The Caribbean Festival, also known as the Fiesta del Fuego (Fire Festival), is today recognized as a meeting point and forum for the exchange of national cultures within the Caribbean region.
This sentiment emerged during the opening day of the International Colloquium "The Caribbean That Unites Us," the festival's main theoretical event, which brings together researchers and custodians of the knowledge and cultural practices that define the region.
The colloquium's opening lecture, "Curaçao: A Perpetual Greeting to the Caribbean," was presented by Curaçaoan anthropologist Richenel Ansano, who also serves as a member of UNESCO's National Committee and a facilitator for the organization in the Caribbean, Asia, and the Pacific.
In statements to Prensa Latina, the researcher asserted that culture humanizes us, as it is the most deeply rooted aspect of the human being. He added that, among the many festivals held in the geographic area, the Fiesta del Fuego is the one that most fosters unity, without barriers of language or ethnic origin.
Richenel acknowledged the Fiesta del Fuego as a space that is expanding and seeking contact with all peoples, regardless of the colonial divisions of the past. He therefore considered it to be doing pioneering work in the region.
The anthropologist exemplified this process with the experience of his own country, Curaçao, explaining that it has allowed Curaçaoans to make contact with intellectuals and artists from Haiti, Dominica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis—nations that are often overlooked when referring to the Caribbean.
(Taken from Prensa Latina)
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