Papiamento has been spoken since the colonization of Aruba sometime ago in the early 17 century and has been declared as official language only in May 2003. After more than half a century a commission has started to make the native or creole tongue the official language. It was being debated if Papiamento is a dialect or really a language.

A group of 44 leatherback sea turtles hatchlings broke free from their nest and made their way to the sea.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization has been organizing the annual Sustainable Tourism Conference for the 14th year. For this year’s conference they asked Ewald Biemans, the owner of Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts, to share his best environmental practices.

Team Aruba dominated the Extreme Pro Stock the entire weekend at the American Drag Race League spring drag races. In the first qualifying pass they posted a time which remained on top for the rest of the weekend. In this interview Trevor Eman gives his vision on the race and the performances of his team.

In the sport of swimming, Aruba athletes have attained a higher level proficiency. During the international swim competition held in Chile, Aruba team earned a total of 8 medals. For the upcoming CARIFTA championship Aruba's team will be traveling to Jamaica to compete.

An interesting new passing time enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, with around 236 registered species at the different places on the island like the reefs, beaches, mangroves and more. Visitors to our island can easily access the Bubali Plas Bird Sanctuary—with a bird-watching tower overlooking marsh areas—located adjacent to the Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba in the high-rise hotel area of Palm Beach.

Aruba has a large array of plants and flowers. One of them is “Palo di Boonchi’, Aruba’s Bean Plant, known for its beautiful flowers and medical use. In this article you can find out more about this tree.

Synchronized swimming requires a unique combination of overall body strength and agility, grace and beauty, split-second timing, musical interpretation, stamina and dramatic flair. Internationally in synchronized swimming three events are recognized: solo, duet and team. For Aruba's Gold medalist Anouk Eman, her swimming techniques did not disappoint.

Governor Refunjol got the honor to pin the medal on Sarah-Quita Offringa and to hand over the letter declaring her of “Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau”. Friends and family gathered at the Aruba House in the Netherlands to be part of this special occasion.

Aruban windsurfing world champion Sarah-Quita Offringa is appointed as youngest Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau (Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau). The Order of Orange-Nassau is a chivalry order founded in 1892 by Queen Emma of the Netherlands. Persons can get appointed to the Order of Orange-Nassau for their exceptional contributions to society.

The winner of the 2012 Visit Aruba video contest has arrived in Aruba and is very excited to begin his Aruba adventure. Thanks to the participating sponsors to whom we are very grateful for their generosity, we have overloaded David Kohlmeier from Austria with Gift Certificates and tons of stuff to do. He has come armed with two Go-Pro cameras and we are sure he will be documenting every minute of his super vacation to further expose Aruba to the as-yet-untapped Austrian market!

Aruba’s Special Olympics Committee and their athletes are planning an unique performance for this year’s Special Olympics Awareness Month in May. Cas di Cultura will be the host of this musical and dance show on May 11th and 12th.