At the invitation of Stichting Rancho, a delegation visited Aruba to actively participate in the commemoration program for Emancipation Day, celebrated last week, which was also proclaimed as a national holiday on July 1st. As part of this visit, Clifford Rosa, President of Stichting Rancho, introduced the De Kom family—Hiadees de Kom and Anthon de Kom, descendants of the Surinamese national hero Anton de Kom, who currently reside in La Guajira—and María Isabel Cabarcas Aguilar, director of Revista SER Caribe and the InspirARTE Aain Foundation, to Prime Minister Mike Eman.
During the meeting, the delegation presented the Prime Minister with the first printed edition of Revista SER Caribe. They also presented the second edition, which was previously launched in digital format during the “Bridge between Generations” symposium at the University of Aruba. The front page of the latest edition is dedicated to Ramón Todd Dandaré, recognized as one of the principal guardians of our Papiamento language.
Furthermore, the delegation extended an official invitation to Prime Minister Mike Eman to participate in the 15th International Bolero Festival, which will take place in Riohacha, Colombia, from November 13th to 16th, 2026.
During the meeting, they also shared information regarding the work that Stichting Rancho and the InspirARTE Aain Foundation are doing to strengthen cultural, linguistic, academic, artistic, and literary integration between Aruba and La Guajira. They also highlighted the results of the Colombian-Dutch Caribbean Meeting “Mma Pe’ ipaasu,” an initiative that commemorated 200 years of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Colombia.
