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a8 local
Friday 30 June 2023

Take your car off the beaten track to meet our monuments and their stories

ORANJESTAD — The mix the US (art deco style like
of cultures in Aruba is very the water tower in San
visible in its architecture Nicolas), Holland (Dutch
as -like in all cultures-, colonial style) or Co-
monuments reflect your lombia/Venezuela. “This
history and your people. house is inspired by a villa
If you take the chance to around Cartagena, Co-
leave the beach for a little lombia. The ideas mostly
while and take your car came from the wives”, she
off the beaten track you says laughing.
will be surprised what you
see. Anne Witsenburg is Sustainable driven
director of the Monument Sustainability is a big
Fund Aruba (SMFA) and thing to the Monument
points out precisely why Fund Aruba. Witsenburg:
a monumental trip should “Obviously to restore old
not lack in your vacation’s buildings and not destroy
itinerary. them to build new ones
is already sustainable in
The fund owns 15 monu- itself. Than we have the
ments, out of the 36 pro- technical sustainability as
tected monuments in the in using the right materi-
island. “But there are over packed in certain areas mental Guide comes in tected monument. “We als and techniques but
300 more monuments on nowadays. They have handy as there are three also have the task to main- also the social sustainabil-
the list to be protected more than 20 years of maps inside that guide tain the buildings which is ity. That includes looking
and of course we dream United Nations Education- you to the monuments an ongoing process. The at the non-tangible part
to see that become real- al, Scientific and Cultural and tell you about them. wind, the salt in the air of heritage: the stories to
ity as soon as possible.” Organization (UNESCO) But there are also possibili- and the sun that not only be told, the music to be
The international guide- heritage. Than scattered ties to have your personal burns human bodies but played, the dinners that
lines that apply for monu- around the rest of the is- people guide. And the also buildings are huge were cooked in the plac-
ments decide whether it land you will see the small- best is that I can almost challenges. Next to that es we try to restore. That
will be a protected monu- er country houses.” Aruba guarantee you the magic we do education, create keeps it alive. Most of our
ment or not. “The build- and Bonaire were called of the local touch when awareness and maintain monuments are meant to
ing or object needs to the useless islands in the you bump into an authen- public relations about our be lived in so we would
be at least 50 years old, colonial time, so any In- tic cunucu house (coun- monuments.” like to reintroduce the joy
a special value in archi- dian willing to live here try house) and talk to the of living in a monument.
tecture or to history or to was given a small piece owners. They will proudly The office of the Monu- We work together with pri-
the people of Aruba is re- of land to build his home. share their family history ment Fund is actually lo- vate companies to look
quired and there has to “That is the reason you with you.” cated in a monument into that.” In their office
be a certain uniqueness. If find all these typical small itself. The building is beau- they installed solar pan-
it was changed too much houses scattered around Outside inspiration tiful and has a tropical els, use LED lightning and
throughout time or there the island. We actually The Monument Fund ac- style. “This house goes recently implemented an
are already any of the have the same amount of quires or buys monuments back to the 1920’s when electrical charging point
same kind it is a no go.” monuments as Curacao and restores them back it was built as a vacation for electric vehicles.
though way smaller.” into their former glory. house by Aruban entre-
Useless islands Than they rent it out. “That preneur Croes. He and The Monument Fund Aru-
There is a difference be- Magic local touch sounds easy, but it is in- his family came here to ba is open every day from
tween the islands when it Some of the monuments credibly complex as most the outdoors as in those Monday to Friday from
comes to monuments, as owned by the Monument monuments have multiple times there was only cu- 8am to 5pm. You are more
Witsenburg explains. “That Fund Aruba are the light owners due to the fact nucu (countryside) here. than welcome to ask for
goes back to their history. house, town hall, water that inheritances are split They had big parties and information, guiding and
Curacao used to be a tanks in both Oranjestad and all need to decide enjoyed leisure time with help. For more information
very wealthy island where and San Nicolas. “We are upon the selling.” They family and friends.” Rich- check out their Facebook
many -mainly Dutch- mer- wealthy in different styled cooperate with the gov- er Arubans at that time page stichting monu-
chants lived close togeth- monuments and my sug- ernment office of monu- looked outwards for archi- menten fonds aruba and
er and that is the reason gestion is to discover this ments because they set tecture inspiration as that the website http://www.
you find this typical colo- world outside of the tour- the rules of what you can was considered chic, Wit- monumentenfondsaruba.
nial Dutch style buildings ist zone. The book Monu- and cannot do to a pro- senburg explains. Either to com.q