Afro-Arubans are Arubans who have predominantly African ancestry. Afro-Arubans are a minority ethnic group in Aruba. They speak Papiamento, an Afro-Portuguese dialect spoken in the ABC islands. The language dates back at least 300 years and is based on African linguistic structures combined with vocabulary from Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish.
Many Afro-Arubans descend from nearby islands and nations such as Sint Maarten, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Haiti, Jamaica, Curaçao, the Lesser Antilles, and/or South America. Many Afro-Arubans live in Aruba's second largest city, San Nicolaas, located on the southern tip of the island.
History
Africans were brought to Aruba by Dutch settlers during the colonial era.
Notable people
Eric Abdul
Xander Bogaerts, baseball player
Gregor Breinburg
Niesha Butler
Virginia Dementricia, rebel slave
Denzel Dumfries, football player
Boy Ecury, resistance fighter
Euson, singer
Lolita Euson, writer and poet
Bobby Farrell, dancer and singer
Ronald Gomez
Javier Jimenez
Joshua John, football player
Jim Jones (rapper) Gene Kingsale, baseball player Matthew Lentink Nickenson Paul Jonathan Ruiz Jurriën Timber Quinten Timber