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local Saturday 26 July 2025
Watch out for Blue Crab Migration near Savaneta

(Oranjestad)—The depart- groves. They are known to dig
ment of nature & environment holes deep in the beach sand
in Aruba are urging motorists in seek of humidity.
to watch out for blue crabs The diet of blue crabs consists
crossing the road in Pos Chiq- of decomposed trees, insects,
uito to make their way to the scorpions and rest of dead
ocean. animals.
Nesting season for blue crabs
They added a new bright yel- is between June & July.
low road sign with “Land Crab Why protect blue crabs?
Crossing” to remind people to Because they are of high val-
be cautious while driving on ue for the ecology of the man-
the highway on Pos Chiquito groves. Conserving the blue
with blue crabs. crabs is crucial for the preser-
Blue crabs in Aruba are found vation of mangroves.
plenty near the beach areas, Watch out for crossing blue
especially in Pos Chiquito, be- crabs on the highway near Pos
cause of the amount of man- Chiquito & Santo Largo. q

Aruba’s cultural and literary development: Then and now

(Oranjestad)—The Aruban cul- and become widespread, as dif-
ture has seen many substantial ferent worldly and local concepts
developments over the course of were introduced in the Aruban
a century. With the introduction society. With the establishment of
of the Lago Refinery at the turn of local television broadcast station
the 20th century, followed by the Tele-Aruba in 1963, and with time
breakout of the Second World War and possibilities, local programs
and the general incentive for po- such as “Nos Tera”’ (“Our Land”)
litical independence during the started to pay more attention to
mid-century, a cultural identity on the Aruban culture and worked
the island began to take form and to form a cultural consciousness
have since developed through in- within the community. The 1960s
ternational and local influences. also saw the rise of local authors
and artists, who were more com-
In the pre-industrial era of the 19th fortable in producing works in our
century, much could not be said native tongue, Papiamento, but
about a cultural identity on the is- who also produced works in Span-
land. Still being a part of a Dutch ish, English and Dutch. This new
colonial territory at the time, as phenomenon was in response to
well as not having political or eco- the interaction between econom-
nomic autonomy (Curacao was ic growth, individual prosperity,
the center of commerce, cultural cultural life and literary expression.
life, and political management
of the Netherland Antilles at the The 21st century
time), the small population of cal parishes and the island’s elite, cades before. This was in response Nowadays, international influ-
Aruba consisted mostly of farm- who often partook in cultural and to local institutions established ence on our culture is still preva-
ers and fishermen, tending to their entertaining activities around the in the 1940s for cultural and liter- lent, especially those from Latin
crops and their cattle, or going out island, like going to the movie the- ary growth on the island, but that America, the United States and
to fish to provide for their family. As ater or coming together to share did not yet capture the attention The Netherlands. Nevertheless,
Quito Nicolaas states in his article poetry on Sundays after church. of the general public. The 1950 there also exists a strong cultural
Historia di Literatura Arubiano: E brought with it a boom of liter- identity and traditions that are ex-
Bida Cultural (Literary History of Literary life ary production on the island, like clusive to the Aruban culture, of-
Aruba: Cultural Life), “during the Throughout the 19th century and those of V.S. Piternella, as well as ten manifesting during traditional
pre-industrial period, there were up until the 1940s, there were also migrant authors José Ramón Vi- celebrations, like Dia di San Juan/
no significant economic activity not much trace of a cultural cli- cioso y Rings William Rufus, who Dera Gai (St. John’s Day), Dia di
that could have created a cultur- mate for the cultural-literary sec- have also contributed to the liter- Himno y Bandera (National Hymn
al ambience, with only one way to tor on the island. Primary educa- ary development on the island. and Flag Day), Camping during
generate profit at the time for the tion was introduced on the island The literary movement was further Easter and much more. With the
sub existence of Aruban families.” in the mid-19th century, followed promoted by local broadcast- surge of social media in the last
It wasn’t until the introduction of by secondary and higher educa- ers Voz di Aruba and Radio Kelk- decade, artistic voices, especially
the Lago Refinery in San Nicolas tion around the late 30’s and 40’s. boom, with their regular broad- those of the younger generation,
in 1928, that the island saw a small It wasn’t until the 1950s, with the cast of literary works. has become even more prevalent
boom in cultural manifestations introduction of the E.R.N.A agree- The 50s and 60s also saw the influ- and easily accessible to the com-
and entertainment, as farmers left ment in 1951 and the signing of ence of international cultures, es- munity of Aruba through online
the ‘cunucu’ (country) life to work the Statute in 1954, which allowed pecially that of the United States. platforms such as Facebook, Ins-
in the refinery, which resulted in more space for and control over During this time, because of in- tagram and TikTok.q
Aruba acquiring a different eco- the economic and cultural devel- ternational influences as well as
nomic pilar. Before this, entertain- opment of Aruba, that the literary the continued prosperity of the Source: Historia di Literatura Aru-
ment and cultural manifestations life on the island began to grow oil refinery, cultural traditions in biano: E Bida Cultural by J.R. “Quito”
were mostly experienced by lo- substantially compared to de- Aruba began to really take form Nicolaas