Raís

This album is a testimony to Papiamentu, a language spoken in the south Caribbean, and it is an offspring of mostly Portuguese mixed with some Spanish, Dutch, African and Amerindian. Randal, Kris and Jean-Jacques play these songs in a very organic experience, hence the title of the album, Raís, which is the Papiamentu word for root.

Curaçao is an island in the south Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, where centuries of cohabitation between people from European, African and Amerindian descent, albeit not in the nicest of ways, have created a rich mixture of people, language and culture. Papiamento is the language spoken on Curaçao – and neighboring Aruba and Bonaire – and it is an offspring of mostly Portuguese mixed with some Spanish, Dutch, African and Amerindian words. Just like with Portuguese, words in Papiamento are very rhythmical and percussive in structure and they also blend well into one another, making it an excellent language to sing in. This album is a testimony to that, seeing that it contains some of the most beautiful songs written in our native tongue.