Page 54 - NEWSPAPER MEDIA MONITORING DECEMBER 20TH, 2018

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LOCAL Thursday 20 december 2018

Christmas Lights

ORANJESTAD — Christmas in Aruba would
not be complete without a visit to see the
Christmas Lights around the island. By just
driving around on the main roads you can
enjoy a variety of creativity with colorful
lights being displayed on various Aruban
homes. Also the majority of the round-
abouts are decorated.

If you are lucky enough you might hear
Christmas carols and “gaitas” at any of
these locations but also at the malls and
stores. Gaita is a style of Venezuelan folk
music from Maracaibo in Zulia State. It is
possibly derived from gaits, the Gothic
word for goat, the animal whose skin gen-
erally is used for the membrane of the furro
instrument (kind of tambura with stick).
Other instruments used in gaita include
maracas, cuatro, charrasca and tambora
(Venezuelan drum). Song themes range
from humorous and love songs to protest
songs. The local gaita bands are com-
posed mostly of a group of ladies who sing
with angelic voices while they dance in a
choreographic manner.

The map shown here will give you an over-
view of the most popular decorated plac-
es around the island. So hop into your car
or call a taxi driver to go around and enjoy
the spectacular Christmas scenes. q