Page 14 - KPA DEC 27, 2014
P. 14
DIASABRA 27 DECEMBER DIARIO PAGINA 17
Auto ta slip basha
cura di cas abou den
Caya Betico Croes
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING. My sincerest apologies for missing the Onxy Boutique opening, and the
Cartier Boutique event, heard it was great; I also couldn’t make it to the Jewels in Paradise, Italian Jewelry preview,
which claimed the entire parking lot of Palm Beach Plaza Mall as reserved. I missed the Pachanga dance studio
opening, the Bally cocktail party, the elegant Gemani event in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton, orchestrated by Octav-
io Hodge and not to leave out, the opening of Muscles & Lungs. Why can’t we spread these hooplas around a bit?
For a full year nothing ever happens, then in December, during the first two weeks, all hell breaks loose. I mostly
regret missing the Fashion with a Cause show at the Cordia garage showroom, dedicated to the Future of Physical
Impaired Children organized by Joase-Ann van der Biest, the super-human dynamo, who as a social entrepreneur
is the coordinator of Stichting Mi Por, attempting to raise sufficient funds to pay for an especially fitted bus, for the
transport of wheelchair bound individuals. The fashion show set up was spectacular, and Joase looked ravishing,
but it started late, and I had to run! I was also double-booked for the one millionth passenger arrival at the airport.
Well, you can’t be in two places at the same time.
PARTNERS IN PARADISE, FILM FESTIVAL. The Marriott Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino invited four pairs
of vloggers to the island. Just in case you missed last year’s discussion on the topic, a vlogger is a person who posts
embedded videos to his or her blog along with or instead of text and other content. These mini film makers, which
write their own movies and also star in them, created some fresh and original footage about the island from their
personal point of view. The judges liked the silent, no words, just images short, describing two single women’s
feel-good adventure, dancing around the island. Check #PartnersInParadise on instagram, facebook or youtube, and
start making your own movies.
NEW YEAR’S EVE IN ARUBA. We’re looking forward to our annual ritual. Go downtown at 12noon on New
Year’s Eve, and have lunch at the Paddock. Better yet, this year Gelatissimo is open at the head of the main street.
Then watch the Renaissance pagara around 1pm, and walk around the mall and main street to catch the Dande
bands until 3pm. We just follow the noise where the pagaras uncoil, as the merchants conclude the last business day
of 2014, detonating million of firecrackers to ward off the evil eye, and guarantee business success in 2015. Then
we go for dinner somewhere delicious, if we remember to make reservations ahead of time, because most places
attempt to close early. Around 11pm we climb on top for example the Alto Vista water tank hill, or just head out to
the beach at Fisherman’s Huts or Arashi to watch the high-rise hotels’ fireworks from across the bay. Simply the
best!
WE WANT A PIECE OF THAT PIE. A press release recently revealed that 10 Caribbean destinations reaped
$867 million, from private jet vacationers in a 6 months period in 2013-14, with the Bahamas, St. Maarten, Turks
& Caicos topping the list. To join that club Aruba really need to increase its super deluxe accommodations and
services. If this doesn’t happen tomorrow, it is something to aspire to.
A LOCAL ICON IS GONE. Musician, arranger, band leader, avid accordion player, Hildward Croes passed
away this week. His untimely death triggered a wave of national grief and mourning. I interviewed this genius vi-
sionary and poet for the Summer 2012 edition of Island Temptations Magazine, in an article titled: “Contemporary
Musicians Harmonize with Heritage & Tradition.” He said, and I am quoting: “Culture never remains the same. The
desire to incorporate one culture into the other is ever-present,” when speaking about his love for traditional Aruban
music and technology, and about his mixing Carnival rhythms, techno, and dance when he created soca trance, or
soca house with Dushi Band. “ In Carnival,” he concluded,” as in life, there is always room for modernism and
conservatism.” Having won three Grammys while considerably enriching our Island’s musical repertory, he moved
on. Rest in peace Maestro, all we can do is continue to play your lovely music. The man who played the accordion
with passion and enthusiasm lives forever in our hearts.
CUBA LIBRE. Everyone was speculating this week, what will be the effect of the thawing of U.S.-Cuba relations
on the Caribbean island in general, and on Aruba in particular. I polled my friends. The majority is saying welcome
back from the cold, after 60 years of suffering, Cubans will join humanity, the way we know it and it will take them
10-15 years to get their infrastructure in place, to attempt to attract the US tourist market. My friends in the cruise
industry say that Havana, Santiago and historical Cienfuegos, will reap the benefits earlier because those ports will
be placed on cruise itineraries as soon as possible, as new attractions in the Western Caribbean. I went to Cuba once,
it was an unforgettable experience experience. I remember skipping at night over cow pies in a vast field in Pinar
del Rio on our way to a parador, a private home restaurant serving illegally caught lobster. Getting there was an
adventure completely on its own.
NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. The Health Club & Gym at Divi Phoenix Beach Resort is about to be
converted into Pure Indulgence, a high end spa by Angie Wallace and her Indulgence by the Sea team... A new
Coconuts Store is opening this week on De Palm Island, offering a bigger and better shopping experience.
SHOPPING ANYONE?! I went shopping last week for a fashion editorial photo shoot and I am reporting my
findings: Dianleri’s D-Store is stocked with an amazing assortment of everything for everybody including fashion
belts and jewelry with Diana Helder-Lerma’s sister Delphine Marin at the cash register. She is a fun girl with a
super-friendly personality. Trash by Ronchi is equally impressive, stocked with everything in every size. Ronchi’s
sales team is service oriented and knowledgeable. Michael Kors has the best shoes in town, so get going, before
they run out of sizes, at the Renaissance Mall!! The Yolo shoe store at Paseo Herencia carries a reasonable priced
line of rhinestone encrusted dress shoes. Vice Versa Clothing and Beauty Salon is always great for accessories, as
they are well displayed and gorgeous. You know Alexandra Ochoa has good taste. Her collection of fantasia ear-
rings, is huge. If you see the gorgeous Geraldine Vidal in a floor length white dress at a Christmas party, please be
advised she bought it at T.H. Palm & Company, at Playa Linda Beach Resort. For casual home entertainment during
the holidays, you are going to look spectacular in a long Caftan from Eva Zissu’s store at the Ritz Carlton.
BREAKFAST AT THE RITZ. General Manager Steve Redkoles and his Food & Beverage crew pampered press O R A N J E S TA D ( A A N ) : Betico Croes direccion Santa
members over breakfast at the top floor presidential suite of the resort. Executive Chef Stephen Toevs and Se- Polisnan a wordo pidi pa Cruz.
nior Banquet Chef Emily Dillport came up with a menu to top all menus, including homemade yogurt parfait, presenta y atende un accidente El a slip cu caminda muha y
grandma’s granola, fresh fruit served in a coconut shell, ginger and fruit shooters, skillet hash browns with pesto riba e caminda banda di Xerox. baha caminda na man drechi
drizzled poached egg, a to-live-for vanilla and raisins soufflé, mini spinach quiche, and warm pastries. Ruben Gar- Polis di trafico a presenta. y dal den un cura di cas.
cia, Dilma Arends, Jacqueline Suttle, Yentl Lieuw Aurora Habibe, and friends were dazzled by the delicious Tabata Pasco anochi , algo E chauffeur no a keda herida.
culinary offerings. Yahira Santoni, sent out the invitations for the gathering also introducing Director of Public pasa di 10or , riba Caya Betico Takelwagen si tabata necesario
Relations for the Caribbean and Latin America, Catherine Leitner. The resort flicked the switch, lighting the lobby Croes net pariba di e rotonde pa bai cu e auto for di e sitio.
gingerbread lighthouse, and pledging funds for its much-needed restoration, one festive evening last week, in a cu un auto a caba di subi Caya E cura a wordo basha abou.
much-appreciated gesture. RC@visitaruba.com
Auto ta slip basha
cura di cas abou den
Caya Betico Croes
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING. My sincerest apologies for missing the Onxy Boutique opening, and the
Cartier Boutique event, heard it was great; I also couldn’t make it to the Jewels in Paradise, Italian Jewelry preview,
which claimed the entire parking lot of Palm Beach Plaza Mall as reserved. I missed the Pachanga dance studio
opening, the Bally cocktail party, the elegant Gemani event in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton, orchestrated by Octav-
io Hodge and not to leave out, the opening of Muscles & Lungs. Why can’t we spread these hooplas around a bit?
For a full year nothing ever happens, then in December, during the first two weeks, all hell breaks loose. I mostly
regret missing the Fashion with a Cause show at the Cordia garage showroom, dedicated to the Future of Physical
Impaired Children organized by Joase-Ann van der Biest, the super-human dynamo, who as a social entrepreneur
is the coordinator of Stichting Mi Por, attempting to raise sufficient funds to pay for an especially fitted bus, for the
transport of wheelchair bound individuals. The fashion show set up was spectacular, and Joase looked ravishing,
but it started late, and I had to run! I was also double-booked for the one millionth passenger arrival at the airport.
Well, you can’t be in two places at the same time.
PARTNERS IN PARADISE, FILM FESTIVAL. The Marriott Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino invited four pairs
of vloggers to the island. Just in case you missed last year’s discussion on the topic, a vlogger is a person who posts
embedded videos to his or her blog along with or instead of text and other content. These mini film makers, which
write their own movies and also star in them, created some fresh and original footage about the island from their
personal point of view. The judges liked the silent, no words, just images short, describing two single women’s
feel-good adventure, dancing around the island. Check #PartnersInParadise on instagram, facebook or youtube, and
start making your own movies.
NEW YEAR’S EVE IN ARUBA. We’re looking forward to our annual ritual. Go downtown at 12noon on New
Year’s Eve, and have lunch at the Paddock. Better yet, this year Gelatissimo is open at the head of the main street.
Then watch the Renaissance pagara around 1pm, and walk around the mall and main street to catch the Dande
bands until 3pm. We just follow the noise where the pagaras uncoil, as the merchants conclude the last business day
of 2014, detonating million of firecrackers to ward off the evil eye, and guarantee business success in 2015. Then
we go for dinner somewhere delicious, if we remember to make reservations ahead of time, because most places
attempt to close early. Around 11pm we climb on top for example the Alto Vista water tank hill, or just head out to
the beach at Fisherman’s Huts or Arashi to watch the high-rise hotels’ fireworks from across the bay. Simply the
best!
WE WANT A PIECE OF THAT PIE. A press release recently revealed that 10 Caribbean destinations reaped
$867 million, from private jet vacationers in a 6 months period in 2013-14, with the Bahamas, St. Maarten, Turks
& Caicos topping the list. To join that club Aruba really need to increase its super deluxe accommodations and
services. If this doesn’t happen tomorrow, it is something to aspire to.
A LOCAL ICON IS GONE. Musician, arranger, band leader, avid accordion player, Hildward Croes passed
away this week. His untimely death triggered a wave of national grief and mourning. I interviewed this genius vi-
sionary and poet for the Summer 2012 edition of Island Temptations Magazine, in an article titled: “Contemporary
Musicians Harmonize with Heritage & Tradition.” He said, and I am quoting: “Culture never remains the same. The
desire to incorporate one culture into the other is ever-present,” when speaking about his love for traditional Aruban
music and technology, and about his mixing Carnival rhythms, techno, and dance when he created soca trance, or
soca house with Dushi Band. “ In Carnival,” he concluded,” as in life, there is always room for modernism and
conservatism.” Having won three Grammys while considerably enriching our Island’s musical repertory, he moved
on. Rest in peace Maestro, all we can do is continue to play your lovely music. The man who played the accordion
with passion and enthusiasm lives forever in our hearts.
CUBA LIBRE. Everyone was speculating this week, what will be the effect of the thawing of U.S.-Cuba relations
on the Caribbean island in general, and on Aruba in particular. I polled my friends. The majority is saying welcome
back from the cold, after 60 years of suffering, Cubans will join humanity, the way we know it and it will take them
10-15 years to get their infrastructure in place, to attempt to attract the US tourist market. My friends in the cruise
industry say that Havana, Santiago and historical Cienfuegos, will reap the benefits earlier because those ports will
be placed on cruise itineraries as soon as possible, as new attractions in the Western Caribbean. I went to Cuba once,
it was an unforgettable experience experience. I remember skipping at night over cow pies in a vast field in Pinar
del Rio on our way to a parador, a private home restaurant serving illegally caught lobster. Getting there was an
adventure completely on its own.
NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. The Health Club & Gym at Divi Phoenix Beach Resort is about to be
converted into Pure Indulgence, a high end spa by Angie Wallace and her Indulgence by the Sea team... A new
Coconuts Store is opening this week on De Palm Island, offering a bigger and better shopping experience.
SHOPPING ANYONE?! I went shopping last week for a fashion editorial photo shoot and I am reporting my
findings: Dianleri’s D-Store is stocked with an amazing assortment of everything for everybody including fashion
belts and jewelry with Diana Helder-Lerma’s sister Delphine Marin at the cash register. She is a fun girl with a
super-friendly personality. Trash by Ronchi is equally impressive, stocked with everything in every size. Ronchi’s
sales team is service oriented and knowledgeable. Michael Kors has the best shoes in town, so get going, before
they run out of sizes, at the Renaissance Mall!! The Yolo shoe store at Paseo Herencia carries a reasonable priced
line of rhinestone encrusted dress shoes. Vice Versa Clothing and Beauty Salon is always great for accessories, as
they are well displayed and gorgeous. You know Alexandra Ochoa has good taste. Her collection of fantasia ear-
rings, is huge. If you see the gorgeous Geraldine Vidal in a floor length white dress at a Christmas party, please be
advised she bought it at T.H. Palm & Company, at Playa Linda Beach Resort. For casual home entertainment during
the holidays, you are going to look spectacular in a long Caftan from Eva Zissu’s store at the Ritz Carlton.
BREAKFAST AT THE RITZ. General Manager Steve Redkoles and his Food & Beverage crew pampered press O R A N J E S TA D ( A A N ) : Betico Croes direccion Santa
members over breakfast at the top floor presidential suite of the resort. Executive Chef Stephen Toevs and Se- Polisnan a wordo pidi pa Cruz.
nior Banquet Chef Emily Dillport came up with a menu to top all menus, including homemade yogurt parfait, presenta y atende un accidente El a slip cu caminda muha y
grandma’s granola, fresh fruit served in a coconut shell, ginger and fruit shooters, skillet hash browns with pesto riba e caminda banda di Xerox. baha caminda na man drechi
drizzled poached egg, a to-live-for vanilla and raisins soufflé, mini spinach quiche, and warm pastries. Ruben Gar- Polis di trafico a presenta. y dal den un cura di cas.
cia, Dilma Arends, Jacqueline Suttle, Yentl Lieuw Aurora Habibe, and friends were dazzled by the delicious Tabata Pasco anochi , algo E chauffeur no a keda herida.
culinary offerings. Yahira Santoni, sent out the invitations for the gathering also introducing Director of Public pasa di 10or , riba Caya Betico Takelwagen si tabata necesario
Relations for the Caribbean and Latin America, Catherine Leitner. The resort flicked the switch, lighting the lobby Croes net pariba di e rotonde pa bai cu e auto for di e sitio.
gingerbread lighthouse, and pledging funds for its much-needed restoration, one festive evening last week, in a cu un auto a caba di subi Caya E cura a wordo basha abou.
much-appreciated gesture. RC@visitaruba.com
