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local Friday 1 November 2024
Aruba’s cultural and literary development: Then and now

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