(Oranjestad)—On Saturday night, the Tumba Festival took place at the Aruba Carnival & Entertainment Village in San Nicolas, where—for the first time in the history of the festival—the crown went to both a father and his daughter, marking a legacy for the Franken family.
The festival began on Friday night with the children’s and youth participants. During the colorful evening, three different performances were presented, starting with Jaymerson Kelly and his song “Oloshi Cana Pami,” which stood out as a favorite among the crowd in attendance. Alyna Henriquez, with her song “Nos Por,” also caused a stir in the competition, and Hailey Cataleya Koolman delivered a sublime performance with “Ban Carg’e.” Despite being a very small category, the audience greatly enjoyed the lineup.
In the Children’s category, Jaymerson Kelly was crowned King of Tumba Kids 2026.
There was also the Teens category, in which several performances captured the audience’s attention. Participants in this category included Caylee Pietersz with her song “Macutu Magico”; Jayvion Machado with “Amor”; Geovon Maduro with “Drecha mi pa mi bay”; Reanne Ras with “Mir’e Lastra Bin”; Ayshelyne Trimon with “Lastra Lastra”; Melody Franken with “Ban cu mi”; and Stephanie Quandt with her song “Ey mi ta bay.”
All were strong participants with tremendous performances. In this category, Melody Franken was crowned Queen of Tumba Teens 2026. This is Melody’s second title; she was also Queen of Tumba Teens 2025.
After the festival concluded for the younger categories, it continued with the adult category, which featured six bands with their singers competing for the Tumba crown.
The King of Tumba crown went to Roderick “Rocco” Franken, representing his band Buleria with their song “Decreto Oficial.” With this, both Rocco and Melody—father and daughter—became the first family to win the Tumba Festival.
