Intangible Willemstad: A multicultural port town with rich historical and cultural values

Article 2: April, 2023

Introduction

A unique mix of triangular, curved and straight gables, wooden and stone galleries enclosed with louvred windows, patterns of narrow streets and alleys, Iberian floor tiles, Dutch roof tiles, and walls brought up by a combination of local coral stone and red bricks shipped in from The Netherlands - these are some of the typical physical manifestations of the colonial ensemble that makes up Willemstad. However, among these material remains of the period of Dutch expansion, resonates a set of attributes that do not express themselves directly in physical form: the intangible manifestations of the multicultural community that organically shaped the Curaçaoan capital.

Over the past decades, the way that World Heritage is defined, managed, and protected has shifted. What started in 1972, as UNESCO's primary concern with the protection of monuments, is now shifting towards a notion to increasingly protect the traditional practices, expressions, knowledge and skills, that together form the mosaic of a community's culture. In the context of this process of dematerializing heritage, this article takes us from built icons to urban themes, from buildings to context, from place to space.

Considering this shift, it is worthwhile to place the less tangible attributes of Willemstad in the spotlight to make visible the ways in which the local stories, practices, relationships, memories, traditions, and creative expressions construct Willemstad as a meaningful location.

Part of what makes Willemstad outstanding

Criterion (ii): The Historic Area of Willemstad is a colonial ensemble in the Caribbean, which illustrates the organic growth of a multicultural community over three centuries. It also represents a remarkable historic port town in the Caribbean in the period of Dutch expansion with significant town planning and architectural qualities.

Past

The Center orf Tade and Commerce

Willemstad’s urban development began in 1634 when the Dutch West Indian Company (W.I.C.) founded a trading post at St. Anna Bay. After the introduction of free trade in 1675, Willemstad was catapulted into a booming center for commerce. What started as a small colonial settlement, quickly grew out into a walled city: Willemstad, now known as Punda. The practice of free trade meant that the port city of Willemstad was open to ships from all countries, no matter the national flag they were sailing under. As a result, the harbor was always overflowing with ships and the wharfs were packed with merchandise, as the harbor workers were continuously loading and unloading ships.

The free port brought great prosperity to the island, and Willemstad had become a breeding ground for all kinds of formal and informal economic activities, attracting people from various corners and layers of global society. Everything that one could expect from a prosperous city could be found in Punda: stores, warehouses, pubs, coffee houses, liquor stores, lodging and hotels, brothels, schools, water sellers, bread sellers, carpenters, cigarmakers, tobacco shops, watchmakers, shoemakers, tailors, hairdressers and barbers, dentists and pharmacies. Even in the hidden narrow alleys all sorts of activities would take place – people would cook and sell warm meals, grind corn, sell herbs, air out animal hides and weave baskets. This bustling atmosphere did not limit itself to the activities on land; the waters of St. Anna Bay were always occupied by boat traffic, creating a pleasant liveliness.

Figure 2-4, Historical port town for trade and commerce in Curacao. Digitale Beeldbank, Nationaal Archief

Pastechi

People would usually have a cup of coffee at 5:30 am, sometimes accompanied with some biscuits.

Second breakfast , as they would call it, was a warm meal between 10 and 11 am. Naturally, those who weren t home, had to skip this meal...This wonderful daily schedule became the reason why many women [in Punda] began to concentrate on preparing pastechi , the typical, aromatic, savory Curaçaoan bite on the go. Making pastechi s became serious business in Punda, where the pastechi making women would compete with one another to make the best pastechis in town. The pastechi has remained popular ever since.

Past

A vibrant port town in the Caribbean

Figure 5-6. Historical port town for trade and commerce in Curacao. Digitale Beeldbank, Nationaal Archief

Especially popular was the ponchis (small ferry boats), which were the most popular means of transportation across the natural waters that surround the city. Those who could not afford to pay the toll to go from one side to the other, could hitch a free ride by sitting all the way in the front of the boat, where getting splashed under by the water was a given. The common and remaining expression “haña kabes di boto” (“get a head of the boat”), which means “to hitch a free ride”, originated from this fragment of history.

Creative and Artistic Expressions

In the course of the 19th century, Willemstad had become a popular destination among traveling photographers. As a result, the picturesque city became home to a great many photo-studios, which could be found in the most prominent streets of Punda and Otrobanda, including the Heerenstraat, Kuiperstraat, Breedestraat and the Waterkant (now known as the Handelskade). The most popular studio was undoubtedly Fotografia Cosmopolitana, established by the local Robert Soublette, who left behind a legacy of photographs of 19th century Willemstad.

Booming Hat Industry

Curaçao was also internationally known for its booming hat making industry, the island s largest source of income until the uprise of the oil industry. Hat weaving schools could be found all over the island, including Willemstad, where techniques were taught for weaving all kinds of products from locally produced straw, like baskets, cigar holders, and chairs.

Figure 7. Historical port town for trade and commerce in Curacao. Digitale Beeldbank, Nationaal Archief

Past

Cultural Expressions

Taking advantage of the free port and the resulting press freedom, was Notas y Letras, a Spanish-language magazine that was published in Curaçao and was very popular among liberal audiences. Notas y Letras, also containing music scores that were banned elsewhere, has been very important for the development of Curaçao’s classical music and its large regional influence, because it allowed prominent local composers, like Jan Gerard Palm, Chris Ulder, Jules Blasini, and Joseph Sickman Corsen to not only publish their works, but also to reach a large Latin American audience.The island’s classical piano music, speculated to have its origins in the small salons of the upper-class residences in Willemstad, is a rhythmic, up-tempo alteration of the European mazurka, due to the limited dancing space of these houses and the quicker footwork this would create. A beautiful cultural expression, where tangible and intangible meet.

A great many influential artists, musicians, craftsmen and writers from Curaçao, have their roots in Willemstad. Otrobanda in particular, the district that is characterized as the working-class neighborhood, was home to many who practiced a creative profession - a community that identifies itself as the self-made people of Willemstad - the shapers of their own destiny, untied to the shackles of colonial and upper-class hierarchy, who took the reign over their own lives. This atmosphere can still be felt in the largest residential district of Willemstad.

Willemstad as a post-colonial city

As with many former colonial sites, it is impossible to think of Willemstad’s prosperity as a commercial center, without acknowledging the W.I.C.’s hand in the transatlantic slave trade during the 17th and 18th century. Many Curaçaoans of African descent have given voice to their indignation, where Willemstad was used as a space to do so. Several protests and strikes resulting from social and economic inequalities that structurally have taken place over the course of Willemstad’s history, of which the harbor strike on July 17th, 1922, and the “Trinta di mei” protests on May 30th, 1969, were the largest and most influential. Many squares, plaques, and statues in Willemstad, commemorate different figures and events that played an important part in Willemstad’s complex identity as a post-colonial city.

Multicultural Present

Cultural traditions that continue to connect us!

Throughout Willemstad’s various historical chapters, a multicultural community grew organically, giving life to the city’s colorful character as we know it today. Many of the city’s current cultural manifestations can be traced back to the past, others are modern and innovative expressions of the continuous growth of Curaçao’s diverse citizens, while some are actively staged to help promote the revival of our timeless capital. Kaya Kaya, for example, a contemporary take on street festivities, takes place annually to help breathe life into the city’s forgotten corners and squares, while our traditional Carnaval still takes place in Otrobanda’s mainstreet, where people dance to the beats of the Tumba King or Queen. On the opposite side of the water, Punda attracts large crowds and pop-up markets on King’s Day, the celebration of the Dutch King’s birthday. All year around fresh fruit, herbs, home-made oils, baskets, and all kinds of trinkets can be found at the floating market and at the Marshe Rondó (round market), while the ensemble of the Caribbean’s flavors can be tasted in the creole food prepared at Plasa Bieu (Old Plaza). Elite mansions turned into prestigious office spaces at Scharloo, while Pietermaai’s more modest dwellings provide accommodation for young globetrotters visiting this picturesque town.

Willemstad as a world heritage encapsulates all things human. The people of Willemstad and their cultural expressions are part of the building blocks that contribute to experience and values of the site. These experiences and values go further than the splendor of humanity’s material creation and the artistic and historic value of monuments, but contain memories, traditions, stories, songs, flavors and sounds that make up the spirit of our outstanding historic port town.

Figure 8-9. Carnival Cultural traditions representing the historical architecture. C. Regales 2023

References

Brokken, J. (2012). Waarom elf Antillianen knielden voor het hart van Chopin. Atlas Contact.

Ditzhuijzen van, J. and Langenfeld, E. (2017). De Willemstad. Het dagelijkse leven in negentiende-eeuws Punda. LM Publishers.

Hartog, J. (1971). Honderd jaar gezelligheid in De Gezelligheid, 1871-1971. Curaçao: Verenigde Antilliaanse Drukkerijen.

UNESCO World Heritage Centre (1997). Inscription: The Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour (Netherlands). Decision 21 COM VIII.C. World Heritage Centre. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/2897/

Figure 10. Waterfort Festival 2022

Author: Stephanie van Heijningen, 2023 Commissioned by APC

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