Curaçao Carnival is growing and becoming a World Class event!
Every year it is a big party, planned long in advance and professional.
Also, different cultural groups are participating in the roadmarch, displaying their
cultural heritage. And the Curaçao community consists of even more than 42 ethnic groups,
the majority being of African and European descent. But the strategic important situation
of the island between Europe and America, and the Dutch inspired religious freedom,
attracted merchants from all over the world in the nineteenth century. Curaçao folklore
and language are inspired by the mix of African, Latin and European heritage.
Original Curaçao music and dances are examples of this mixed heritage,
but globalization is taking it's effect on folklore today, diminishing it's originality.
As in many other countries, Curaçao folklore is a bit more at the edge of society today,
remaining mainly folk beliefs and attitudes. The Curaçao (Papiamentu) language to the contrary,
is developing steadily. It is being tought in schools. Typical Curaçao foods are mainly stews
with salted meats and fish, goat meat, cornbread, baked bananas, bean dishes,
ocra and fish soups and all kinds of sweets made of sugar and/or peanuts.
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