Notary Yarzagaray who purchased the building from Cohen spearheaded the project of renovation and restoration studying Antillean architecture and collecting information regarding the efforts made in Scharloo, Willemstad, Curacao.

Having completed the project, the building now serves Notary Yarzagaray-Bodeker & Partners, as a second location, in addition to L.G. Smith 20.

L.G. Smith 12 is presently a gem of Caribbean architecture featuring many typical colonial elements including French doors, louvered windows, polished wood floors, vintage lighting fixtures, color glass vitrages, and plantation wall and ceiling moldings on the inside.

On the outside, painted a cheerful shade of yellow the building shows off Dutch gables, a colonnade with porticos, and rows of potted flowering plants.

Every detail, down to the ornamental gates and garden walls, are true to the original colonial building style. “I knew we could not bulldoze this monument,” says the Notary, “it had to be restored to its own former grandeur, and given a total facelift.”

The building is also nicely decorated. The white walls in the marble tiled foyer display art by the late Juancho Dijkhoff,  one of the pieces finished after his passing by artist Elvis Tromp. Several works by Eliza Lejuez grace the office walls, all themed around the renovation of the property.

Many original features were preserved such as the typical Dutch wooden staircase leading to the second floor, constructed in the early 1940s, the colorful mosaic floor tiles, and plaster-of Paris corridors, the style of the old Delft Blue inspired kitchen was reproduced paired with modern bathrooms.

We wish the firm success in its new location, L.G. Smith 12 is certainly something to be very proud of.

Eric Martineau, EQ3’s Canada-based Director of Visual Merchandising, will be flown in especially on the occasion, held in the lovely EQ3 store, stocking Innovative Design for Modern Living.

During this event on November 2nd, Eric will share the “do’s and don’ts” and other “tricks of the trade” of interior décor with guests. Eric has been on the island a number of times and is looking forward to his repeated encounter with Aruban clients.

On November 3^rd, Glen Goddijn, Aruba’s government public space design advisor will be hosting another Designer Night, with an eye on some interesting local projects.

Store Manager Lynn Maduro is busy preparing the interesting program, enhanced even further by wines of the Aruba Trading Company and hors d’oeuvres by the Papiamento Restaurant. Pepia Est will be supplying a selection of wine for the second Designer Night, also paired with Papiamento Restaurant hors d’oeuvres.

EQ3 is a Canadian-based lifestyle concept which inspires the intimate place we call home.

EQ3 offers a fresh new look in contemporary furniture to the local home furnishings market. The public is invited to attend one or both nights!

At the end of their stay, as they were leaving to go to the airport the Dutch Royals bid the Radisson Aruba Resort Casino & Spa farewell, shaking hands and expressing their appreciation to the executives lined up at the resort lobby entrance.

General Manager Rob Smith who welcomed the queen as she stepped off the elevator in the lobby flanked by Princess Maxima and Prince Willem-Alexander. He received many compliments from Her Majesty Queen Beatrix over her much-enjoyed three-day stay at the resort praising the work of resort executive Fransisca van Esta Tjallingii in coordinating the visit.

The queen even dined at the Sunset Grille restaurant enjoying new menu items: Grilled Asparagus with poached organic egg and Tuna Tartar, with cornichons, capers, Dijon sauce and cayenne over field greens.

Pictured here, the management team lined up for goodbyes and warm handshakes at the lobby entrance. The queen was escorted to the De Palm Tours bus by the Island’s Governor General the distinguished Freddy Refunjol.

The fresh-off-the-press CD, titled HORIZONTE NOBO contains Jazz inspirations of Aruban music. The project is a Boston-Aruba collaboration with world-class, international Grammy-winning Jazz artists and top Aruban musicians.  Ivan Jansen, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, in Boston, calls the Divi Aruba his musical home, playing during Happy Hour at the Tamarijn on Sundays, and at the Divi Links clubhouse restaurants, with his Jazz Trio.

Ivan’s ear-pleasing collaborators on the CD, some of them members of his band, some popular local musicians, Richard Holmond, drums, Roy Croes, bass, Franklin Granadillo, trumpet, Jeremy Bonarriba, percussion, Eddy Samson, piano and Gerald Martes, saxophone & flute. Some of the international names on the CD include Oscar Stagnato, Alex Han, Serghio Jansen, Ivan’s creative son, Alex Brown, Mark Walker, Reno Steba and Pernell Saturino.

The CD is part of Jansen’s personal contributions to local culture and music, setting a high standard of performance in a continuous pursuit of perfection, in addition to tirelessly recording fresh offering. HORIZONTE NOVO is his 5^th CD, featuring 10 original tracks, for sale during the band’s performances at the Divi.

Pictured here, memorable party moments at the CD launch, attended by Aruba’s Minister of Tourism and Ivan’s family members, among them his wife, tourism executive Myrna Jansen-Feliciano.

As announced by the United Nations, 940 million tourists travelled the world in 2010, coming into direct contact with famous landmarks, exotic food, different music genres, and diverse traditions, celebrating unique interactions between people who travel and their hosts, with the aim to further understanding of the value of cultural diversity.

Tourism as conducted in Aruba, recognizes that culture wealth of the world, as it comes to our door step in the form of international visitors, one of our most precious assets!!

Foundation President Diana Pieters-Gonzalez, and her board members put together an excellent program including poetry readings about peace, songs with the theme of peace, the planting of an olive tree, and the making of paper doves, both symbols of peace, and a visit to Aruba’s Prime Minister with letters suggesting positive changes in the community in the name of coexistence, tolerance and harmony. The students all received commemorative tee-shirts, and enjoyed refreshments at the end of the morning at the Renaissance Convention Center.

The following companies made it all possible: Aruba Bank with a donation, Renaissance Convention Center, with the use of the facility, EMCO NV with the printed foundation buttons donation, Subway N.V. with lunch boxes and soft drinks, Maybelline Arends Croes and her Melange singers with their musical tribute to peace, Munye Oduber Winklaar and her students, with their dramatic reading about peace, Flora Market with soil for planting, Marketing Plus NV, and all volunteers without whom the activity would not have been possible.

Reported by Melissa De Veer: A disturbing trend caught fire just a few years ago, and it is still going strong. Unfortunately, more and more of the beautiful rugged North Coast landscape is being scarred by people stacking stones, pebbles and rocks on top of each other, and on top existing rocks.

The question is why? Why would anyone set up to stack stones in the wilderness for no particular reason. The answer is related to myth, Aruba’s tour guides are spinning a totally fabricated and false myth that stacking stones is a very old, traditional Aruban ritual which brings good luck and good fortune.

Is this true? Of course not! Baloney, foolishness and nonsense. Five to ten years ago our landscape was intact, which proves the fallacy of their claim, no one in Aruba had ever stacks stones, there is no such tradition. Period.

So why would the tour guides spin such senseless tales, does our mighty landscape have so little to offer that man made fabricated stories need to dress it up?

Of course not! These majestic age-old rocks, stones and pebbles each posses its own unique color, design and location, having witnessed history as it unfolded over the millenniums in Aruba. They are good enough, in their natural un-stacked state. And they could, if you listened quietly, tell you vivid stories about the origin and geological history of Aruba, as far as  90 to 95 million years ago.

What happened? What forces came into play? What created Aruba’s Lava Rock Formation? If the tour guides did their homework properly they could educate our visitors regarding the dolerite rock, and metamorphic rocks, and the different kind of batholite and quartz diorite, making up the landscape.

You could learn about the unique hooibergiet responsible for our much-loved Hooiberg, in the center of the island, and of course investigate the behavior of Limestone under stress, and fossils, where to find these, and in which rocks.

The quartet plays music which could easily be described as feet in Aruba, head in the sky!  While resort patrons sip on their long, cool umbrella drinks, the music springing from the small stage is clearly anchored in the Caribbean region, popular and easily recognizable classic compositions imported from traditional American Jazz into Brazilian, Caribbean, Latin and local groove. The tunes sound deliciously laid back and ear-pleasingly melodic, in perfect sync with the resort’s famous beach, which serves as a breathtaking musical backdrop.

Band leader Ivan Jansen is one of Aruba’s premier musicians, having graduates the Berklee College of Music, in Boston, he is a world-class guitarist and a talented performer. Jansen put together his quartet in 2003, making Divi Resorts the band’s permanent home. They play at the resort during Happy Hour, and at the clubhouse restaurants at Divi Links – catch Ivan Jansen’s solo guitar performance on Thursdays at Windows on Aruba.  Then the band plays at Mulligan’s Golf Café Bar & Restaurant on Fridays & Saturdays, also at Windows on Aruba during Sunday Brunch.

Jansen is the acoustic and electric Jazz guitar player, Richard Holmond the drummer, Roy Croes the bass player and Franklin Granadillo blows the trumpet. All members of the band are well-respected Aruban musicians — Granadillo who is also a Berklee College of Music graduate, is a much in demand local arranger.   

Jansen’s personal contributions to local culture and music are numerous, besides setting a high standard of performance in a continuous pursuit of perfection. As a music educator he nurtures greatness in progress, teaching and encouraging young musicians from the island to spread their wings and become prodigies. He is also tirelessly recording and is currently working on his 5^th CD, an ambitious co-production with members of his quartet and a number of top contemporary names, artists he met while playing international Jazz Festivals. The CD titled NEW HORIZONS will featured 10 original tracks, having been recorded in the US and in Aruba.  

Jansen’s previous work included Con Alma I & II, two magnificent classical solo guitar CDs, Versatility, a Caribbean jazz complilation of original composition and Jazz at Divi, an acoustic production consisting of timeless jazz standards, boleros, Brazilian music, even pop jazz, all tastefully arranged by Jansen and performed in the original and refreshing style of the Ivan Jansen Jazz Quartet.

The proud Jansen is also the father of brilliant Serghio Jansen, a Berklee College of Music graduate, currently working as a full time Jazz guitarist in NY.

Visit Divi Mega Resort any given Sunday, and experience one of Aruba’s truly simple pleasures!

Pictured here the Divi Jazz Quartet with Serghio, in for a guest appearance, also with exciting NY saxophonist Alex Han, on the island for vacation.

Bringing the local community together to help celebrate Curacao’s national holiday drives the island’s closer to each other fostering tolerance and cooperation.

A total of 5 folkloric dance groups will be on the island, and they will perform at the Renaissance Marketplace showcasing Curacao’s famous Tambu which traces its origins to Africa and the harvest rituals brought over to the new world by African slaves.

The colorful costumes and infectious music promise to make the event a total success.

The show will take place on Saturday, July 2nd, 2011 from 7pm – 8:30pm, it is free of charge and the Renaissance Marketplace invites you to come with your friends and family members to celebrate rich cultural heritage!  The restaurants and stores at the Renaissance Marketplace are open from 10am till late in the evening, providing a full range of dining choices from fast-food to gourmet, and the prospect of shopping finds including clothing, jewelry, souvenirs, designer sunglasses and gifts, as well as entertainment at the movie theaters, cafes and nightlife spots and nearby Seaport Casino.

Parents are hereby encouraged to enroll their children in order to broaden their horizons in the Summer and put the time spent on vacation to good use, into physical activity and cultural enrichment

The modern, state of the art museum, in the heart of Oranjestad, houses the island’s relics of the past and also serves as a vibrant community center and a hub of culture, art and education.

Inspired by the American first lady Michelle Obama the Let’s Move, Museums & Gardens activity was conceived for the summer of 2011 and scheduled to debut on July 8^th.      

In partnership with the Historical Museum, Arikok National Park, UNOCA, MetaCorp and the Department of Culture, Aruba’s Archeological Museum will present a fun day on July 8th, brimming with physical activities, designed to get the students moving and active during their vacation.

 The Project Coordinator for Move Your Body, a US educated Exercise Science graduate, Shardea Croes elaborated on the Summer Vacation activity targeting three different age-groups, in three activity cycles, sharing just one theme, namely Movement within Landscape.

The first cycle for students ages 14 to 17, will be taking place July 11 to 15 and will include a flashlight tour of the museum and a scavenger hunt at Arikok park, as well as a drama workshop with John Freddy Montoya.

The second cycle for students ages 10 to 13 will take place July 18 to July 22 and will include banner painting at UNOCA, gold scavenging at Arikok Park, and a hunting competition at the Archeological museum, recreating the island’s former inhabitants, the Amer-Indian life-style.

The third cycle for student ages 6 to 9 will take place July 27 to Aug 1 and will include story telling at Unoca, a visit to expositions, and a presentation of traditional dances at the Historical Museum.

Those interested may contact 582 8879 and ask for Shardea Croes, or e-mail her at shardeacroes@yahoo.com

Beside Move your Body, and Movement within Landscape, the museum is planning an art exhibition titled Transformation in Landscape, an interesting show curated by Elvis Lopez, of Atelier 89. Lopez picked a number of promising young local artist to exhibit their contemporary work at the museum, work dedicated to nature, recycling, and organic materials. The upcoming artists Priscilla Lacle, Johannes Donati, Angelina Henriquez and Wouter van Romondt, will each show 3 works.

The press conference at the Archeological Museum was conducted by Marguerita Wever who informed the press that last year more than 600 students participated in the museum’s summer program and for 2011 students are invited to participate for as little as Awg 25 per activity cycle, which includes a daily snack.

Pictured here, the press conference at the Museum with Shardea Croes, Marguerita Wever, Priscilla Lacle and a group of youngsters who made a presentation of behalf of Move Your body.