Izaline Calister

Izaline Calister (born in Curaçao, March 9, 1969) is a singer and songwriter of Dutch-Curaçaoan citizenship. Growing up in her native Curaçao for eighteen years, Calister moved to Groningen, the Netherlands, where she studied at the Prins Claus Conservatorium. Calister's music combines the Afro-Caribbean-Calypso influences of her native Curaçao with jazz, creating a unique blend of music. These influences and musical features consist of rhythms, dances and songs from the island, of which she adapts and composes to accommodate her own unique style. Singing in her native language of Papiamento, Calister feels that of as native speaker of such a unique yet widely unexposed language to the international community, a language also of a very select group of users, it is her duty to be an ambassador of her language. She currently gives concerts and partakes in musical festivals around the globe, as well as residing in Groningen.