Aruba to me: “We love this island”

ORANJESTAD — You are back and we would like to portrait you! By inviting you to send us your favorite vacation picture while enjoying our Happy Island.

Complete the sentence: Aruba to me is ……. Send your picture with that text (including your name and where you are from) to: news@arubatoday.com and we will publish your vacation memory. Isn’t that a special way to keep your best moments alive? Please do note: By submitting photos, text or any other materials, you give permission to The Aruba Today Newspaper, Caribbean Speed Printers and any of its affiliated companies to use said materials, as well as names, likeness, etc. for promotional purposes without compensation.

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For today we received a lovely message from Silvia and Ubirajara Canabarro from Porto Alegre, Brasil.

They wrote to us saying: “Coming to Aruba is the most anticipated moment of the year for us. Returning to this enchanting corner of the world is always special. We love this island.”

Thank you for sending us this wonderful message sharing what Aruba means to you with us and our readers!

By JAIMIE DING

Associated Press

The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against some of the nation’s top food manufacturers on Tuesday, arguing that ultraprocessed food from the likes of Coca-Cola and Nestle are responsible for a public health crisis.

City Attorney David Chiu named 10 companies in the lawsuit, including the makers of such popular foods as Oreo cookies, Sour Patch Kids, Kit Kat, Cheerios and Lunchables. The lawsuit argues that ultraprocessed foods are linked to diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and cancer.

“They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body,” Chiu said in a news release. “These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused.”

Ultraprocessed foods include candy, chips, processed meats, sodas, energy drinks, breakfast cereals and other foods that are designed to “stimulate cravings and encourage overconsumption,” Chiu’s office said in the release. Such foods are “formulations of often chemically manipulated cheap ingredients with little if any whole food added,” Chiu wrote in the lawsuit.

The other companies named in the lawsuit are PepsiCo; Kraft Heinz Company; Post Holdings; Mondelez International; General Mills; Kellogg; Mars Incorporated; and ConAgra Brands.

None of the companies named in the suit immediately responded to emailed requests for comment.

The Consumer Brands Association, a trade group that represents many food manufacturers, said companies adhere to the safety standards established by the Food and Drug Administration.

“There is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods and attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health disparities,” Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy for the group, said in a statement.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been vocal about the negative impact of ultraprocessed foods and their links to chronic disease and has targeted them in his Make America Healthy Again campaign. Kennedy has pushed to ban such foods from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for low-income families.

An August report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that most Americans get more than half their calories from ultraprocessed foods.

In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law to phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade.

San Francisco’s lawsuit cites several scientific studies on the negative impact of ultraprocessed foods on human health.

“Mounting research now links these products to serious diseases—including Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, colorectal cancer, and even depression at younger ages,” University of California, San Francisco, professor Kim Newell-Green said in the news release.

The lawsuit argues that by producing and promoting ultraprocessed foods, the companies violate California’s Unfair Competition Law and public nuisance statute. It seeks a court order preventing the companies from “deceptive marketing” and requiring them to take actions such as consumer education on the health risks of ultraprocessed foods and limiting advertising and marketing of ultraprocessed foods to children.

It also asks for financial penalties to help local governments with health care costs caused by the consumption of ultraprocessed foods.

By MARCIA DUNN

AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Billionaire spacewalker Jared Isaacman urged senators on Wednesday to take swift action on his bid to lead NASA, after being yanked and then renominated by President Donald Trump.

Isaacman appeared before the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in Washington eight months after his first nomination hearing. The tech entrepreneur who’s rocketed into orbit twice with SpaceX stressed the need for “full-time leadership” at NASA as the space agency prepares to send astronauts back to the moon early next year.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been filling in as NASA’s acting administrator since summer.

Returning astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years will be “a challenging endeavor to say the least,” Isaacman told the committee led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

NASA is targeting early next year for a lunar flyaround by four astronauts. They won’t land on the moon; that would happen in another mission. The goal is to beat the Chinese there by the end of the decade.

“This is not the time for delay but a time for action because if we fall behind — if we make a mistake — we may never catch up, and the consequences could shift the balance of power here on Earth,” Isaacman told the committee.

Cruz agreed. “NASA cannot take its eyes off the ball,” he said, referring to China’s looming moon plans. “The United States must remain the unquestioned leader in space exploration.”

Isaacman was within days of being confirmed by the Senate as NASA’s 15th administrator when Trump pulled his nomination in May. The move came soon after Trump’s falling out with SpaceX’s Elon Musk. The president renominated Isaacman last month.

Cruz said Isaacman’s second appearance “feels a bit like Groundhog Day” and hopes to have him confirmed by the end of the year.

In response to questioning by senators, Issacman described both the moon and Mars as priorities for exploration by U.S. crews, with parallel efforts underway. He said he supports Duffy’s recent move to reopen the contract for the lunar lander needed for the first touchdown by astronauts under NASA’s Artemis program.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX won the original crew lunar lander contract with Starship, but the mega rocket remains in flight testing. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is hustling to gain the lead with its Blue Moon landers; a prototype is due to launch early next year.

Isaacman assured the senators that NASA will go with the first company capable of delivering U.S. astronauts to the lunar surface. “The best thing for SpaceX is a Blue Origin right on their heels, and vice versa,” he said. He also supports competition among world powers — “just as long as we don’t lose.”

The 42-year-old founder of the payment processing company Shift4 performed the world’s first private spacewalk last fall. He bankrolled both of his spaceflights. Several astronauts were present for the hearing, including some of Isaacman’s own crewmates.

Etnia Nativa: Your peek into Native magic, healing the spirit.

Article by Etnia Nativa call us 592 2702 and book your experience!

Etnia Nativa celebrates the island’s native ethnicity—linking our ancestral roots to survival knowledge, herbal wisdom, practical know-how, the ability to navigate by reading the stars, and the skill to predict the weather. These are the ways of our elders, passed down from their elders through unfathomable generations. Aruba’s identity is deeply rooted in this ancestral heritage.

Imagine a landscape of scorching heat, dry thorny terrain, and no fresh water—and yet our ancestors thrived. Discover their world through this unique interaction. Participate in a one-of-a-kind private experience that offers a native perspective, one that both educates and inspires an “island caretaker and eco-defender” mindset.

Today, we share a chapter of the island’s identity—one rooted not only in survival, but also in spirituality. In this episode, we journey into the heart of Aruba’s Christmas faith, where devotion, tradition, and community illuminated the season long before electric lights ever did.

In early December, Aruba transforms into a dazzling Christmas celebration known locally as Pasco. Streets glow with decorations that sparkle through the night. Yet this vibrant tradition is relatively new; the island’s history of Christmas reaches much further back—beginning when the Spaniards introduced the Bible in the mid-18th century, long before electricity arrived.

Before Christmas lights decorated Aruba, people awaited the holiday with deep anticipation, holding dearly to cherished customs. Families cleaned and painted their homes, and one beautiful tradition involved tying three aloe leaves with a bright red ribbon and hanging them above doors and windows—an amulet meant to welcome the ever-living spirits of peace and harmony into their homes.

Families gathered to share beloved dishes such as Christmas ham, ayaca (a type of tamale), goat stew, stuffed turkey, oliebollen, and delicious blends of Dutch and local desserts. They warmed their spirits with chuculati di pinda, a comforting blend of hot milk, honey, and ground peanuts, or they cheered with cream punch. At dawn, they faithfully attended the Aurora Mass, celebrated with the first light of day. Aurora symbolizes the blessed sunrise—the divine light emerging from the East, a reminder of hope revealed rather than hidden.

The ideal spot for this daybreak ceremony was on the island’s north coast, where the chapel of Alto Vista now stands, considered the cradle of Aruba’s Mestizo Christian faith. Today it attracts visitors from around the world, yet for locals it remains a sanctuary of tranquility—a place for spiritual grounding, rich in historical traditions of faith.

An old island manuscript from December 1760 recounts the final days of an elderly community member named Antonio Gregorio, a resident of the Alto Vista area—a story of unwavering faith. Deeply devout and gravely ill, Antonio feared he would die without receiving the holy sacraments. His greatest wish was to be spiritually prepared before his passing. He begged his family and neighbors to pray that a priest would reach Alto Vista in time—an urgent plea, as there was no priest on the island.

In the days leading up to Christmas Eve, the community gathered each night at the chapel to pray for him. As Antonio weakened, he remained steadfast, urging the prosecutor of Alto Vista and all the residents to prepare for Christmas with devotion, trusting that God would not abandon him.

After eight days of prayer, and still no news of a priest, a miracle occurred at dawn. A group of horsemen appeared, led by Guillermo, a longtime resident returning from Venezuela—and with him rode Father Maximiliano.

Joy swept through the community as neighbors rushed to tell Antonio that his prayers had been answered. Father Maximiliano dressed in his vestments and immediately went to Antonio’s bedside, heard his confession, and promised to administer the Last Rites at dawn to give the moment greater solemnity. Overwhelmed by the significance of the event, the prosecutor raised two flags to signal that something extraordinary was happening, drawing people from across the region.

At midnight, Father Maximiliano celebrated his first Dawn Mass on the island. Afterward, the people lit torches and accompanied him to Antonio’s home, where he anointed the dying man with the Holy Oils. Later that day, as the priest prepared for an afternoon procession, a messenger arrived urgently: Antonio was near death. Father Maximiliano returned with several neighbors and knelt beside him in prayer.

Surrounded by his community, Antonio suddenly sat up, stretched out his arms, and cried out for God’s mercy, asking to be received into His divine presence. Moments later, he passed away peacefully on Christmas Day, having received the sacraments he had longed for.

If you’ve enjoyed discovering our ancestral stories and wish to delve deeper into the true Aruba, we invite you to experience Etnia Nativa—the only “living museum” of its kind, celebrating the island’s rich mestizo heritage (cultural blending).Visits are by appointment only: Contact us by Whatsapp+297 592 2702 or mail etnianativa03@gmail.comfor details.

(Oranjestad)—CAYA, one of Aruba’s most beloved dining destinations, continues to celebrate the vibrant essence of Latin Caribbean cuisine with an exciting new menu that beautifully balances tradition and innovation.

Nestled in a beautifully restored traditional Aruban Cunucu house, surrounded by lush tropical greenery, CAYA offers guests a dining experience that feels both authentic and contemporary. The restaurant’s philosophy is simple yet profound: to create a space where the warmth of island hospitality meets the creativity of modern gastronomy.

The new menu reflects this vision with a series of inspired dishes that showcase the diversity of Caribbean and Latin American flavors. From Cuba to Colombia, and from Aruba to Mexico, each plate tells a story rooted in heritage and reimagined through CAYA’s modern lens.

Among the standout new appetizers are the Tuna al Tamarindo, featuring thinly sliced tuna sashimi served with tamarind leche de tigre, creamy avocado, marinated onions, radishes, cilantro, and crispy tortillas dusted with tajín; and the Beef Stew Croquettes, a playful nod to Caribbean comfort food, served with truffle and black garlic mayonnaise. Guests can also savor the Beef and Pork Brochetas, made with locally smoked bacon, Madam Jeannette peppers, local honey, and tenderloin, grilled to perfection and served with chimichurri espuma.

The main courses bring equal excitement. Highlights include the Chilean Sea Bass, pan fried and served with a smooth carrot and ají amarillo sauce, creamy garlic mashed potatoes, grilled paksoi and broccoli, hearts of palm, toasted cashews, and a fragrant lime leaf vinaigrette. Another showstopper is the Duck and Rice, a Caribbean interpretation of a Peruvian classic, featuring pan fried duck breast with aromatic green rice infused with local herbs, kombucha, and ají amarillo, finished with a pan fried egg and sarsa criolla.

Dessert lovers are in for a treat as well. The Caribbean Black Forest reimagines the classic with a tropical twist, featuring a rich brownie served with red fruit, coconut mousse, chocolate, and banana rum ice cream. The Merengon Tropical delights with sage panna cotta, mango and pineapple compote, mango sorbet, and citrus meringue.

Guests can also enjoy CAYA’s new Sabor Experience, a limited time three course menu priced at $79, allowing diners to explore an appetizer, main course, and dessert of their choice.

To complete the experience, CAYA hosts live music every Sunday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., setting the perfect backdrop for an evening of island charm and culinary artistry.

CAYA continues to invite locals and visitors alike to experience the heart of Aruba, where Latin Caribbean heritage comes alive in every dish, every note of music, and every heartfelt welcome.