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local Friday 5 September 2025
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 of
by the breakout of the Sec- international influences as
ond World War and the well as the continued pros-
general incentive for politi- perity of the oil refinery, cul-
cal independence during tural traditions in Aruba be-
the mid-century, a cultural gan to really take form and
identity on the island be- become widespread, as
gan to take form and have different worldly and local
since developed through concepts were introduced
international and local in- in the Aruban society. With
fluences. the establishment of local
television broadcast sta-
In the pre-industrial era of tion Tele-Aruba in 1963,
the 19th century, much and with time and possibili-
could not be said about that could have created like going to the movie the- opment of Aruba, that the ties, local programs such as
a cultural identity on the a cultural ambience, with ater or coming together to literary life on the island be- “Nos Tera”’ (“Our Land”)
island. Still being a part of only one way to generate share poetry on Sundays gan to grow substantially started to pay more atten-
a Dutch colonial territory profit at the time for the sub after church. compared to decades be- tion to the Aruban culture
at the same, as well as not existence of Aruban fami- fore. This was in response and worked to form a cul-
having political or econom- lies.” Literary life to local institutions estab- tural consciousness in the
ic autonomy (Curacao was Throughout the 19th cen- lished in the 1940s for cul- community. The 1960s also
the center of commerce, It wasn’t until the intro- tury and up until the 1940s, tural and literary growth saw the rise of local authors
cultural life, and politi- duction of the Lago Refin- there were also not much on the island, but that did and artists, who were more
cal management of the ery in San Nicolas in 1928, trace of a cultural climate not yet capture the atten- comfortable in producing
Netherland Antilles at the that the island saw a small for the cultural-literary sec- tion of the general public. works in our native tongue,
time), the small population boom in cultural manifes- tor on the island. Primary The 1950 brought with it a Papiamento, but who also
of Aruba consisted mostly tations and entertainment, education was introduced boom of literary produc- produced works in Span-
of farmers and fishermen, as farmers left the ‘cunucu’ on the island mid-19th tion on the island, like those ish, English and Dutch This
tending to their crops and (country) life to work in the century, followed by sec- of V.S. Piternella, as well new phenomenon was in
their cattle, or going out refinery, which resulted in ondary and higher educa- as migrant authors José response to the interac-
to fish to provide for their Aruba acquiring a different tion around the late 30’s Ramón Vicioso y Rings Wil- tion between economic
family. As Quito Nicolaas economic pilar. Before this, and 40’s. It wasn’t until the liam Rufus, who have also growth, individual prosper-
states in his article Historia entertainment and cultural 1950s, with the introduction contributed to the literary ity, cultural life and literary
di Literatura Arubiano: E manifestations were mostly of the E.R.N.A agreement development on the island. expression.
Bida Cultural (Literary His- experiences by local par- in 1951 and the signing of The literary movement was
tory of Aruba: Cultural Life), ishes and the island’s elite, the Statute in 1954, which further promoted by local The 21st century
“during the pre-industrial who often partook in cul- allowed more space for broadcasters Voz di Aruba Nowadays, international in-
period, there were no sig- tural and entertaining ac- and control over the eco- and Radio Kelkboom, with fluence on our culture is still
nificant economic activity tivities around the island, nomic and cultural devel- their regular broadcast of prevalent, especially those
from Latin America, the
United States and The Neth-
erlands. Nevertheless, there
also exists a strong cultural
identity and traditions that
are exclusive to the Aruban
culture, often manifesting
during traditional celebra-
tions, like Dia di San Juan/
Dera Gai (St. John’s Day),
Dia di Himno y Bandera
(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