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local Tuesday 27 May 2025
Meet our Aruban trailblazers:

Padu Lampe

(Oranjestad)—This week love for music. Starting from world.
we remember one of the age of 12, he was ag- One of the most important
our most beloved Aru- ile in the clarinet, mandolin moments in Aruban history,
ban giant, Juan Chabaya and cuatro. Henry Lampe, in which he was able to wit-
Lampe—better known as his father, was also a well- ness first-hand, was the first
Padu Lampe or Padu del known pianist and musi- radio broadcast on the is-
Caribe. As one of the most cian. land on March 20th, 1954.
important and renowned In a publication of the infor- Here, he was accompa-
artists in the Aruban cultural mative seminar, “Observ- nied by Antillean guitarist
sphere, Padu’s long career er”, from august 1st, 1962, Julian Coco and Hubert
led him to be honored to- Padu’s many merits and “Loi” Booi. the subject in 1986, which one of the most influential
day as “the father of cul- friendly personality stood In the art world, Padu was was published by the Aru- trailblazers of our commu-
ture.” out. It was said that he was also a known painter. Dur- ban National Printing Press nity.
an excellent pianist with a ing his youth, he made with sponsorship provided Padu will always be in
On April 26th, 1920, Juan personal style and full of several painting using his by the Prince Bernhard Aruba’s heart, because
Chabaya Lampe “Padu surprises. Secondly, though unique style. In 1939, he Funds Netherlands Antilles. he had composed various
Lampe/Padu del Caribe” the composer was not too participated in an art ex- Besides that, Padu passed special songs dedicated
was born in Nassaustraat, familiar with music theory, hibit in New York, where he his exam on “Society to Ad- to the mothers of the is-
Oranjestad. He grew up in he showed innovations in won a bronze medal for his vanced Ethical Hypnosis” land; his song “Sonrisa di un
a happy musical environ- his compositions. Lastly, painting “Typical View of in 1964 in New Jersey. He baby” (“A baby’s Smile”)
ment, and it is because of Padu was a promoter of Aruba.” received a certificate as has been written in three
this that he developed a Creole music around the Padu remained a popular a hypnotechnician, which different languages. Padu
artist within the Dutch Antil- gave him the authority to also wrote our national an-
les and the Caribbean as a practice hypnosis in some them “Aruba Dushi Tera”,
pianist, singer, author and states. along with Mr. Rufo Wever.
painter. Padu Lampe was Over the course of his ca- This song was approved by
a local artist who became reer, he received many the government of Aruba
renowned in Venezuela, accolades and awards in and was named the offi-
Colombia, The U.S. and Aruba, Curacao, Venezu- cial anthem of the island in
The Netherlands too. In the ela and the Netherlands. 1976.
1950s, he sold no less than Padu del Caribe passed Other songs that have
50 thousand copies of his away on November 29th, been considered as being
long-playing albums (LPs). 2019, at the age of 99 years almost a second anthem
Padu Lampe was a multi- old. Padu brought the Aru- for Arubans is the special
faceted artist, inspired by ban culture around the composition he wrote for
his interest in parapsychol- world. His legacy will re- his wife Daisy Croes called
ogy and supernatural phe- main ingrained in the Aru- “Abo so”. Daisy later
nomenon. He wrote three ban cultural history, and passed away in 1994. q
books in Papiamento on he will be known forever as

Planning on snorkeling? Get to know our Candelchi!

(Oranjestad)—If you’re Let's talk about the names locentrus adscensionis:
ever planning on snorkel- of fish. Do you know your Candelchi actually refers to
ing during your vacation on fish? The Department of the entire squirrelfish family
Aruba, you may spot fish Department of Agriculture, or, as some say, when we
that you can’t recognize. Livestock, and Fisheries, say candelchi, we mean
One of these may be the known as Santa Rosa, offers several different species
“Candelchi” (Squirrelfish), this informative article that but without distinguishing
a common, yet shy fish that illustrate some fish and their them by species. In this
swims all year long in the names in Papiamento. picture, we are showing
waters of Aruba. the most common one in
Candelchi, Squirrelfish, Ho- our waters, which is called
squirrelfish in English or sci- tween the scales along
entifically known as Holo- the body. They have hard In Aruba:
centrus adscensionis. fins and are always armed. Candelchi are found on
Over at our sister island Cu- reefs or areas with structure
Under candelchi, we in Aru- raçao, they are called "bari in the water where they
ba generally refer to all the di clabo" (nail barrel) for can hide. Although they
different species of squir- that reason. prefer to hunt for food at
relfish. They all look alike night, they are also active
and it's really difficult to dis- In our waters, there are 7 to during the day. They are
tinguish between them. 8 types or species present edible and delicious when
and they are sometimes prepared dry and crispy
The squirrelfish family is dis- caught and seen occa- with lime. It is particularly
tinguished by the following sionally. They can be distin- challenging to scale the
characteristics. They are guished by different marks fish, which is why it is not
heart-shaped with pink or such as color on the dorsal one of the favorites among
red hues and often show spine or marks on the body. fishermen. They often live in
heart-shaped streaks be- groups. q