Page 9 - AHATA

a11
local Friday 3 January 2025
Aruba’s cultural and literary development: Then and now

(Oranjestad)—The Aruban culture
has seen many substantial devel-
opments over the course of a cen-
tury. With the introduction of the
Lago Refinery at the turn of the 20th
century, followed by the breakout
of the Second World War and the
general incentive for political inde-
pendence during the mid-century,
a cultural identity on the island be-
gan to take form and have since
developed through international
and local influences.

In the pre-industrial era of the 19th
century, much could not be said
about a cultural identity on the is-
land. Still being a part of a Dutch
colonial territory at the time, as well
as not having political or econom-
ic autonomy (Curacao was the
center of commerce, cultural life,
and political management of the
Netherland Antilles at the time),
the small population of Aruba con-
sisted mostly of farmers and fisher-
men, tending to their crops and
their cattle, or going out to fish to Literary life opment on the island. The literary was in response to the interaction
provide for their family. As Quito Throughout the 19th century and movement was further promoted between economic growth, indi-
Nicolaas states in his article Historia up until the 1940s, there were also by local broadcasters Voz di Aru- vidual prosperity, cultural life and
di Literatura Arubiano: E Bida Cul- not much trace of a cultural cli- ba and Radio Kelkboom, with their literary expression.
tural (Literary History of Aruba: Cul- mate for the cultural-literary sec- regular broadcast of literary works.
tural Life), “during the pre-industrial tor on the island. Primary educa- The 50s and 60s also saw the influ- The 21st century
period, there were no significant tion was introduced on the island ence of international cultures, es- Nowadays, international influence
economic activity that could have in the mid-19th century, followed pecially that of the United States. on our culture is still prevalent, es-
created a cultural ambience, with by secondary and higher educa- During this time, because of inter- pecially those from Latin America,
only one way to generate profit at tion around the late 30’s and 40’s. national influences as well as the the United States and The Nether-
the time for the sub existence of It wasn’t until the 1950s, with the continued prosperity of the oil re- lands. Nevertheless, there also ex-
Aruban families.” introduction of the E.R.N.A agree- finery, cultural traditions in Aruba ists a strong cultural identity and
It wasn’t until the introduction of ment in 1951 and the signing of began to really take form and traditions that are exclusive to the
the Lago Refinery in San Nicolas the Statute in 1954, which allowed become widespread, as different Aruban culture, often manifest-
in 1928, that the island saw a small more space for and control over worldly and local concepts were ing during traditional celebrations,
boom in cultural manifestations the economic and cultural devel- introduced in the Aruban society. like Dia di San Juan/Dera Gai (St.
and entertainment, as farmers left opment of Aruba, that the literary With the establishment of local John’s Day), Dia di Himno y Ban-
the ‘cunucu’ (country) life to work life on the island began to grow television broadcast station Tele- dera (National Hymn and Flag
in the refinery, which resulted in substantially compared to de- Aruba in 1963, and with time and Day), Camping during Easter and
Aruba acquiring a different eco- cades before. This was in response possibilities, local programs such as much more. With the surge of so-
nomic pilar. Before this, entertain- to local institutions established “Nos Tera”’ (“Our Land”) started cial media in the last decade, ar-
ment and cultural manifestations in the 1940s for cultural and liter- to pay more attention to the Aru- tistic voices, especially those of the
were mostly experienced by local ary growth on the island, but that ban culture and worked to form a younger generation, has become
parishes and the island’s elite, who did not yet capture the attention cultural consciousness within the even more prevalent and eas-
often partook in cultural and enter- of the general public. The 1950 community. The 1960s also saw ily accessible to the community
taining activities around the island, brought with it a boom of literary the rise of local authors and art- of Aruba through online platforms
like going to the movie theater or production on the island, like those ists, who were more comfortable such as Facebook, Instagram and
coming together to share poetry of V.S. Piternella, as well as migrant in producing works in our native TikTok. q
on Sundays after church. authors José Ramón Vicioso y tongue, Papiamento, but who also
Rings William Rufus, who have also produced works in Spanish, English Source: Historia di Literatura Arubiano: E
Bida Cultural by J.R. “Quito” Nicolaas
contributed to the literary devel- and Dutch. This new phenomenon