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LOCAL Saturday 1 February 2025

Alto Vista chapel and its link to Aruba’s origins

According to Etnia Nativa, According to the book, The in procession to Alto Vista.
in the 18th century most of History of Alto Vista by R.H.
the inhabitants of Aruba were Nooyen, it is not known when Two-hundred years after the
indigenous who lived on the Domingo Antonio Silvester beautiful time of Alto Vista,
north coast, one of the larg- came to Aruba from Venezu- people can no longer see
est communities lived in Alto ela. The elders believe Anto- much of the town of Alto
Vista. nio was a Spaniard. In 1780, Vista from 1750. With a lot
father Joseph Antonio de la of work they found the old
As they were very religious, Vegal called Bernardino Sil- foundations of the Church
they had a chief with the vester, one of Antonio’s sons of the Queen of the Holiest
name of Antonio Silvester with his wife Anna Cathalina Rosary to build a new cha-
who guided them in the Tromp, “neighbors and natu- pel on the same place. The
Christian life and it was he rals of the island Aruba” and entire surrounding area was
who decided to build a thus they became natives. empty and desolated, mak-
stone chapel with a roof ing it hard to imagine that
of corn rods, which would At the end of the eighteen Alto Vista was a town at all. Miguel Alvares, according from basically any point in
serve as a place of prayer. century many inhabitants the A hundred years later, peo- to Nooyen. About 50 meters the north side, even from
In 1750 it was blessed by Fa- island died as a result of the ple can see the remains of near the chapel there are Paradera and Sero Plat. All
ther Algamesi who came black fever epidemic and around twenty houses, some still the markings of an old the historical remains around
from Coro-Venezuela and since people believed that made of stone and others of house, where Antonio and the chapel provide us with
appointed Domingo Anto- the Alto Vista area was the clay. Nowadays, only around Bernardino Silvester would an idea on how the old peo-
nio Silvester as the island’s most infected, they began six of these houses remain. have lived. About 200 me- ple of Alto Vista used to live.
first prosecutor in the name to build their homes further ters from the chapel there Don’t miss the opportunity to
of the Spanish crown and south within the Noord area, South of the chapel in the is a water tank which the lo- visit a place of historical sig-
Rome. In 1752 the prosecu- so the town of Noord began yard two graves can be ob- cals call Tanki Cacique. In nificance with a window to
tion passed into the hands of to grow into a community served, there was the cem- the past this tank was closed. Aruba’s past.
Antonio Silvester’s son-in-law, till getting its own Church. etery which father Pablo de But mostly water was brought
Miguel Álvarez, who contin- However religious festivals Algemesi blessed. It is not out from the Poz di Noord, a Important note: Due to roof
ued to guide the parishioners continued to be celebrated certain, but it is believed well dug in the sand. renovations, the inside of the
in their prayers. at this sacred native place, that the two graves belong Chapel will be closed for the
with the custom of arriving to Antonio Silvester and The chapel can be viewed next few days. q

Planning on snorkeling? Get to know our Candelchi!

(Oranjestad)—If you’re ever planning Do you know your fish? The Depart- times caught and seen occasionally.
on snorkeling during your vacation ment of Department of Agriculture, Under candelchi, we in Aruba gener- They can be distinguished by differ-
on Aruba, you may spot fish that you Livestock, and Fisheries, known as ally refer to all the different species ent marks such as color on the dorsal
can’t recognize. One of these may Santa Rosa, offers this informative of squirrelfish. They all look alike and spine or marks on the body.
be the “Candelchi” (Squirrelfish), a article that illustrate some fish and it's really difficult to distinguish be-
common, yet shy fish that swims all their names in Papiamento. tween them. In Aruba:
year long in the waters of Aruba. Candelchi are found on reefs or ar-
Candelchi, Squirrelfish, Holocen- The squirrelfish family is distinguished eas with structure in the water where
Let's talk about the names of fish. trus adscensionis: by the following characteristics. They they can hide. Although they prefer
Candelchi actually refers to the en- are heart-shaped with pink or red to hunt for food at night, they are
tire squirrelfish family or, as some say, hues and often show heart-shaped also active during the day. They are
when we say candelchi, we mean streaks between the scales along edible and delicious when prepared
several different species but with- the body. They have hard fins and dry and crispy with lime. It is particu-
out distinguishing them by species. are always armed. Over at our sister larly challenging to scale the fish,
In this picture, we are showing the island Curaçao, they are called "bari which is why it is not one of the fa-
most common one in our waters, di clabo" (nail barrel) for that reason. vorites among fishermen. They often
which is called squirrelfish in English live in groups. q
or scientifically known as Holocentrus In our waters, there are 7 to 8 types or
adscensionis. species present and they are some-