After more than a decade of educating training and helping, especially underprivileged youngsters on the island, to develop themselves musically, the Pernell Saturnino Foundation wants to take it a step further.
The foundation of this project aims to promote, elevate and make the typical rhythms of Curaçao, more accessible to our nation and the world.
To share my God-given talents with others to relate to and conserve the typical musical heritage of Curaçao and all its traditions by making it universally accessible for training, development, and innovation.
By the time slavery was abolished in Curaçao in 1863, for over 400 years more than 15 million men, women, and children were victims of the tragic transatlantic slave trade. In Curaçao, enslaved people arrived often from Africa and were bought and sold on the docks in Willemstad before continuing to their ultimate destination.
Approximately 10.000 of these slaves remained on the island and left their cultural footprint. Curaçao has some traditional rhythms which have uniformity with the music of countries around the world.
The Tumba, Tambu, SEU, Dansa, and Musika Alegre (Muzik di Zumbi) are pivotal elements of the intangible cultural and musical heritage of Curaçao. the foundation impersonated by Pernell Saturnino took the initiative to start a project in which he will continue the quest of our traditions and music.