When is Rincon Day?
Rincon Day is a public holiday in the Caribbean island of Bonaire on Queen Julianna's birthday, April 30th. This means it falls hot on the heels of King's Birthday on April 27th creating a fun holiday break.
Dia di Rincon is Bonaire's biggest festival of the year. As a Legal holiday, most businesses and government offices will be closed.
History of Rincon Day
Harvest time on Bonaire, in the Leeward Antilles, takes place from February to early May and is marked by special events called Simadan. This traditional harvest festival season culminates on Rincon Day.
Rincon is one of two towns on Bonaire - the other is the capital, Kralendijk. Originally founded by the Spanish, Rincon became a location for plantations of the Dutch West Indies Company in the 8th century.
As with other colonial Caribbean conquests, this meant the arrival of slaves from Africa to work on the plantations. The festivals of Simadan evolved from the slaves celebrating that they had earned a few days respite after the end of the painstaking harvest.
Once freed, many of the former slaves became farmers on the island and the tradition of Simadan continued.
Nowadays, agriculture has been replaced by tourism on the island and Rincon Day, which has been celebrated for about 30 years, is as much about celebrating the unique culture and heritage of the islanders than as a harvest festival.
Rincon Day starts at 7 am with a thanksgiving mass in the town's Catholic church followed by a flag-raising ceremony. With these formal commemorations out of the way nice and early, Rincon Day gives way to a more carnival atmosphere with lots of eating, drinking, singing and dancing. The highlight is the traditional Simadan parade, which makes its way through the town in the afternoon.
Learn more about the celebration of Rincon Day in this video from Bonaire Tourism:
Felis dia di Rincon!
