, also known as the streamed American block- from their home land. rine Barracks). This theater
Pan-Am Club. It was at this busters for the American ex- In the 1950’s and 60’s, Sava- was mostly visited by the Source: “De kolibrie op de
theater that “Talkies” were pats, this way making sure neta saw their own open air neighboring marines, who rots en meer over de geschie-
first streamed, movies with that these migrant were not theater, located in front of didn’t have much entertain- denis van Aruba” by Evert
Bongers.
sound. This theater mostly missing out on entertainment the Marinier’s Kazerne (Ma- ment other than movies at

Planning on snorkeling? Get to know our Picuda!

(Oranjestad)—If you’re Here’s some information partment of Agriculture, Well known is the Picuda the body meets the tail,
ever planning on snorkel- about the beloved Picuda. Livestock and Fisheries, on the island—Barracuda is thick, while the tail also
ing during your vacation known as “Santa Rosa”, in English. Its scientific name forms a crescent but in this
on Aruba, you may spot Let’s talk about the names wants to share and also is Sphyraena barracuda. It case one more “full” than
fish that you can’t recog- of fish. Do you know your obtain information from the is a widely caught fish. It is that of mullet or conefish.
nize. One of these may be fish? This is an informative public. found throughout the year This reflects the hunting
the “Picuda”, a very com- article that illustrate some in our waters, where it is a style of the Picuda. It needs
mon fish that swims all year fish and their names in Pa- Picuda, Sphyraena barra- so-called “ambush preda- to be able to accelerate
long in the waters of Aruba. piamento, which the De- cuda, Greater Barracuda tor” that stays still or floats quickly when the prey gets
in the water waiting for close.
its prey to approach so it
can attack it with lightning In Aruba:
speed. It is well known for Picuda can be found in our
fishermen, especially for waters around our island
its white flesh in fish soup. throughout the year. Picu-
In fishing culture, there are da, in our waters, is edible
many other names, such as without any problem. Picu-
Pecho blanco, Blekito, Ba- da is also a highly sought-
nana, or Bleki. The names after fish by sports fishermen
vary according to size. or recreational fishermen
because it puts up a good
Description fight once hooked. It can
The Picuda is a long fish, be caught via trolling from
with a round body like a a boat, casting from shore
torpedo and silver in color with a line or rod, or by jig-
with shiny black stripes. ging, casting the lure (ar-
Below, that is, the belly, is tificial bait) and moving it
whiter, while the top part with certain rod motions.
is darker. Its snout is very
pointed, and the lower jaw Picture courtesy of the De-
is longer than the upper partment of Agriculture,
one. Its peduncle, where Livestock and Fisheries.q