Cultural celebrations

Aruba has its own distinct culture, which often includes celebrations. Color and music play an important role in the majority of cultural events, most notably in the yearly Carnival and Dia Di San Juan (St. John’s Day) celebrations. Arubans dress in red and yellow traditional shirt and a black traditional trouser to represent fire during the Dia Di San Juan celebration. This celebration originates from a combination of pre-Christian Arawak harvest festivals and the works of Spanish missionaries to combine them with the celebration of San Juan. Aruba is the only country in the world that celebrates this day with dancing and singing. During the celebration a singer will chant a familiar “dera gai” (bury rooster) tune while players accompany the song with drum, violin, and local instrument called a wiri. While they sing, they will choose someone to come and try to hit a fake rooster with their eyes close. When that person hits it, in that rooster, it will bring a wonderful smell. This wonderful smell comes from the fruit (calabash). Arubans will often refer to Carnival as Bacchanal, a term based on the Greek and Roman celebrations dedicated to Dionysus for the Greeks and Bacchus for the Romans, their god of wine, vegetation, and cheer. Aruba’s Bacchanalia shares some similarities with the ancient celebrations. The Greeks wrote tragedies for these celebrations, and modern-day Arubans also use this time for artistic expressions. Similarly, they each have a religious significance. Aruba’s Carnival is about cleansing one’s body of sins, like the historic celebrations, and helps the people of Aruba prepare for Lent. “Aruba’s Official Carnival Concept Design,” as it is called, infuses themes of music, dance, colors, creativity, and merriment. The New Year celebration in Aruba also includes a number of cultural superstitions and traditions; the traditional celebration is called dande. The name dande, also spelled dandee, comes from the Papiamento word, dandara, meaning to revel, to carouse, or to have a good time. After King William III of the Netherlands declared slaves to be free, the celebration began. A group of five or six people usually performs these rituals, though more can join in. These people accompany a singer and travel door-to-door to express their best wishes for the New Year. Repetitive songs, with the chorus which includes the phrase “ai nobe”(aña nobo) – “new year” – sung after each phrase. The celebratory travel usually leads to the houses of the singers’ friends and family, where the host collects money in his hat to give to the group. Certain districts may have their own dande groups performing on the second day of the year.

The California Lighthouse

The California Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the NorthWest tip of Aruba. This lighthouse was named for the steamship California, which wrecked nearby on Sept 23, 1891. It is near the Tierra del Sol golf course. A restaurant called La Trattoria el Faro Blanco (literally: Restaurant by the White Lighthouse) is located near the lighthouse. It was formerly open to the public until a suicide.

Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea – the sea, forming part of the oceanic system of the Atlantic Ocean, north of South America. From the full waters of the Atlantic Ocean separated the Small Antilles chain of islands to the east and the Great Antilles in the north. The island of Cuba and the Yucatán peninsula separated him from the Mexican Gulf. With sea Mexican Gulf is connected by the Straits Jukatańską, on the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Zawietrzną. With the Caribbean you can get to the Pacific Ocean by the Panama Canal.

The area is 2 754 000 square km. The deepest point is in Rowie Kajmańskim, between Cuba and Jamaica, at a depth of 7,680 m. In the bottom of the creation of the Caribbean, three swimming pools: Jukatański, Kolumbijski and Venezuela.

Geography

Aruba is part of the ABC islands, which still includes Bonaire and Curacao. Aruba, the smallest and westernmost, is also the last link in the Antilles.

The island is located 30 km from the coast of Venezuela away, is 30 miles long and no wider than 9 km. From the mountain Jamanota (188 m) looks onto a large flat landscape down. The east coast with her lonely and coastal windswept cliffs offers a delightful contrast; spray and waves have bizarre shapes of the rocks rinsed.

Law

Legal jurisdiction lies with a Gerecht in Eerste Aanleg (Court of First Instance) on Aruba, a Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie voor de Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba (Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba) and the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Supreme Court of Justice of the Netherlands).

Education

Aruba’s educational system, patterned after the Dutch system, provides for education at all levels. The Government finances the national education system, except for private schools, such as the International School of Aruba (ISA), which finance their own activities. The percentage of money earmarked for education is higher than the average for the Caribbean/Latin American region.

Arubans benefit from a strong primary school education. A segmented secondary school program includes vocational training (VMBO), basic education (MAVO), college prep (HAVO) and advanced placement (VWO).

Higher education goals can be pursued through the Professional Education program (EPI), the teachers college (IPA) as well as through the University of Aruba (UA) which offers bachelors and masters programs in law, finance and economics and hospitality and tourism management. Since the choice for higher education on the island itself is limited, many students choose to study abroad in countries in North America, South America as well as Europe.

There are 68 schools for primary education, 12 schools for secondary education and 5 Universities.

When to Go

The peak tourist season is between mid-December and mid-April, but this has more to do with the weather in North America and Europe than it does with the weather on Aruba which is warm and fairly dry all year round. The high season for cruise ships runs from October to April. It’s therefore best to visit outside this period, when the port towns are almost sleepy and you can expect room rates to be almost halved.

Oranjestad

Oranjestad (English: “Orangetown”), with a population of 26,355 (2000), is the capital and most important city of Aruba located on the southern coast near the western end of the island. In the local language, Papiamento, Oranjestad is often referred to simply as “Playa”.

Aruba

Aruba is a 33-kilometre (21 mi)-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, 27 km (17 mi) north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela. A country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba has no administrative subdivisions. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm sunny weather. It has a land area of 193 km² (75 sq mi) and lies outside the hurricane belt.