“Our nature is rugged… rough… and not just around the edges. Her charm lies in her resilience. She is what she is. She resembles our temperament… authentic, but not always welcoming.”
– Writer, poet, painter, Curaçao culture fiend, Philip A. Rademaker
Source: http://www.ritamendesflohr2.blogspot.com/
Due to relatively low rainfall (570 mm/year) and high evaporation, most of our vegetation is drought resistant cacti and thorn scrub… and much of our landscape is made up of strong, eroding limestone.
As a result, local farming is relatively small-scale and limited to aloe, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables and tropical fruits (less than 1% of GDP) making us highly dependent on imported produce and non-agricultural labor sources. Pre-Shell (1910s) and the proliferation of broad-scale service industries (banking, tourism), thousands of Curaçao workmen went to Cuba every year to engage in seasonal labor on sugar plantations.
Needless to say, ‘drought’ is part of our nature, long-standing metaphor for recession and obstacles to overcome… Granted our resilience has inspired many a temperament!
Sekura
At’awó…
m’a keda so
manera un mata
ku su rais kobá, ranká,
ta para seka
warda morto.
Den mi kabei
para pretu di ultratumba
a sinta traha nèshi
pa nan fika.
Di e yobida di antaño
ai, n’keda ni un gota
pa aliviá e gran sekura
ku ta reina den mi alma.
I at’awó…
e mata skur i seku
ku ta mi mes
ta pèrsiguími henter dia
i den mi sonjo,
para pretu
ku nan gritunan salvahe
ta koba
ranka
piki
den dje tiki ku a resta
di mi kurason kibrá.
Drought
And now I’m like a tree,
my roots dug up
to rot and dry
and in my hair
black birds of ill omen
have built nests
to stay.
Of the rains
of yesteryear
not a drop remains
to appease
the cruel drought
that governs
in my soul.
… and now the ugly tree
that is myself,
haunts my waking hours
and in my dreams
black birds,
wildly screeching,
pluck at what is left
of a broken heart.
– Nydia Ecury, Kantika pa Mama Tera / Song for Mother Earth (1984)
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