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List of
Banks in the Caribbean
Curaçao (Dutch: Curaçao, Papiamentu: Kòrsou) is an island in the southern
Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Island Territory of Curaçao
(Dutch: Eilandgebied Curaçao, Papiamentu: Teritorio Insular di Kòrsou),
which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of
Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao"), is one of five island territories of
the Netherlands Antilles, and as such, is a part of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands. Its capital is Willemstad.
Curaçao is the largest,coolest, and most populous of the three ABC
islands (for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) of the Lesser Antilles,
specifically the Leeward Antilles. It has a land area of 444 square
kilometers (171 square miles). As of 1 January 2009, it had a population
of 141,766.
On 10 October 2010, the Netherlands Antilles will be dissolved and
Curaçao will become an independent country within the Kingdom of the
Netherlands.
List of Banks in Curaçao
Banco de Venezuela N.V.
Address: Hanchi Snoa
Phone: (599-9) 461-1177
Fax: (599-9) 461-2053
Banco di Caribe N.V.
Address: Jan Noorduynweg z/n
Phone: (599-9) 869-4444
Fax: (599-9) 869-4410
Banco di Caribe N.V. (Head Office)
Address: Schottegatweg Oost 205
Phone: (599-9) 432-3000
Fax: (599-9) 461-5220
Banco Industrial de Venezuela C.A.
Address: Handelskade 12
Phone: (599-9) 461-1612 / (599-9) 461-6526 / (599-9) 461-3747
Fax: (599-9) 461-6534
Banco Mercantil Venezolano N.V.
Address: A. Mendez Chumaceiro Boulevard 1
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 565
Phone: (599-9) 461-1566 / (599-9) 461-2117
Fax: (599-9) 461-1974
International-banking / Offshore-banking / Banks
Banco Provincial Overseas N.V
Address: Sta. Rosaweg 51-53-55
Phone: (599-9) 737-6010
Fax: (599-9) 737-6346
Bank v/d Ned Antillen (Centrale Bank)
Address: Simon Bolivar Plein 1
Phone: (599-9) 434-5500
Fax: (599-9) 461-5004
Caribbean American Bank N.V.
Address: World Trade Center
Phone: (599-9) 463-6370
Fax: (599-9) 463-6556
Citco Banking Corporation N.V.
Address: Kaya Flamboyan 9
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 707
Phone: (599-9) 732-2322
Fax: (599-9) 732-2330
DVB Bank America N.V.
Address: Zeelandia Office Park Kaya W.F.G. Mensing 14, Zeelandia Office
Park
Phone: (599-9) 432-7650
EBNA Bank N.V.
Address: Kaya W.F.G. Mensing 36B
Phone: (599-9) 461-9066
Fax: (599-9) 461-9065
Exprinter International Bank N.V.
Address: Scharlooweg 61
Phone: (599-9) 461-7832
Fax: (599-9) 461-7835
Expriter International Bank N.V.
Address: Emancipatie Boulevard
Phone: (599-9) 734-1122
Fax: (599-9) 734-1133
FGH Bank N.V. (Antillen)
Address: World Trade Center
Phone: (599-9) 463-6300
Fax: (599-9) 463-6430
FGH Finance N.V
Address: World Trade Center
Phone: (599-9) 463-6300
Fax: (599-9) 463-6430
First Caribbean International Bank
Address: de Ruyterkade 61, Pietermaai
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3144
Phone: (599-9) 433-8000
Fax: (599-9) 433-8118
First Curacao Int'l Bank N.V
Address: Kaya W.F.G. Mensing 18
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 299
Phone: (599-9) 465-0100
Fax: (599-9) 465-0018
Fortis Bank N.V.
Address: Berg Arrarat 1
Phone: (599-9) 463-9300
Fax: (599-9) 461-3943
Generale Bank Nederland N.V.
Address: Kaya W.F.G. Mensing 18
Phone: (599-9) 461-1122
Giro Bank
Address: de Ruyterkade 12A
Phone: (599-9) 433-9999
Fax: (599-9) 461-7861
Girobank N.V. -Jan Noorduynweg-
Address: Jan Noorduynweg z/n
Phone: (599-9) 869-2611
Fax: (599-9) 461-1388
Financial institutions /
Internet-banking / Bank-account / Savings / Giro
Girobank N.V. -Janwé-
Address: Seru Loraweg 17
Phone: (599-9) 461-6070
Fax: (599-9) 461-7861
Financial institutions /
Bank-account / Loans / Savings
Girobank N.V. -Scharloo-
Address: Scharlooweg 35
Phone: (599-9) 433-9999
Fax: (599-9) 461-7861
Financial institutions /
Internet-banking / Bank-account / Savings
ING Bank N.V.
Address: Kaya W.F.G. Mensing 14 (Zeelandia Office Park)
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3895
Phone: (599-9) 432-7000
Fax: (599-9) 432-7502
International Banking Company Caribbean (IBCC) N.V
Address: Nieuwestraat 4-6
Phone: (599-9) 461-5042
Fax: (599-9) 461-5042
Lanschot Bankiers
Address: Schottegatweg Oost 32
Phone: (599-9) 737-1011
Fax: (599-9) 737-1086
MCB Maduro & Curiel's Bank
Address: Schottegatweg Oost 130, Saliña
Phone: (599-9) 466-1100
Fax: (599-9) 466-1444
MCB
MCB Maduro & Curiel's Bank N.V.
Address: Plasa Jojo Correa 2 - 4
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 305
Phone: (599-9) 466-1100
Fax: (599-9) 466-1444
Financial institutions /
MCB / Kompa Leon / Money
Nedship Bank (America) N.V.
Address: Scharlooweg 55
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3107
Phone: (599-9) 465-2311
Fax: (599-9) 465-2366
ORCO Bank N.V.
Address: Dr. H. Fergusonweg 10
Phone: (599-9) 737-2000
Fax: (599-9) 737-6741 / (599-9) 736-4505
Mortgages /
Savings / Mortgages / Corporate-banking
RBTT Bank N.V.
Address: Kaya Flamboyan 1
Phone: (599-9) 763-8438 / (599-9) 763-8136 / (599) 717-4500
Fax: (599-9) 737-8133
Financial institutions /
/ Banks
RBTT Bank N.V.
Address: Plaza Jojo Corea, Punda
Phone: (599-9) 461-9800
Fax: (599-9) 461-9801
RBTT Bank N.V.
Address: Barentslaan 1, Rio Canario
Phone: (599-9) 736-4611
Fax: (599-9) 736-4603
SFT Bank N.V.
Address: Schottegatweg Oost 44
Phone: (599-9) 732-2900
Fax: (599-9) 732-2905
Origin of the name Curaçao
The origin of the name Curaçao is debated. The explanation gathering
more consensus among the Portuguese and the Spanish is that the word
derives from the Portuguese word for the state of becoming cured (curação).
The reason for this is that sailors travelling for months in the sea
would often contract scurvy. It appears that in one of such long travels,
a group of Portuguese sailors landed for the first time in Curação and
were cured from scurvy, probably after eating fruit with vitamin C. The
island was known from then on as Ilha da Curação (Island of Healing).
Another explanation is that it is derived from the Portuguese word for
heart (coração), referring to the island as a centre in trade, or it
could mean healing (curação) for the plants that grow on the island.
Spanish traders took the name over as Curaçao, which was followed by the
Dutch. Another explanation is that Curaçao was the name the indigenous
peoples of Curaçao had used to label themselves (Joubert and Van Buurt,
1994). This theory is supported by early Spanish accounts, which refer
to the indigenous peoples as "Indios Curaçaos".
The most popular theory is that the Spanish named the island "Corazón" (Spanish
for "heart") for its heart shape, which later became "Curaçao", derived
from the Portuguese word for heart, "Coração".
After 1525 the island appeared on Spanish maps as "Curaçote,"
"Curasaote," and "Curasaore." By the seventeenth century the island was
known on maps as "Curaçao" or "Curazao".
On a map created by Hieronymus Cock in 1562 in Antwerp, the island was
referred to as Quracao.
The name "Curaçao" has become associated with a shade of blue, because
of the deep-blue version of the liqueur named Curaçao (a.k.a. Blue
Curaçao).
History
Main article: History of Curaçao
Map of Curaçao in 1836.
Dutch architecture along Willemstad's harbor.The original inhabitants of
Curaçao were Arawak Amerindians. The first Europeans to see the island
were members of a Spanish expedition under the leadership of Alonso de
Ojeda in 1499. The Spaniards exported most of the indigenous population
to other colonies where workers were needed. The island was occupied by
the Dutch in 1634. The Dutch West India Company founded the capital of
Willemstad on the banks of an inlet called the 'Schottegat'. Curaçao had
been ignored by colonists because it lacked many things that colonists
were interested in, such as gold deposits. However, the natural harbour
of Willemstad proved quickly to be an ideal spot for trade. Commerce and
shipping — and piracy—became Curaçao's most important economic
activities. In addition, the Dutch West India Company made Curaçao a
center for the Atlantic slave trade in 1662. Dutch merchants brought
slaves from Africa under a contract with Spain called Asiento. Under
this agreement, large numbers of slaves were sold and shipped to various
destinations in South America and the Caribbean.
The slave trade made the island affluent, and led to the construction of
impressive colonial buildings. Curaçao features architecture that blends
Dutch and Spanish colonial styles. The wide range of historic buildings
in and around Willemstad earned the capital a place on UNESCO's world
heritage list. Landhouses (former plantation estates) and West African
style "kas di pal'i maishi" (former slave dwellings) are scattered all
over the island and some of them have been restored and can be visited.
Curaçao's proximity to South America translated into a long-standing
influence from the nearby Latin American coast. This is reflected in the
architectural similarities between the 19th century parts of Willemstad
and the nearby Venezuelan city of Coro in Falcón State, the latter also
being a UNESCO world heritage site. In the 19th century, Curaçaoans such
as Manuel Piar and Luis Brión were prominently engaged in the wars of
independence of Venezuela and Colombia. Political refugees from the
mainland (like Bolivar himself) regrouped in Curaçao and children from
affluent Venezuelan families were educated in the island.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the island changed hands among the
British, the French, and the Dutch several times. Stable Dutch rule
returned in 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars. The Dutch abolished
slavery in 1863. The end of slavery caused economic hardship, prompting
many inhabitants of Curaçao to emigrate to other islands, such as to
Cuba to work in sugarcane plantations.
When in 1914 oil was discovered in the Maracaibo Basin town of Mene
Grande, the fortunes of the island were dramatically altered. Royal
Dutch Shell and the Dutch Government had built an extensive oil refinery
installation on the former site of the slave-trade market at Asiento,
thereby establishing an abundant source of employment for the local
population and fueling a wave of immigration from surrounding nations.
Curaçao was an ideal site for the refinery as it was away from the
social and civil unrest of the South American mainland, but near enough
to the Maracaibo Basin oil fields. It had an excellent natural harbor
that could accommodate large oil tankers. The company brought affluence
to the island. Large housing was provided and Willemstad developed an
extensive infrastructure. However, discrepancies appeared among the
social groups of Curaçao. The discontent and the antagonisms between
Curaçao social groups culminated in rioting and protest on May 30, 1969.
The civil unrest fueled a social movement that resulted in the local
Afro-Caribbean population attaining more influence over the political
process (Anderson and Dynes 1975). The island developed a tourist
industry and offered low corporate taxes to encourage many companies to
set up holdings in order to avoid rigorous schemes elsewhere. In the mid
1980s Royal Dutch Shell sold the refinery for a symbolic amount to a
local government consortium. The aging refinery has been the subject of
lawsuits in recent years, which charge that its emissions, including
sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, far exceed safety standards.
The government consortium currently leases the refinery to the
Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
In recent years, the island had attempted to capitalize on its peculiar
history and heritage to expand its tourism industry. In 1984 the Island
Council of Curaçao inaugurated the National Flag and the official anthem
of the island. This was done on July 2, which was the date when in 1954
the first elected island council was instituted. Since then, the
movement to separate the island from the Antillean federation has
steadily become stronger.
Due to an economic slump in recent years, emigration to the Netherlands
has been high. Attempts by Dutch politicians to stem this flow of
emigration have exacerbated already tense Dutch-Curaçao relations.
Immigration from surrounding Caribbean islands, Latin American countries
and the Netherlands has taken place.
Geography
Like Aruba and Bonaire, Curaçao is a transcontinental island that is
geographically part of South America but is also considered to be part
of West Indies and one of the Leeward Antilles. Curaçao and the other
ABC Islands are in terms of climate, geology, flora and fauna more akin
to nearby Paraguaná Peninsula, Isla Margarita and the nearby Venezuelan
areas of the Coro region and Falcón State. The flora of Curaçao differs
from the typical tropical island vegetation. Xeric scrublands are common,
with various forms of cacti, thorny shrubs, evergreens, and the island's
national tree, divi-divis. Curaçao's highest point is the 375 metre
(1,230 ft) Christoffelberg ("Mount Christoffel") in the northwestern
part of the island. This lies in the reserved wildlife park, Curaçao
Christoffelpark, and can be explored by car, bike, horse or on foot.
Several trails have been laid out. Curaçao has many places where one can
hike. There are Saliñas, salt marshes where flamingos fly out to rest
and feed. 24km (15 miles) off the coast of Curaçao, to the southeast,
lies the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao").
Sea Aquarium beachCuraçao is known for its coral reefs, used for scuba
diving. The beaches on the south side contain many popular diving spots.
An unusual feature of Curaçao diving is that the sea floor drops steeply
within a few hundred feet of the shore, and the reef can easily be
reached without a boat. This drop-off is known as the "blue edge."
Strong currents and lack of beaches make the rocky northern coast
dangerous for swimming and diving, but experienced divers sometimes dive
there from boats when conditions permit. The southern coast is very
different and offers remarkably calm waters. The coastline of Curaçao
features many bays and inlets, many of them suitable for mooring.
Some of the coral reefs are affected by tourism. Porto Marie beach is
experimenting with artificial coral reefs in order to improve the reef's
condition. Hundreds of artificial coral blocks that have been placed are
now home to a large array of tropical fish.
Climate
Curaçao has a semi-arid savanna-like climate with a dry season from
January to September and a wet season from October to December. The
temperatures are relatively constant with small differences throughout
the year. The trade winds bring cooling during the day and the same
trade winds bring warming during the night. The coldest month is January
with an average temperature of 26.5 °C (79.7 °F) and the warmest month
is September with an average temperature of 28.9 °C (84.0 °F). The
year's average maximum temperature is 31.2 °C (88.2 °F). The year's
average minimum temperature is 25.3 °C (78.1 °F). Curaçao lies outside
the hurricane belt, but can still occasionally be smitten by hurricanes,
as for example Omar did in 2008. A landfall of a hurricane in Curaçao
has not occurred since the National Hurricane Center started tracking
hurricanes. Curaçao is however several times directly affected by a pre-hurricane
tropical storm, the latest which did so were Cesar-Douglas at 1996 and
Joan-Miriam at 1988.
Politics of Curaçao
The Queen Emma and Queen Juliana bridges.
The Groot Davelaar, one of approximately 100 plantation houses on the
island'Curaçao gained self-government on January 1, 1954 as an island
territory of the Netherlands Antilles. Despite this, the islanders did
not fully participate in the political process until after the social
movements of the late '60s. In the 2000s the political status of the
island has been under discussion again, as for the other islands of the
Netherlands Antilles, regarding the relationship with the Netherlands
and between the islands of the Antilles.
In a referendum held on April 8, 2005, the residents voted for a
separate status outside the Netherlands Antilles, like Aruba, rejecting
the options for full independence, becoming part of the Netherlands, or
retaining the status quo. In 2006, Emily de Jongh-Elhage, a resident of
Curaçao, was elected as the new prime minister of the Netherlands
Antilles, and not Curaçao.
On July 1, 2007, the island of Curaçao was due to become an autonomous
associated state, under the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On November 28,
2006, the island council rejected a clarificatory memorandum on the
process. On July 9, 2007 the new island council of Curaçao approved the
agreement previously rejected in November 2006. On December 15, 2008
Curaçao was scheduled to become a separate country within the Kingdom of
the Netherlands (like Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles are now). A
nonbinding referendum on this plan took place in Curaçao on May 15,
2009, in which 52 percent of the voters supported these plans.
Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles is now scheduled for October 10,
2010.
Education
Public education is based on the Dutch educational system. Until
recently, all instruction was provided in Dutch. Now, bilingual primary
education in Papiamentu and Dutch is also available. Private and
parochial schools also exist on the island. The International School Of
Curaçao and C.A.P.S. (Curaçao American Preparatory School) provides
education for English-speaking immigrants.
Higher education in Curaçao, as in the rest of the Netherlands Antilles,
is good relative to regional standards. The main institute of higher
learning is the University of the Netherlands Antilles (UNA).
Xavier University School of Medicine, Bonaire has recently announced
that they will be moving to Curaçao, where a brand new campus is under
construction. The offshore American Caribbean Medical School will have
officially start its classes at the new campus in September 2010.
Economy
Although a few plantations were established on the island by the
Dutch, the first profitable industry established on Curaçao was salt
mining. The mineral was a lucrative export at the time and became one of
the major factors responsible for drawing the island into international
commerce. Curaçao also became a center for slave trade during the 17th
and 18th centuries.
In the 19th century, phosphate mining also became significant. All the
while, Curaçao's fine deep water ports and ideal location in the
Caribbean were crucial in making it a significant center of commerce.
Curaçao has one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean,
with a GDP per capita of US$ 20,500 (2009 est.) and a well developed
infrastructure. The main industries of the island include oil refining,
tourism and financial services. Shipping, international trade and other
activities related to the port of Willemstad (like the Free Zone) make a
contribution to the economy. To achieve the government's aims to make
its economy more diverse, significant efforts are being made to attract
more foreign investments. This policy is called the 'Open Arms' policy
with one of its main features to focus heavily on information technology
companies. For its size, the island has a considerably
diverse economy which does not rely mostly on tourism alone as is the
case on many other Caribbean islands.
Curaçao has business ties with the United States, Venezuela and the
European Union. It has an Association Agreement with the European Union
which allows companies which do business in and via Curaçao to export
many products to European markets, free of import duties and quotas.
It is also a participant in the US Caribbean Basin Initiative allowing
it to have preferential access to the US market.
Prostitution is tolerated. A large open-air brothel called "Le Mirage"
or "Campo Alegre" operates near the airport since the 1940s. As
prostitution exists in most parts of the world, Curaçao has implemented
a different approach on handling prostitution. By monitoring, containing
and regulating it, the workers in these establishments are given a safe
environment and access to medical practitioners. Despite this, it should
be noted that the U.S. State Department stated,"Curaçao, Aruba, and
Saint Maarten are destination islands for women trafficked for the sex
trade from Peru, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti,
according to local observers." Officials in the government
frequently underestimate the extent of human trafficking problems.
Demographics
Ethnicities
A Bulawaya danceBecause of its history, the island's population comes
from many ethnic backgrounds. There is an Afro-Caribbean majority of
mixed African and European descent, and also sizeable minorities of
Dutch, Latin American, French, South Asian, East Asian, Portuguese and
Levantine people. The Sephardic Jews who arrived from the Netherlands
and then-Dutch Brazil since the 17th century have had a significant
influence on the culture and economy of the island. The years before and
after World War II also saw an influx of Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern
Europe, many of whom were Romanian Jews.
In the early 19th century, many Portuguese and Lebanese migrated to
Curaçao attracted by the financial possibilities of the island. East and
South Asian migrants arrived during the economic boom of the early 20th
century. There are also many recent immigrants from neighbouring
countries, most notably the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Anglophone
Caribbean and Colombia. In recent years the influx of Dutch pensioners
has increased significantly, dubbed locally as pensionados.
Religion
According to the 2001 census, the majority of the inhabitants of
Curaçao are Roman Catholic (85%). This includes a shift towards the
Charismatic Renewal or Charismatic movement since the mid-seventies.
Other major denominations are the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the
Methodist Church. Alongside these Christian denominations, some
inhabitants practice Montamentu, and other diasporic African religions.
Like elsewhere in Latin America, Pentecostalism is on the rise. There
are practicing Muslims as well as Hindus.
Though small in size, Curaçao's Jewish community has a significant
impact on history. Curaçao is home to the oldest active Jewish
congregation in the Americas, dating to 1651. The Curaçao synagogue is
the oldest synagogue of the Americas in continuous use, since its
completion in 1732 on the site of a previous synagogue. The Jewish
Community of Curaçao also played a key role in supporting early Jewish
congregations in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries,
including in New York City and the Touro Synagogue.
Culture
Curaçao is a polyglot society. The languages widely spoken are
Papiamentu, Dutch, English, and Spanish. Most people on the island (85
percent) speak Papiamentu. Many people can speak all four of these
languages. Spanish and English both have a long historical presence on
the island alongside Dutch and Papiamentu. Spanish remained an important
language throughout the 18th and 19th centuries as well due to the close
economic ties with nearby Venezuela and Colombia. The use of English
dates back to the early 19th century, when Curaçao became a British
colony. In fact, after the restoration of Dutch rule in 1815, colonial
officers already noted wide use of English among the island (van Putte
1999). Recent immigration from the Anglophone Caribbean and the
Netherlands Antillean islands of (St. Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten)—where
the primary language is English—as well as the ascendancy of English as
a world language, has intensified the use of English on Curaçao. For
much of colonial history, Dutch was never as widely spoken as English or
Spanish and remained exclusively a language for administration and legal
matters; popular use of Dutch increased towards the end of the 19th
century and the early 20th century (van Putte 1999).
Historically, education on Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire had been
predominantly in Spanish up until the late 19th century. There were also
efforts to introduce bilingual popular education in Dutch and Papiamentu
in the late 19th century (van Putte 1999). Dutch was made the sole
language of instruction in the educational system in the early 20th
century to facilitate education for the offspring of expatriate
employees of Royal Dutch Shell (Romer, 1999). Papiamentu was tentatively
re-introduced in the school curriculum during the mid-1980s. Recent
political debate has centered on the issue of Papiamentu becoming the
sole language of instruction. Proponents of making Papiamentu the sole
language of instruction argue that it will help to preserve the language
and will improve the quality of primary and secondary school education.
Proponents of Dutch-language instruction argue that students who study
in Dutch will be better prepared for the free university education
offered to Curaçao residents in the Netherlands.
Effective July 1, 2007, the Netherlands Antilles declared Dutch,
Papiamentu, and English as official languages, in recognition of the
Dutch-speaking, Papiamentu-speaking and English-speaking communities of
all the islands.
Literature
Despite the island's relatively small population, the diversity of
languages and cultural influences on Curaçao have generated a remarkable
literary tradition, primarily in Dutch and Papiamentu. The oral
traditions of the Arawak indigenous peoples are lost. West African
slaves brought the tales of Anansi, thus forming the basis of Papiamentu
literature. The first published work in Papiamentu was a poem by Joseph
Sickman Corsen entitled Atardi, published in the La Cruz newspaper in
1905. Throughout Curaçaoan literature, narrative techniques and
metaphors best characterized as magic realism tend to predominate.
Novelists and poets from Curaçao have made an impressive contribution to
Caribbean and Dutch literature. Best known are Cola Debrot, Frank
Martinus Arion, Pierre Lauffer, Elis Juliana,Guillermo Rosario, Boeli
van Leeuwen and Tip Marugg.
Cuisine
Local food is called Krioyo (pronounced the same as criollo, the
Spanish word for "Creole") and boasts a blend of flavours and techniques
best compared to Caribbean cuisine and Latin American cuisine. Dishes
common in Curaçao are found in Aruba and Bonaire as well. Popular dishes
include: stobá (a stew made with various ingredients such as papaya,
beef or goat), Guiambo (soup made from okra and seafood), kadushi
(cactus soup), sopi mondongo (intestine soup), funchi (cornmeal paste
similar to fufu, ugali and polenta) and a lot of fish and other seafood.
The ubiquitous side dish is fried plantain. Local bread rolls are made
according to a Portuguese recipe. All around the island, there are snèk
which serve local dishes as well as alcoholic drinks in a manner akin to
the English public house. The ubiquitous breakfast dish is pastechi:
fried pastry with fillings of cheese, tuna, ham, or ground meat. Around
the holiday season special dishes are consumed, such as the hallaca and
pekelé, made out of salt cod. At weddings and other special occasions a
variety of kos dushi are served: kokada (coconut sweets), ko'i lechi (condensed
milk and sugar sweet) and tentalaria (peanut sweets). The Curaçao
liqueur was developed here, when a local experimented with the rinds of
the local citrus fruit known as laraha. Surinamese, Chinese, Indonesian,
Indian and Dutch culinary influences also abound. The island also has
many Chinese restaurants that serve mainly Indonesian dishes such as
satay, nasi goreng and lumpia (which are all Indonesian names for the
dishes). Dutch specialties such as croquettes and oliebollen are widely
served in homes and restaurants.
Sports
For the past eight years the baseball team from Willemstad, Curaçao
has made it all the way to the Little League World Series in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The team features players from ages 11 and
12 who get a chance to represent the Caribbean region. In 2004 the team
from Willemstad, Curaçao won the title game against the United States
champion from Thousand Oaks, California. The following year the team
from Curaçao made it right back to the championship game but were
defeated by Ewa Beach, Hawaii after Michael Memea hit a walk-off home
run to win the title game for Hawaii. In 2007 the team lost to Japan in
the International Championship game.
In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Curaçan natives played for the
Netherlands team. Shairon Martis, born in Willemstad, provided the
highlight of the tournament for the Dutch team by throwing a seven-inning
no-hitter against Panama (the game was stopped due to the mercy rule).
In addition, Major League player and All Star Andruw Jones is a native
of Curaçao.
The prevailing trade winds and warm water make Curaçao a very good
location for windsurfing, although the nearby islands of Aruba and
Bonaire are far better known in the sport. One factor is that the deep
water around Curaçao makes it difficult to lay marks for major
windsurfing events, thus hindering the island's success as a windsurfing
destination. Similarly, the warm clear water around the island makes
Curaçao a mecca for diving.
Get your own Bank account with ATM card
(Maestro/Mastercard debit card) for withdrawals with a Bank in the Caribe
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