A Taste of the Caribbean in Jakarta, Courtesy of the Dutch

Jakarta Globe, Sylviana Hamdani, September 17, 2015

The 'Antilles Festival – A Taste of the Caribbean' event will take place at the Erasmus
Huis Jakarta from Sept. 19 to Oct. 31 and will feature a photo exhibition, culinary show,
and music and dance performances. (Photo courtesy of Erasmus Huis)

The Dutch cultural center in Jakarta plans to introduce Indonesians to a little-known corner of its kingdom through a festival that celebrates the sun-kissed isles of the Netherlands Antilles.

The “Antilles Festival – A Taste of the Caribbean” event will take place at the Erasmus Huis Jakarta from Sept. 19 to Oct. 31 and will feature a photo exhibition, culinary show, and music and dance performances.

The festival is part of celebrations this year marking the 200th anniversary of the kingdom of the Netherlands, with a focus on the realm’s Caribbean lands deemed an “interesting idea” for residents of Indonesia, once the jewel in the crown of the Dutch empire.

“For the Dutch, it’s not very easy and also not very common to travel [to the Antilles],” said Ferdinand Lahnstein, the deputy head of mission of the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta.

“I expect also that people in Indonesia are not very familiar with this area. So that’s also a reason why we think that it’s probably a good idea to bring forward that there’s something like the Dutch Caribbean. And then hopefully people in Indonesia who would like to try something different will be interested to travel to this area.”

The festival’s photo exhibition, themed “Dushi Tera,” will showcase images unique to the six islands that make up the Netherlands Antilles – Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius – including the architecture, nature, and panoramas. (In the Papiamento language of the inhabitants of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, “dushi tera” translates into “sweet country.”)

These photos come courtesy of the islands’ various tourism authorities as well as the Leiden University Library.

“The photo exhibition is meant to give an impression of the cultural, social and economic differences between the six islands,” Lahstein said.

Peter Sanchez, a historian from one-time Dutch colony of Suriname on the South American mainland, has been appointed curator of the photo exhibition.

“He knows a lot about the region,” said Ineke de Hoog, the embassy’s deputy head of public diplomacy and cultural affairs. “And he will be there for the opening [on Sept. 19].”

The opening will also feature culinary treats from Dutch Caribbean chefs Sherwin Alexander and Jethro Wirht, brought over by the DoubleTree hotel in Jakarta.

Alexander won a bronze medal in the seafood competition during the prestigious “Taste of the Caribbean” competition in Miami in July 2014, while Wirht was named “Chef of the Year” at the same event.

Both men will cook live at the festival’s opening at Erasmus Huis, assisted by local hospitality school students.

The menu will feature seven iconic dishes served tapas style from the Dutch Caribbean.

“The chefs have chosen the menu that gives a broad spectrum of all the different islands’ cuisines,” de Hoog said.

Among them are sopi di marisco, a traditional soup from Curaçao that contains seafood, callaloo (a vegetable native to the island), okra and fresh lemon.

Also not to be missed is the arepa di pampuna, a sweet pumpkin pancake with pickled prawns and fishcake and served with pineapple salsa.

“The cuisine is, of course, influenced by the Creoles, a fusion of the Spanish and Portuguese Antilleans,” de Hoog said. “I invite you to come and try for yourself.”

Entry to the festival is free, and the embassy expects between 500 and 700 people to turn up for the opening day.

“My impression of the Antilles Festival is something fresh and juicy, like salsa,” said Olivia Evelinda, a secretary at an accounting firm in Jakarta who said she was interested in going. “I think the festival will be very, very interesting, because we can get to know about the food and different cultures of the islands.”

Olivia also hopes to take part in the Antillean dances, such as Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and Kimboza, to be performed by Dutch Caribbean dancers on the opening day.

Orquesta Pegasaya, a popular Salsa band from the region, will also be n hand to perform live. And to fuel the guests, a round of delectable Dutch Caribbean cocktails will be served throughout the night

For more information, go to erasmushuis.nlmission.org.

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