Island of Music: The Bonaire Heineken Jazz Festival 2008

"A speech should be like a woman's skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to be interesting." With those amusing words the Lt. Governor of Bonaire officially opened the 2008 Bonaire Heineken Jazz Festival and a warm Caribbean evening in May got a little hotter as local favorites the Foyan Boyz took the stage. With eleven members on stage the band had an easy time of it in their role as party starters. Fronted by singer Dennis Anthony, the Foyan Boyz quickly had the crowd clapping, swaying and swinging along to a rhythmic blend of African and Caribbean sounds. Several hundred people showed up for the night's entertainment that took place only yards from the seashore in the square at Fort Oranje in Bonaire's main city, Kralendijk. Linda Antony took the stage next, covering classic tunes like Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So." Backed by keyboard player Hans Faassen, Antony sang songs in French, Spanish and even the local Papiamento dialect. The much beloved Izaline Calister, a beautiful songbird from the nearby island of Curacao, closed the evening with a sublime set. With Izaline's music riding a gentle breeze out to sea, any passing sailors must surely have thought they were approaching heaven. 

The notion of Bonaire as paradise is not a new one. Bonaire acted long ago to protect its dozens of world-renowned dive sites and to designate a large portion of the island as a national park. Dive charters go out in relatively small groups allowing for an unhurried and more intimate look at the underwater denizens of the all-coral island. In Washington Slagbaai National Park snorkelers can drive themselves right to several different dive spots; secluded coves where in all likelihood their party will be the only ones in the water. The park is a nature sanctuary and driving, hiking or bicycling through affords many varied and stunning vistas of the sea as it laps at sandy stretches or crashes against coral walls. Goats and wild pigs freely roam the area; they're descendants of the island's early settlers. 

The park's loop road winds through cactus-studded hills and by small lakes of seawater called salt pans; these are good places to spot one of Bonaire's national symbols, the flamingo. Large flocks of the tall birds play in the water and you can tell a lot about individual birds by how much pink coloring they have (ask a park ranger.) This is also a good place to keep an eye out for colorful parrots and parakeets as well as the ubiquitous iguana and many types of smaller lizards. With stops for photos, the loop road takes a couple of hours (by car) to navigate at a leisurely speed. There's a small but very informative museum at the park entrance and there is also something very unusual---a whale skeleton. The fully intact remains were obtained by the park some years back after the unfortunate creature was skewered by the nose of an arriving cruise ship. 

On the way back to Kralendijk there's a small restaurant called Maiky's Snack Shop. This is a place favored by the locals and you'll need to ask directions as to how to get there but going just a little off the beaten path to have lunch at Maiky's is well worth it. The menu includes popular Bonairean dishes like conch and stewed goat and no matter what you order you'll get a large plate that'll fill you up. The meals are served outdoors on a covered patio so you may have an inquisitive iguana or two stop by to say hello.

The Bonaire Heineken Jazz Festival celebrated its fourth year in 2008 and in each of those years the second and third nights (Friday and Saturday) of entertainment have been held at the luxurious Plaza Resort Bonaire. The hotel has a long and wide expanse of beach and a stage is set up right on the sand so festival goers can dance barefoot if they choose. The 2008 shows offered a little something for everyone as the weekend nights came alive to sensuous Latin music from Venezuelan band Pablo Gil's Empatia and the city-cool jazz of New York bandleader Willie Martinez and his La Familia Sextet. 

Aruban band Tin Foil played a set of original rock reminiscent of the hippie era and local favorite Scott Katzev amazed the crowd with incredible sax solos as he guested on Tin Foil's set and on a set by the Student Band Bonaire. Izaline Calister made a reprise appearance too, this time with a larger band. Of course since the main sponsor of the event is Heineken there was plenty of cold Dutch beer on hand and the Plaza served up huge hamburgers, chicken-on-a-stick and other eat-on-the-beach goodies. 

The whole aura of the event was very friendly, much like a family picnic since most of the people in the crowd knew each other as is typical of the population of the entire island. That feeling is part of what makes a visit to Bonaire so unique and appealing; it's everything you want from a Caribbean experience without the hustle-bustle. The festival closed out with a jam session brunch at the Divi Flamingo Resort on Sunday as drummer Willie Martinez fronted a revolving band of musicians that treated the audience as they filled up on a huge array of breakfast and lunch delicacies and deserts. Almost everyone took their plate back to the buffet for a refill and a few days of music, food and fun on Bonaire will have you wanting to come back for seconds too. The next Bonaire Heineken Jazz Festival will be held in May, 2009. 

 www.tourismbonaire.com

www.plazaresortbonaire.com

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