Los Panderos de UWI, National Parang champions 2006, have been invited by Kas di Cultura (Ministry of Culture of the Netherlands Antilles) to perform at the Curaçao Folk Festival to be held the first week in December.

Los Parranderos de UWI, last year's national parang champions

The festival, which is in its sixth year, features folkloric groups from the Caribbean region presenting traditional Christmas songs, dances and customs of their respective countries.

This is the first year that Trinidad and Tobago will be represented at the festival alongside groups from, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Venezuela and Columbia.

Besides performances on the festival’s main stage in Willemstad, representative groups will also participate in workshops and visit schools over the week-long festival.

As part of the cultural exchange, Los Paranderos de UWI has prepared special packages highlighting the history and traditions of the Parang art form for distribution at the festival.

Given the timing of the festival and preparation required, Los Paranderos de UWI will not be defending its title in the NPATT Parang competition.

The group will however, return on time to perform as guests at the final of the NPATT Competition on Saturday, December 15.