A pagara is a long mat of firecrackers, laid out along a street or a building front and lit at one end so that it cracks without a break for minutes. Businesses in Curaçao burn them at year end to drive the old year out.
The reason given for it is consistent across the island. The noise and the smoke chase off bad spirits and the bad luck of the year that is ending, so the new one can be entered clean. It is businesses that burn them, bars, restaurants, shops and institutions, rather than private households, and Dutch language Curaçao media describe the practice as a friendly competition between local firms over who lays out the longest mat. The tradition sits inside a wider set of year end customs that the Dutch public broadcaster NTR has documented, from the deep clean of the house to the burning of incense, and it is covered in the hotel's guide to Christmas and New Year in Curaçao.
The noise and the smoke are not a side effect. They are the whole point
Pagaras are a daylight event. They are burned in the days before and on 31 December, usually through the afternoon rather than at midnight, and reports from the island describe pagara parties on most days from roughly 26 December onward. Fireworks proper are a separate thing on the same night: the Curaçao news outlet nu.CW reported the rule that fireworks may legally be set off only on 31 December and 1 January. For where that tradition sits in the island's calendar, see the Curaçao festivals and events guide.
- Collection
- Holidays & Carnival
- In the series
- No. 105 of 105
- From the hotel
- 8 min on foot
- Papiamentu
- pagara
- Burned
- Late December, daylight
- Good to know
- 4 notes
- Questions
- 9 answered
- Last checked
- 24 September 2026
- Read
- 6 min
What does a pagara sound and smell like?
A burning pagara is a continuous wall of sharp cracks that carries several streets, and it runs for minutes rather than seconds. The mat is lit at one end and the fire travels along it, so the sound does not arrive in bursts, it arrives as one long roll. A thick grey cloud of gunpowder smoke follows it down the street and hangs in the lanes afterwards, with the flat sulphur smell of spent firecrackers. Red paper scraps cover the road for hours.
Where is the longest pagara in Willemstad?
The best known pagara in Willemstad runs through the Pietermaai district, roughly 1.5 km from Scuba Lodge to Café de Tijd, and Dutch language Curaçao travel media report it being lit at 15:00 on 31 December as part of a free street party. Pietermaai is the quarter immediately east of Punda, about 8 minutes on foot from the hotel door at 3 Breedestraat. The burn has run for several recent years.
That route and that time are the reported pattern, not a published schedule. No 2026 edition had been announced as of 24 September 2026. Punda businesses burn their own pagaras along Breedestraat and the surrounding shopping lanes, but no street, time or organiser for those could be sourced, so none is named here.
How do you protect your ears at a pagara?
Bring ear protection and put it on before the mat is lit, because a pagara is loud enough to be uncomfortable at close range and it cannot be stopped once it is running. Foam plugs are enough for most adults. Over ear defenders are better for anyone sensitive to noise. Stand well back from the end being lit, keep upwind of the smoke if you can read the trade wind, and expect the crowd to close in behind you.
What should you do with small children?
Put ear defenders on small children before the mat is lit, keep them at the far end of the run or on a side street, and decide in advance that you will walk away rather than wait it out. The sound is sudden, continuous and very close, and the smoke is thick. Many families watch from a terrace a street back, where the spectacle is still obvious and the volume is survivable. If a child is noise sensitive, the honest advice is to be somewhere else when the long mat is lit and to enjoy the aftermath instead, when the street is red with paper.
Has a 2026 pagara been announced?
No. As of 24 September 2026 no organiser had published a 2026 pagara programme for Pietermaai or for Punda. The Pietermaai burn has run in recent years and is likely to run again, but the date, the route and the start time are set locally and set late.
How to check: watch the organisers' own channels through December, follow Curaçao news outlets, or ask at the front desk when you arrive. Do not plan a flight, a transfer or a table around an unannounced start time. The Queen Emma pontoon bridge, two minutes from the door, is a fixed point you can plan around; a pagara is not.
Good to know
- Pagara is Papiamentu and carries no accent. Anglophone usage pluralises it as pagaras.
- They are burned in daylight, mostly through the afternoon, and not at midnight.
- Fireworks are a separate thing. nu.CW reported that they may legally be set off only on 31 December and 1 January.
- Pietermaai, where the long pagara runs, is about 8 minutes on foot from 3 Breedestraat.
Questions & answers
What is a pagara in Curaçao?
A pagara is a long mat or string of firecrackers bound together, laid along a street or the front of a building in Curaçao and lit at one end so that it crackles continuously for minutes. Businesses burn them at year end. The noise and the smoke are meant to drive out bad spirits and the bad luck of the old year, so that the new year can begin clean.
When are pagaras burned in Curaçao?
Pagaras are burned in the days leading up to 31 December and on the day itself, in daylight and usually through the afternoon. Local reports describe pagara parties on most days from roughly 26 December onward. They are not a midnight event. The midnight fireworks over Sint Anna Bay are a separate tradition on the same night.
Where can I see a pagara in Willemstad?
The best known one runs through the Pietermaai district, about 8 minutes on foot from 3 Breedestraat, along a route of roughly 1.5 km between Scuba Lodge and Café de Tijd. Dutch language Curaçao travel media report it being lit at 15:00 on 31 December in recent years. Punda businesses also burn their own pagaras along the shopping streets, without a published schedule.
Is it dangerous to stand near a pagara?
A pagara is a live pyrotechnic and it is very loud. Keep well back from the lit end, wear ear protection, and put ear defenders on children. Once a long mat is running it cannot be stopped and the crowd will close in behind you, so choose where you stand before it is lit rather than after.
Sources, and what is not settled
Nothing on this page is a published 2026 schedule. The pagara is a pattern, described here as a pattern.
- NTR Caribisch Netwerk, five Curaçao New Year traditions. caribischnetwerk.ntr.nl
- nu.CW, fireworks sales and rules. nu.cw
- naarcuracao.com, oud en nieuw in Curaçao. www.naarcuracao.com
- curacao365.nl, jaarwisseling. curacao365.nl
Last checked by Majestic City Palace Hotel, 3 Breedestraat, Punda, Willemstad. Anything unannounced above is marked as unannounced. Corrections are made in place and dated.