CRY BABIES SPOIL THE FUN. Carnival left me high, in total admiration of this island’s endless flow of creative juices. According to me, every aspect of Carnival 60 was spectacular. Then on Tuesday morning the Cry Babies, our heroic Carnival group leaders, started whining about sustainability, they threatened to abandon Carnival altogether next year if their demands are not met, they said they felt unloved and unappreciated and in general uncared for. This was a bucket of ice-water, instead of celebrating their incredible triumph they were signaling distress, a la Chicken Little, who foolishly thought the sky is falling, when an acorn dropped on its head. I asked myself what is happening. Is it just a kind of post-partum depression, a low after the high, a normal reaction to working around the clock and then not having to do anything at all?! I remember I was equally shocked when upon my return from the CNSJ last year, totally satisfied and delighted, we received a press release from the organizers of that stellar event warning us it could be dangerously reaching its saturation point, with potential loss of revenues, a dreaded brand-erosion and a total breakdown between the festival, Curaçao’s tourism industry and the locals. Really? Is that what you want to tell your fans on the morning after? You want to scare us, make us insecure, let us shake in our boots? We will never be creative and free and productive if we’re scared and upset! That Cry Baby strategy is not going to help Aruba’s Carnival in its 61st edition, which will naturally be a bit smaller and perhaps a tad less luxurious, because we’re saving our pennies for the next lustrum, Carnival 65. So stop crying immediately, and bask in the glow of your success, enjoy the moment and don’t ruin it for us!
WOMEN’S DAY ‘BE THE CHANGE’ CONFERENCE WAS SPECTACULAR. I had the best time at the conference. Thank you Minister Michelle Hooyboer-Winklaar for putting together a perfect mix of learning and fun. What I liked best about the day was the diversity of the speakers and the fact that we had plenty of time to chat and network, at the same time. A very touching scholarship award-ceremony ended the minister’s opening segment. The women who received the funds are powerhouses and we should all be proud of their accomplishments. Monica Parker, a fat girl in a society that loves thin gave a painful presentation. I was a chubby girl too, and could easily identify with Monica’s chaotic story. That said, Monica you should still make an effort to shed some pounds, you are a large performer, and while we don’t want you to be skinny, we want you to be healthy, so move more and eat less, ok?! Dr. Sue Morter a repeat visitor to the conference, brings a great message, for all of us to go with our gut feelings, and listen to our hearts instead of letting our heads and our fears rule. Her hypnotic delivery was trance-inducing, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes a couple of times whenever she got too esoteric and too obscure, in her mumble-jumble voodoo priestess chant, but I loved her teachings anyway! Our local girls, wow! Jeanette Richardson Baars, is a confident speaker and clear thinker. She captivated the audience with her presentation which went overtime, but was nevertheless super interesting. Then our very own comedian and diva Sandra Brown, the director of CEDEHM, has a deep understanding of people, besides a crazy hairdo to match her colorful personality. She can’t read a pie-chart but she can move mountains! Bottom line. According to me we can stop worrying about women in our society. They figured it out. Women of Aruba are Fabulous. They are on the road to success. But the boys? That’s another story, we should do something for the boys before they fall back too far!
MEN TO THE RESCUE OF MEN. Raymond Maxwell and his collaborators from FH, a new foundation focusing on men, for men, came to the Women’s Day conference to acknowledge the importance of men’s involvement in efforts towards the advancement of women, and what he believes men’s contributions should be to a fairer and healthier society. Raymond made a scholarly presentation – I missed you at the Blood Bank on Friday morning, I guess you were preparing for Saturday — and I applaud the much-needed initiative to restore men to their former glory, before they fell from grace, abandoning families and parental obligations, which has profound implications on our society. Fundacion Homber pa Homber, aims at helping men find their way back to what’s important, and thereby strengthening family units here. In one of the conference highlights Raymond stood on stage and asked his female audience to rise. Then he sincerely asked for their forgiveness on behalf of all men, in the event that they felt dishonored or mistreated and offended in any way. Wow powerful stuff. Not a dry eye in the house! Giving our men a moral-compass, and restoring their interest in children and families will go a long way!
GREAT MARKETING IDEAS. Armin Solognier, Caribbean Mercantile Bank, had a solid reason to smile. Orange was the most prevalent color in the Marriott ballroom, during the Women’s Day Conference, in honor of Fresh Start, the bank’s latest make-sense promotion, which was awarding a shopping trip to Miami to one of the attendees, wearing orange . . . Grey Goose served a delicious cocktail giving us the complete recipe to go: 1 oz Grey Goose Vodka, 1/3 oz Elderflower Liqueur, 1/3 oz Lime Juice, 2 1/3 oz Club Soda, served in a champagne flute! Tropical Bottling continues to expand and just recruited Julie Heward-Geerman as a brand manager. Pa bien, honey!
ADDICT IS A SPORT DESTINATION. Addict at the head of the main street in Oranjestad has a dazzling selection of Nike, Under Armour, Asics and Oniysuka Tiger’s most innovative sports clothing, athletic shoes and accessories, for soccer, basketball and golf players, runners, yoga girls, athletes and gym rats. The store is professionally merchandised by Gregory Larmonie. Alessandra Gil Martins is the Marketing Manager, and she is as savvy and knowledgeable as she is beautiful. Addict is gearing up for FIFA’s World Cup Brazil, with merchandise of all teams and a top-secret marketing campaign. We can’t wait to hear about it.
MORE LIFE IN OUR YEARS. Juan Bregita enjoyed an elegant birthday party at the home of Alex Nieuwmeyer and Barbara Nieuwmeyer-Bregita, surrounded by family members and close friends. The vibrant and sparkly-eyed octogenarian had the good sense to marry a beautiful, caring wife, Anne, and to father a gorgeous daughter, Barbara, who gave him a lovely granddaughter, Zoe, and a doting son-in-law, Alex! Combine all of those ingredients together and you’ll meet a lucky fellow, who loves his life and enjoys a good party! [email protected]
