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a8 local
Monday 3 noveMber 2025
Food culture in Aruba

(Oranjestad) – Like many other cultures, an
important aspect of the Aruban cultural identity
is our connection to food and food traditions.
The local food traditions consist of a melting pot
of different cultural and religious eating habits
and dishes.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner
The routine of breakfast, lunch and dinner on
the island is one that does not completely
follow a European or American routine, despite
the major influences from these parts of the
world on our culture and way of living. When it
comes to the three important meals of the day,
most of the Aruban population follows a Latin-
American influenced routine.
Breakfast
Breakfast in Aruba is quite simple: a cup of
coffee or tea, some bread, and sometimes an
egg. Sometimes, due to the need of a quick
“to-go” breakfast, you may also find many
snack trucks and cafes that sell sandwiches, “meal” can typically consist of something lighter, Snacks and tasty delights
pastechis (meat pie), arepas and empanadas like a sandwich, though it is not uncommon to Besides meals and dishes that are eaten on the
early in the morning. see leftovers from the main meal reheated and dinner table, Aruba also has a food tradition
eaten again. Tea and coffee are often also that includes snacks and other tasty delights
Main Meal served with the evening snack. that you may easily find around the island.
The main meal is typically eaten in most These include, Saco*, basket, pastechi, kroket,
households around noon or in the afternoon. (Religious) Holidays deditos, Johnny cake and more. These snacks
This can consist of meat, fish, and chicken— Christmas is probably the biggest global are usually sold at local snack trucks and
stewed or fried—with funchi (polenta) or rice holiday, and every culture has its own spin on cafes, often located on the side of the road.
with stewed vegetables. Often, fried or boiled what their Christmas cuisine entails. In Aruba, In the area of Tanki Leendert and Tanki flip, for
plantain or pan bati (Aruban pancake) is our Christmas cuisine is again largely based example, there are many of these trucks parked
included. Stews are a staple in Aruban cuisine on Latin-American influences, most notably on the side of the road and often open until
and can are largely influenced by Latin- form Venezuela. Ayacas and the famous late at night—offering tasty and filling snacks
American and Latin/Afro-Caribbean Stews. pan di ham* are two crucial holiday dishes, post night-life fun.q
Some of the more unique stews and soups along with stuffed turkey, roasted glazed
from the ABC Islands* include sopi di bonchi ham topped with pineapples, arroz con pollo *ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao
cora (red kidney bean soup with pig tail), sopi (rice and chicken) and potato salad, among
mondongo (tripe soup), carni stoba (beef other items. Traditional drinks include ponche *Pan di ham: Derived from the Venezuelan Pan de
Jamon (rolled up bread with ham, raisins and olives)
stew), comcomber stoba (West Indian gherkin crema (Aruban eggnog), chuculati pinda
stew) and much more. (hot chocolate with peanut butter), and *Saco: Saco literally means “bag”. Saco contains
homemade fruit punch. Desserts include, bolo fried potatoes, plantains, chicken (and ribs) and a
Dinner Time di pistachio (pistachio cake), bolo di cashupete Johnny cake, served in a paper bag.
Dinner time can vary significantly from (cashew cake), quesillo (flan), bolo preto (dark
household to household. Unlike the U.S. or in fruit cake), drigidek (gingerbread), pan boyo Source: Voeding, voedingsgewoonten en gerechten
op Aruba (Nutrition, Food Traditions and Dishes on
Europe, dinner time typically does not consist (bread cake) and more. Aruba) by Biblioteca Nacional Aruba
of a whole (warm) meal. Instead, the evening
Ever heard of the cah’i orgel?

A key instrument in Aruban folklore music

150 years ago. A cross breed be- duces music similar to that of a pi-
tween the barrel piano and the Rufo Wever was a young musician ano, and is accompanied often by
organ, the most popular stories in 1937 when he established his someone else playing the “wiri”, a
said that the instrument came own cah’i orgel business on the is- percussion instrument made out of
from either England or Germany, land. Before that he experimented steel and reminiscent to the Span-
but made its way to Italy down with his uncle’s cah’i orgel, and he ish guiro. Back then, you would of-
to Venezuela, where in 1881, Mr. over the years he learned to build ten also find someone playing the
Horatio Sprock (1866-1949) from and repair the instrument. In fact, triangle alongside the cah’i orgel
(Oranjestad)— The cah’i orgel mu- Curacao was first introduced to it. he was incredibly skilled in this, and and wiri. In Aruba, the cah’i orgel
sic box is an important and unique After that, Sprock made his own he was one of the few to have and wiri is used for traditional music
instrument that is used on the ABC cah’i orgel “Josefina”, and suc- recognized from the start that the genres, such as the Aruban waltz,
islands in the Dutch Caribbean. cessfully debuted it on the streets cah’i orgel is an instrument that tumba, mazurka and more.
This instrument is a staple in our of Barquisimeto. Back in Curacao, needs preserving.
folklore music, and its significance he started his own cah’i orgel busi- Fun fact: another name for the
in the traditions of Aruba has and ness along with his brother Luis. In As mentioned, the cah’i orgel is a cah’i orgel is the “tingilingi box.”
continues to bring together the old Aruba, it is said that the cah’i or- music box. made from mahogany
and young. gel was introduced by Rufo Wever, wood, it contains a cylinder with a Source: “E Cilinder Magico entre
who later in his career became maximum of eight music pieces. Aruba y Curaçao” by Marilyn Alcalá-
The origin of the cah’i orgel is said one of the composers for the Aru- By rotating the lever on the front Wallé, Herta Parabirsing-Balentina and
Nidia Rosaria-Wallé.
to have come from Europe around ban national anthem. side of the box, the cah’i orgel pro-