Photo: Juli S.
The music will be running non-stop from now until the final Jump Up after the last truck passes on Sunday. And then Monday will be a much-needed national day of rest. For most people, Carnaval climaxes with the Big Parade in Oranjestad. But the more adventurous Arubians, those who aren’t too worn out from celebrating their own Carnaval, will keep the party moving in neighboring Curaçao.
Curaçao keeps a similar parade schedule, albeit with a different flavor than Aruba. But they extend it a bit further with a Grand Farewell Parade, sometimes referred to as the Momo Parade, on the Tuesday after the big parades on both islands. Arubians who aren’t ready to let go of Carnaval will fly over to Curaçao for the farewell parade on Tuesday night, and then watch the burning of the Momo the next day. (Aruba has it’s own Momito/Momo events, but they pale in comparison to those on Curaçao).
All-in-all, Arubian Carnaval is a monster of a party that will shine in a big way all the way through the weekend. It’s not to be missed.