Rincon, The Oldest Town In Bonaire

The heart of Bonaire's culture, tradition and history beats in the town of Rincon. While it's a relatively quiet town, the four annual festivals (Simadan festival (harvest festival) Dia di San Juan or San Pedro, Mascarada and the Bari festival) bring this sleepy town to life with costumed dancers in the street, singing and other traditional shananigans in which the locals partake. The market on the last Saturday of every month and a smaller version on every other Saturday is called marshe chikitu and is a hagglers paradise. And as the oldest town in Bonaire there are plenty of historic buildings to check out in Rincon when you’re not shopping for goodies at the market.

Mangazina de Rey (the King's Storehouse) is worth a visit. This is the second-oldest building on Bonaire, and was originally used to store provisions for the slave families. Now a museum, it is an important part of the history of Bonaire. As well, the Mangazina de Rey is where local children are educated in the traditions of their ancestors. Here they learn about traditional food, songs, costmes and dances. Don't be surprised if you are offered a traditional Bonaire drink and to partake in some Wapa dance steps.

The Dutch built the first Catholic church in 1776. As well as being used as a place of worship for the Dutch, this church was also used to educate the slaves in the ways of Catholicism. It has been restored several times, most recently in 1984. While the church is no longer in it's original form, it still has historical significance.

The Grotto of Lourdes is a cave just south of Rincon. In 1958 a statue of the Virgin Mary and Bernadette was placed in the cave as a holy sanctuary to offer the people of Bonaire a place of reflection. The cave with statues can still be viewed today. A shrine offers a place of worship at the Grotto site.

The majority of the people living in Rincon are relatives of the Slaves. The men of the families were forced to do back-breaking labour on the salt mines and plantations. They were given dog-house like shelter, known today as the slave huts still standing in the south east of Bonaire. These men would make the long 7 hour trek to Rincon, at the beginning of every weekend and make the return trip back for work on the Monday.

Guided tours of the town can be booked in Rincon or in Kralendijk. These tours explore the historic buildings of significance, taking you to some of the original houses and offering insight into Rincon’s past. The tours are usually on Saturdays to coincide with the markets.

Bonaire celebrates their four festivals with the four season's: The winter festival is the Mascarada (Mascarade) which is celebrated on New Year's Day through January 6.

The spring festival is the Simadan (Harvest Festival) celebrated in March and April. This year's (2011) festival main event takes place on Easter Monday April 25.

The summer festival is the Feast of San Juan (St. John), San Pedro (St. Peter) and San Pablo (St. Paul). This year (2011) the festival takes place on June 24 and June 29.

The fall festival is the Bari festival, which takes place December 1.

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