{"id":1017,"date":"2025-10-29T14:20:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T18:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/?page_id=1017"},"modified":"2025-10-29T14:21:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T18:21:48","slug":"shon-cola","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/index.php\/shon-cola\/","title":{"rendered":"Shon Cola"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Shon Cola<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Shon Col\u00e1 \u2013 Guardian of Tamb\u00fa and the Soul of Cura\u00e7aoan Rhythm<\/strong><\/h4>

Born Nicolaas Obispu Susana<\/strong> on December 18, 1916, in Westpunt, Cura\u00e7ao, Shon Col\u00e1 grew up surrounded by rhythm, song, and community. His father was a kantad\u00f3 di salve<\/em>\u2014a singer at traditional wakes\u2014and his mother was a tamb\u00fa singer, ensuring that music was woven into the very fabric of his upbringing. From an early age, Col\u00e1\u2019s voice carried the cadence of his island; he began singing in a church choir in Janw\u00e9, learning how deeply music could move both spirit and soul.<\/p>

In 1933, at just seventeen, he made his debut as a tamb\u00fa singer with the group Sabelita di Bart\u00f3<\/em> in Hanch\u2019i Punda. His performance marked the beginning of a lifelong journey devoted to preserving and celebrating the tamb\u00fa\u2014the powerful rhythm and dance form born from the African roots of Cura\u00e7ao\u2019s people. Soon after, he formed his own group, giving voice to a generation through songs that reflected the everyday struggles, joys, and humor of his community.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Click here to download Rene Rosalia’s resume<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Shon Col\u00e1\u2019s music was more than entertainment; it was social commentary wrapped in melody and rhythm. His lyrics often spoke of the challenges and triumphs of Cura\u00e7aoan life, turning his performances into living archives of island history. In 1947, he recorded one of the first tamb\u00fa albums ever produced on Cura\u00e7ao, helping to bring the genre from backyards and community gatherings to a wider audience.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Over time, his unmistakable voice and improvisational skill earned him recognition as one of Cura\u00e7ao\u2019s greatest tamb\u00fa singers\u2014a pioneer who transformed oral tradition into a cultural legacy. In 1982, Shon Col\u00e1 was awarded the Cola Debrot Prize<\/strong>, the island\u2019s highest cultural honor, for his immense contribution to the preservation and development of tamb\u00fa music.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Today, his legacy continues through the Museo di Tamb\u00fa Shon Col\u00e1<\/strong>, a small but deeply meaningful museum dedicated to the rhythms, instruments, and stories of the tamb\u00fa tradition. Through its exhibits and community gatherings, Shon Col\u00e1\u2019s spirit lives on\u2014echoing in the beating of the drum, the call of the singer, and the shared memory of a people who turned rhythm into resilience.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shon Cola Shon Col\u00e1 \u2013 Guardian of Tamb\u00fa and the Soul of Cura\u00e7aoan Rhythm Born Nicolaas Obispu Susana on December 18, 1916, in Westpunt, Cura\u00e7ao, Shon Col\u00e1 grew up surrounded by rhythm, song, and community. His father was a kantad\u00f3 di salve\u2014a singer at traditional wakes\u2014and his mother was a tamb\u00fa singer, ensuring that music […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1017","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1017"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1022,"href":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1017\/revisions\/1022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicofcuracao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}