From Elitist Colonial Festivity to Popular Celebration
From the 19th century on when Curaçao was a Dutch colony in the complete sense of the word, carnival was held in private clubs, which organized masquerade parties and carnival marches.After the Second World War a group of citizens took the initiative to create a celebration of carnival which was supposed to become a festivity for the community as a whole. It was also meant to sustain the then blooming tourism.
But these early celebrations did clearly not fancy the taste of the majority of the population and the event did not yet become really popular. This would take place only after 1969.
After this date the government of Curaçao also began to take part in the organization of carnival, but the success of this popular celebration derives mainly from two things: the enthusiastic participation of the carnival groups whose members dedicate a lot of time and energy to their fanciful creations, and the irresistible rhythmical power of the tumba.
