bloemhof

Photo from own collection 
Landhuis Bloefhof, 25 October 2010


I sat on the wooden floor of Lanhuis Bloemhof, the gallery filled with chatter and anticipation for three movies made by Frank and Tita M. Chumaceiro in the 1950’s and beginning of the 1960’s in Curacao. The first movie, ten minutes of music and dance; the men in white suits, the women is long dresses as the band at the Piscadera resort plays a local waltz. As the movie goes on, the audience joins in with the singing and the air is filled with a wonderful sense of nostalgia.

The fashion, though over 50 years ago, makes the 2010 Louis Vuitton winter collection come alive (combined with some “Mad Men”).

The second film brings back scenes of when traveling still had its allure; the women walking off the cruise-ships in beautiful dresses and heels and walking into airplanes with little white gloves (despite the heat). The scenery of the island, so wonderfully shown, makes one smile of happiness just to realize that we live on this wonderful ‘rock’.

The third film brings us more music and dance; gorgeously dressed women sitting by the ocean singing and dancing and a wonderful closing scene of an incredibly proud group of people singing as they celebrate the beginning of the Netherlands Antilles.

And so, on this very special Monday in October, I left Landhuis Bloemhof, my grandma holding on to me (or I onto her…) appreciating evermore this paradise island that we call home.

tulip mania


Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday I saw the movie Wall street. One of my favourite parts of the movie is when Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) explains about the tulip bubble (tulip mania). There is a wonderful piece of art standing in his apartment about this (of which I unfortunately have not yet been able to find a picture of). The amazing thing is of course that since 1637, we have learned absolutely nothing about keeping an economy stable.

dangerous beauty

By Claude Monet; Venice at dusk


We danced our youth
in a dreamed-of city
Venice
Paradise proud and pretty
We lived for love and lust and beauty
Pleasure then our only duty
Floating then 'twixt heaven and earth
And drunk on plenty's blessed mirth
We thought ourselves eternal then
Our glory sealed by God's own pen

-part of the opening poem of the movie Dangerous Beauty-