No Filter in Paradise
Two friends, one's straight one's Gay, with different backgrounds, interest, upbringing & outlook in life come together to have a Fun & honest conversation and discuss their opinions on different topics... with no filter.
No Filter in Paradise
Aruba's Creative Economy: Innovations, Challenges & Opportunities with Edjean Semeleer | EP 162
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Discover the vibrant yet challenging world of Aruba's creative economy, as special guests Edjean Semeleer share his firsthand experiences. Learn about the pressing financial hurdles and emotional toll that artists face in this often-overlooked sector. We promise a deep understanding of the need for policy changes and entrepreneurial support to keep the local talent thriving and prevent the exodus of creatives seeking opportunities abroad.
Our conversation shines a light on innovative solutions like the Go Cultura initiative, designed to empower artists through skill development and community support. We discuss how strategic branding and marketing could not only boost local creativity but also drive tourism and community development. Drawing inspiration from Barbados, we explore how government-backed initiatives could revitalize the creative industries by investing in the cultural fabric of Aruba.
Join us as we envision a thriving future for the creative sector, underpinned by collaboration and shared knowledge. Learn how data sharing and strategic planning can propel the creative industries forward, supported by insights from potential collaborations with industry leaders. Engage with us in a conversation that blends insightful discussions with moments of celebration, igniting a call to action for positive change in Aruba and beyond.
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The Orange Economy in Aruba
Speaker 1Being a creator is not cheap.
Speaker 2It's a conversation that needs to happen.
Speaker 1I think this is something that we all struggle with, because it's not easy Like yeah, I just have like fucking.
Speaker 3I have mental breakdowns Experiencing so many empty promises. Ah the Not that Jesus has the algo loik, it's just for fun, and this sector is one of the sectors that isn't really considered. All creatives want to just work on a project. Who need a loan to start a business, and sometimes you feel that you're not understood. So it's not only funding, it's being misunderstood the price of doing business in Aruba, how difficult basically it is to be an artist or a creative or a creative entrepreneur in Aruba. The potential has to be valued and I'm one of those that are not going to be sitting and waiting for others to do that.
Speaker 2Hey yo what's up, I like him a stash, just double-checking before recording.
Speaker 1All right guys, welcome back to the Filter in Paradise, the ABC Islands favorite podcast. You already know A show about two friends One is straight and the other is hella, hella.
Speaker 2Super duper, black and gay babies. Now I can see this Is that your new wig?
Speaker 1Are you hiding it under your carousel hat Are?
Speaker 2you crazy. No, she stay, look good.
Speaker 1What color is it? I can't see it.
Speaker 2Oh, we got dark, we got dark brown today. Chocolate melanin.
Speaker 1Anyways. Anyways, guys, as you can see, um, the setup is a little bit different. Today. We're in the side studio, if you want to call it um. First time we're filming here. We have a special guest today and we're gonna be talking about because with this angle I can look at both of you and it's still on. Remember, the other angle. It's like, yeah, see, like the side of my face, people are complaining about it. So I'm like I need to figure this out and I I spent a while in here. As you can see, I'm sweating.
Speaker 2Yeah, you need to chill, Relax, breathe. I can't Namaste.
Speaker 1Thank you.
Speaker 2Namaste.
Speaker 1Guys, today's topic is going to be about the orange economy. If you never heard about it, don't worry, I found out last week. I never heard about it until last week and it's apparently an industry that me and Chuck are in. We just didn't know 100% we didn't know how to name, and that's why we had to bring someone that knows about it and took us to a conference, invited us to come to a conference, thank you, by the way, thank you so much. We've got none other than Edges and Malir today. What's up?
Speaker 3I'm doing good. No, thank you for coming so glad, so glad that this is happening.
Speaker 1I know this is a conversation that needs to happen.
Speaker 3Yes, I think so too.
Speaker 1Because I think this is something that we all struggle with. It's something that we talked about off camera just now, like the investment, and then nobody cares until it's campaign time. Everybody wants to. Hey, we got a little video for me, ah, now you care about the creators, huh, but no, I. I mean, it's bigger than this, than just like campaign, because that's a joke. Obviously it's campaign time, but before we get started, can you give a little bit of People that don't know who you are? Okay, wait.
Speaker 2Before we get started, take it over, shark. I'm sorry, oh my god, but I don't think you think Like we're just gonna start this show On a day like today, and like it's not about me Not saying happy birthday today, because that's a little bit crazy. Okay, so it's not birthday today. Yeah, we gotta sing happy birthday for him. Yes, I didn't even know that. Yes, I don't care, we're here to record a podcast.
Speaker 1He don't care. But it's okay, I don't care, don't don't. Oh my god. And a one two one, two trick.
Speaker 2Happy birthday.
Speaker 3Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.
Speaker 1Oh, I'm not recording Happy birthday to Sammy.
Speaker 2Happy birthday oh.
Speaker 1What happened?
Speaker 2To you. That was Thank you, hep, hep.
Speaker 1All right, thank you very much what happened until you that was thank you, hip, hip hooray thank you very much congrats man.
Speaker 2You know it was your birthday he would never say it nothing no for me it's just a regular day. That's stupid shit you know, just that's why meetings 9am you gotta celebrate life.
Speaker 1Thank you, I tried to celebrate yesterday, but I got sick so I ended up going home.
Speaker 3Oh, wow, I got sick, so I ended up going home.
Speaker 1Oh wow, okay, but how old are you? I'm 35 today.
Speaker 2Oh wow, I wish I was in my 30s. It's a nice number, it's crazy.
Speaker 1You know what's scary? I'm like fucking five years. I'm 40 bro, holy shit.
Speaker 3It's nothing wrong with 40. Remember, when you're 25 You're like, oh my god, I'm almost Feels weird. I'm 40, you're.
Speaker 1But don't you still feel young of?
Speaker 2course exactly yeah, crazy thing.
Speaker 1No, I know, I know, I know, I know, but it's like it's when we were younger. We're like when you hit 30 oh my god, your life's over. Like I'm, like what the fuck?
Speaker 3you're mentally you're.
Speaker 1You're still in your 20s, I think right yeah, and then now I'm 35, I still feel like I'm 26, 27 but now you have knowledge like you're not.
Speaker 2You don't make stupid mistakes. You know what I mean yeah, knowledge and money.
Speaker 1No time, though. No, zero time, as you can see, dressed like this, all fucking days Running around, okay.
Speaker 2And the crazy thing about it. Okay, all of this conversation Can be funded by the orange economy.
Speaker 3That's crazy right. Yep.
Speaker 2So let's talk about it. Please Go Kultura, go crazy yeah.
Speaker 3To answer that question For those that don't know me, it would be awesome to meet people that don't know me. I'm a singer, first and foremost, a performing artist. I've been doing this for over 30 years. I'm a TV host. I also have a podcast at home. I organize concerts. I'm a wedding efficient now.
Speaker 1I'm a creative entrepreneur. I've been trying to get into that. You should you would do an amazing job doing this.
Speaker 3I do. I only host weddings as an MC. You would do an amazing job. We need more on the island and I'm part of the Go Cultura Foundation, so I'm an advocate for formalizing and developing Aruba's culture and creative industries, and we've been existing as an organization since August 2017. And Go Cultura was basically created. I've already told Shark this, I think out of a feeling of frustration actually in 2009 at the Renaissance.
Speaker 3I did a huge concert and at the end I was like what we do has a big impact on the economy. However, people don't see it. See us like that, it's just for fun, it's not a job it's not something serious.
Speaker 3However, it has a lot of impact on social development, cultural development, but mostly economic development. Job it's not something serious. However, it has a lot of impact on social development, cultural development, but mostly economic development. So that's where the idea starts and the idea starts to create platform for local artists and creatives, but also to get the conversation and dialogue going about the potential of developing this in aruba. We started with heavy raising awareness in 2018. And last week we present our first big conference, which was an eye-opening experience for many people that were there 100% Crazy.
Speaker 2I wish, and I really really wish so much more creatives would have like, not just. I don't even think they know that they are part of that industry.
Speaker 3That.
Speaker 1That's one of the reasons it's crazy I didn't even know until you you literally, like you were doing an interview with him at the radio asm. You like, bro, this thing that edgar's doing like I'm like, what the fuck is this?
Speaker 2I'm like, I really want to go like I really want to go.
Speaker 1I'm like, let's go, let's go. And then you invited us. By the way, thank you for that. You invited us to come Because I thought, put on the company, let's go, we need to learn something, you know. But definitely for me it was also an eye-opening thing. I couldn't make it in the first day.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1I had. There was something.
Speaker 2I had to do. It was a crazy day.
Speaker 1I mean I couldn't make it because it was on a Monday or Tuesday.
Speaker 2Tuesday.
Speaker 1Yeah, we were shooting like all day for clients. I mean you live.
Speaker 2This is our job, so it's okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 1Almost one year anniversary.
Speaker 3I think next year, when we present the second annual, more creatives will be there.
Speaker 1They have to.
Speaker 3But there's also a reason that, and I'm glad that the younger generation is more eager to take action, more eager to do their own shit. But I think it's also because for many decades we've been experiencing so many empty promises. We have been experiencing also projects like conferences and and, but not not focusing on the potential of a creative industry. However, mostly conferences talk about culture, the arts, etc. And also reports, but then we know that in aruba it doesn't happen. Only in aruba, governments change and then we go back to zero. Yeah, and then this sector is one of the sectors that isn't really considered. So what happens with the sector is you start losing trust, you start losing hope and then, whenever something like this presents itself again, I don't see why I should be there yeah, so that that is also something that we experienced.
Speaker 3We were expecting that. Um, however, you have to push through, because this is something we we really believe in and we believe that if the sector is more organized and the sector itself creates these moments, opportunities, initiatives, we are going to start really see the change that we want to see or we want to experience it's also like a lot of people these conferences in the past they would bring these speakers and when they say certain things, like it sounds great in theory, but like bring, bring, give me a fucking roadmap, like the one speaker that you brought, john king from barbados.
Speaker 1Yeah, this guy is like this is what we did and this is how we did it, and you're an island just like us. Why can't we?
Speaker 1implement the same thing and that for me, I'm like I was sitting. There's a reason why I sat at that table. I don't want to ask you like I don't know, but I'm going to sit at the table, but I'm going to sit in front. Hey, who wants to speak to me? Okay, I'll sit in front, go ahead. Sure, random guy just said you're this bad. I'm like I don't know who the fuck you are, but, mr King, I started talking to him.
Speaker 1Hey, when do you leave? I was like find out, See if we can get him.
Speaker 3Unfortunately, yeah.
Speaker 1He was leaving the next day and I'm like yeah, I leave tomorrow. I'm like fuck, but later on if you have time. I'm like no, I don't have time. I was trying to get it in the morning.
Speaker 3But he just told me that he started planning to come back.
Speaker 2Yeah, so we're going to invite him, of course.
Speaker 3He'll contact you for sure On his own. He's starting to plan to come back because he saw potential and he saw that he needs more time on the island for people that want to reach out. Of course, he is able and willing to communicate through email et cetera, but you said something very important. The one of the reasons that he was invited is because we can compare like we cannot really compare aruba to colombia. You're not going to compare an apple to a pear. However, colombia is very close and it's one of the most popular destinations for locals. Now, yeah, and locals visit colombia, don't? They don't even know that. It's because of the transformation, um, because of the creative industry.
Speaker 3So, but the thing is I'm going to talk about that later on Felipe comes from Colombia, et cetera, but Mr King comes from an island that is very similar to Aruba in size, and one thing that impacted me that I didn't know because we've been communicating with Mr King since 2018, is that they started developing their creative industries in 2002,.
Speaker 222 years ago.
Speaker 3We know that this roadmap that you're talking about, which is what Go Cultura is currently busy with, which is the mapping of the creative industries for you to have data and then for you to create strategies they did their mapping in 2015. So that's nine years ago and they're much further than us. However, they can and he did share best practices and challenges that they faced and are still still facing. That sounds very similar to us, but they took action yeah and, and that's where we are now. We, together, we're taking action here.
Speaker 1I want to like, I want to go back a little bit because, like, obviously, like we're jumping the part of like with king and saying back a little bit because, like, obviously, like we're jumping the part of like with king and saying, like you know, we need roadmaps, we need this, we need I told him earlier policies like I at that point I didn't give a shit about policies I'm like just give us the funding so we can create something but if you don't have rights, yeah but what I never realized until the john king guy talking was like if you don't have policies in place, you can, can't quote, unquote, force the government to like no, I have the right to do it because it's a policy and God knows where.
Speaker 1See, if I ask for this, you better give it to me. But if there's no policy in place, hey, can I have 50,000? Like no, paquico, yeah.
Speaker 2That's why it doesn't mean nothing to nobody, because you'll get like probably their background wasn't from the arts they didn't come from that background.
Speaker 3Not that I know of that I'm thinking about. I'm trying to think fast. I don't know I can't think of anybody.
Challenges and Opportunities for Creatives
Speaker 2Which is why, probably, they don't serve it as importance and as a passion. Like Mr King said, he was from the creative side. He used to sing and do all these type of things.
Speaker 3But even if they're not a creative, then if they have data, if they have numbers this is the potential. 100%, this is what's currently happening. This is what the sector needs Then, if they're not creatives, if they're analytical people oh, this makes sense. Okay, so let's work on that. I have evidence, I have data. So we need mechanisms in place, we need policy in place for this creative ecosystem to really start thriving. We need incentives, we need investments. Uh, not all creatives want to just work on a project, but there are creatives who need a loan to start a business, a creative business. So if you go to a bank or if you go to an entity that gives out loans, you need to be understood and you need to be what's the word that I'm trying to use? They have to recognize that potential and that it would have impact. But then, if we just continue talking about anecdotal experiences, then no.
Speaker 1So what do you think? Tracking back a little bit, the reason why you started this whole conference thing is because of all the frustration. What are some frustrations that you've heard from people on the streets? Because I got a few. Let's all share our frustrations.
Speaker 3You're on this one one of them comes out of my own frustrations. After 30 years of being an artist, 30 years of, yeah, recording albums, doing concerts, funding is extremely frustrating sometimes. Sometimes you feel that you're not understood. Sometimes you feel that your project, or you are told your project, is still commercial. What is commercial? Don't you want me to become more self-sustainable? Don't you want me to become more successful, for me to be able, in the future, to invest in my own things and and and be buddy jay like make a living?
Speaker 1out of it. I was gonna say something, but I don't know, like um, if I'll piss people off. I was like, oh, what do you mean? It it's not commercial. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 3So it cannot be commercial. So you want me to rely my entire life on you, so I cannot break even, I cannot make any revenue, I cannot make any profit, sorry, and if I cannot make any profit, so I'll continue to come to you then for funding, for instance. So the first day there was this monologue that Mateo Lopez did on stage and that actually was a compilation of things that we've experienced during four months. Every weekend at the offices of Go Cultura, which is currently a house where we live. We did many sessions with an average of 40 creatives. So let us explain what Go Cultura is, why there is a Go Cultura, what are our projects?
Speaker 1Sorry, I want to dive in that too, because people don't know what Go.
Speaker 3Cultura is maybe, and what do we propose for things to start becoming better on the island? And then at the end the Q&A session, you get these frustrations from the creative. So it's not only funding, it's being misunderstood. It's the price of doing business in Aruba. When you go to register your company, taxes breaks that you need. How difficult basically it is to be an artist or a creative or a creative entrepreneur in Aruba, not being recognized and feeling that you're just standing alone and that makes it extremely challenging, disheartening, and you lose hope, you lose trust and then you go do something else and there we might have lost a potential person that could have had such an impact on society, but not just that those that leave Aruba. There's a huge diaspora, aruban diaspora in the world that could have huge impact on the island, and I think about a filmographer. Why did I lose his name? Right now he lives in Dubai, I think, right now.
Speaker 1Mario.
Speaker 3Mario.
Speaker 2Gonzalez.
Speaker 1He's he's making. He was doing great.
Speaker 3He wanted. He wanted to come to Aruba with a project that had a value of a few hundred thousand, but he, he had to go to Curacao. Yeah, Uh, we lost opportunity.
Speaker 1What do you mean? Go to Curacao like what with the project because of challenges that he faced in Aruba? Yeah, so the project.
Speaker 3He had the funding for the project but because of challenges that he was facing in Aruba, he decided then to go to Curacao.
Speaker 1We lost opportunity there. I didn't know that and I was just.
Speaker 3I was just hanging out with him a few days ago frustrations are also that, as I said, creatives face throughout decades so many empty promises that you just lose hope. You lose trust, you don't listen to us, especially during campaigning season, and it's unfortunate um or they don't appreciate or value what you do like.
Speaker 1For example, people want to do a podcast. We do two different podcasts over here. Oh, they're not much cut. I'm like bro, you know how many time goes into editing.
Speaker 3You don't see the value.
Speaker 1Every single stand, you see, is at least $1,000. That's not even including the rent, the light, electricity, the water bill.
Speaker 3Yeah, they don't see the value. But then car I asked them compared to what?
Speaker 2What are you comparing that?
Speaker 1to. I mean, we're supposed to do it for free.
Speaker 3I mean no, come on no, I understand, sorry, continue no, I just mentioned a few of those frustrations, and there are more. But then we think also that we need to give the sector an opportunity also to acquire more skills and to build on not just their creative ability, but then to become better being an entrepreneur, actually start thinking more entrepreneurially which, by the way, I like that.
Speaker 1Miguel Joffrey Joffrey mentioned the Academy, which definitely going to bring him here, because I'm going to drag every single information out of him because I'm very curious about the Academy. I think they're going to fund like 40 artists. I want him to break it down like funding, how, like musicians, podcasters, gamers, like what are you funding exactly? Like, what are the amounts?
Speaker 3I'd like to know that too, but I think that's a good step, you know, because one of the things that Go Cultura is also focusing on more in 2025 would be creating opportunities for creatives to be able to work on capacity, building their own capacity. Do you want to do marketing better? Do you want to work better on your finances? Who can you link with for your project or idea to become even more successful? Become even more successful? Um, what can we do in investing on the island to create these, these hubs, these meeting spaces, these co-working spaces for creatives? Because great ideas are born when creatives come together. Ideas were born during the conference.
Speaker 2Networking was extremely important but I heard a few ideas.
Speaker 3I'm like whoa, this is great, and you just create that platform. Capacity building is extremely important If we want for the industry to thrive, so not just formalizing it in the sense of that many of us are not registered, meaning that we need to register but we need to make it appealing for the creative to want to register, but then the Chamber of Commerce also needs to understand what the creative to want to register, but then the chamber of commerce also needs to understand what the creative industries are.
Speaker 3They need to understand how to code the creative industries.
Speaker 1They need to understand that this is yeah, tax, like specific tax breaks, because, like definitely anything like you think, buying this here in aruba is expensive. I buy it abroad, I ship it to aruba it's still expensive.
Speaker 2It's more expensive.
Speaker 3Yeah, yeah, barbados has introduced tax breaks, tax incentives. I think it's amazing.
Speaker 1I think it's like tax-free, Like if you go in something for your business that's creative, I think you don't pay taxes on the things you bring in.
Speaker 2Yeah, it depends on what it is. And just imagine what we could do.
Speaker 3I mean a certain of these industries. So let's say, after the mapping, we say well, as part of the creative industries, which are all of these industries, we want to start developing three or four, let's say the music industry, arts and crafts industry, the publishing industry and the gaming industry which are all part of that industry.
Speaker 2So if we want.
Speaker 3for this industry to grow, you need to import certain things. Let's give you a break on that so you start thriving, for instance. However, if we don't have the data yet, I mean you're shooting in the dark. You have to start somewhere.
Speaker 1No, because, even like I want to use gaming as an example, it's like it just goes like this no. I'm listening to you. You always give me shit for whatever I do. Like, here we go cartoons.
Speaker 1no, I'm listening to you because the gaming community is big. Like imagine you can create a hub where everybody can just come in like, yes, I can play at my house. But imagine you go to a place where there's like 50 people like-minded who like light, love gaming, and you kind of like all hang out with each other people. They're competitive players out there. I know I know one guy from Curious who played competitively for three years made a lot of fucking money just by playing video games, or, like me, playing Mario Party back like 10 years ago. I would have never thought there was a possibility. If so, I would have kept playing and not listened to my dad.
Speaker 2I think Danny used to play professionally too, who no?
Speaker 1idea, no idea, oh a filmographer?
Speaker 3Yeah, yeah, he used to play. He used to be a gamer, all right, so many of them don't even know that they're part of the industry. They don't know that they're part of an orange economy. Like when we talk to an architect, they're like what? Yeah, you're part of it. A culinary artist. I'm part of it. Yes, you are, it's. The main resource is creativity.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 3You don't deplete that resource.
Speaker 1The more you use, the more you have, the more you have. Yeah and I've said this before a lot Like I mean obviously like people, like places like ATA. You know all these places, tourism, people. They always like invest or bring people from abroad. I'm like why and mario has talked about this a lot like you want to pay this videographer hundreds of thousands of dollars. You pay their fee. Michael fowler and petite also have this frustration. You bring these photographers, you pay them their fee and their flight and their expenses for an uh outlook of whatever a final product that petite to mich Michael could have done, if not better, for the fraction of the price. Why would you not invest in your locals? Why would you not find, hey, we're going to do a creator's camp, like the top?
Speaker 310. This is a great observation.
Speaker 1The top 10, like in different niches, like tourism, culinary, blah, blah, blah blah. You do a competition and let the people decide. Like we really like Adjun as a chef. Ad is like we're going to fund you for two years, we'll help you build Videographer. We're going to pay an editor for you. Build you, become the cooking influencer of Aruba. Yeah, everybody else is now cooking. People around the world follow you because, damn, I want to go wherever the fuck Edgerton is. I'm going to go there and eat. It's kind of like why can't Ata or the government I'm not calling you Ata only because you know we got to work together but, like the government, why can't they invest in specific people? Like Shark likes to invest in a motherfucker over here. So if he becomes bigger, people get to know Aruba better. You invest motherfucker over here. So if he becomes bigger, people get to know aruba better. You invest in three gamers. They become massive. Oh, where are you from? Oh, guys, I'm just gaming here from aruba and your backdrop is the ocean.
Speaker 1You, just you have a special room where you're gaming and you see the ocean. The idea is like just create, invest in your own people, make them influencers. You make a business deal out of it. Hey, listen, we'll fund you, but you can't be doing other shit like outside of it. Afterwards we can really, you still treat it as a business, but at least you're investing in your own people or your like.
Speaker 2Long term, you'll have 15 people and they all have a million followers even for those gamers it's like okay, then each month or whatever you make sure you game with also another local, bring them in Like one of these other younger gamers If you become big enough, like you can.
Fostering Local Creativity and Entrepreneurship
Speaker 1Okay, I'm going to host a gaming, a gaming, whatever competition in Aruba. You fly out. Maybe you make it. Actually, you fly out All these other gamers. Come to Aruba, one big gaming conference. Aruba becomes the gaming hub of the Caribbean. Like they doing in fucking south arabia, they're building a whole fucking island for gamers. People might call oh, wake up. Well, there's people in. Oh, do research. Dude, go, look, people are making a lot of fucking money. But the idea at the end of the day, come. Everything comes back, for me at least, to branding and marketing. If a kid from santa cruz becomes known as a gamer, people from the states, holland, god knows where he starts following them like oh, I'm from aruba, oh, where's aruba? Ah, shit, I want to go here. Like it's just create the local people, invest in them. Podcasters, do you know?
Speaker 3no, but it's one of the biggest industries in south korea and if you do research, you'll see
Speaker 2how much in?
Speaker 3revenue it creates for this land for this country so but I find I find this idea extremely interesting because I go deeper don't worry. I think it fits in. I'm not speaking for the ATA, I don't work there. We're friends, we're allies, but the shift is in motion when it comes to tourism development and this was presented the first day that, because of the local sentiment survey results and something is happening, and within this something that is happening, there is a lot of opportunities for the local creatives yeah because this something is focusing more on the local.
Speaker 3It's on the local themselves, and the ones who are going to help to tell our stories, the ones who are going to help to create a sense of community, are the artists, are the creatives. So I I see that, within this shift, a lot of spotlight is put on us now as creatives, and that there is.
Speaker 1I see so much potential, I see infinite opportunities we have baseball players, we have artists, we have sing, we have everything. Yeah, this is my frustration. Now I've been telling you this for years, like why not Imagine, if you had someone, that being a creator is not cheap? It's expensive you need to have a main job, like this whole studio.
Speaker 3I told you earlier.
Speaker 1I worked Gusto for a whole year and doing this I was working 17 hour days Like every single. My wife hated me like bro, you're not right. I'm like I need to build this shit. Yeah, now I stopped goes to almost a year, almost one year anniversary on my own, and now I can. I can say I can do this full time, not because of the podcast, but I also produce podcasts for botica and a real estate company here.
Speaker 1So I I'm I also have to work out I also have to make content for other people so I can survive. But imagine if the government is like hey, angela, we're gonna sponsor you for a whole year, we'll give you a salary so you can survive, but you have to create content and we're going to help you reach whatever goal. That way, you do one year once. Okay, you've reached the goal 300, continue, truck, you're next, you have one, we're going to do that. 10 years later you have 10 people who are quote-unquote influencers under the government and just in the touristic section, like things to do in Aruba, and then one is a chef, one's a gamer, one's just like I don't know man, and you could put in this contract or in this alliance.
Speaker 3But you put some requirements and you could put in this contract or in this alliance botapone algún requisito. So if I use requisito in Curacao which is right there kind of a bit different example they have a film commissioner in Curacao, so this lady gets around a quarter of a million a year but she needs to look for international production companies. They have to come invest in Curacao. The idea would would be I don't know if they're there yet, but the idea would be for them to get tax breaks. But these companies need to invest in in the locals, as in create workshops and hire locals, because if they leave, these locals will have extra knowledge or new knowledge to continue developing the film industry in curacao. That's an example of something that we could do here. Aruba is extremely diverse when it comes to cultures extremely creative.
Speaker 3I mean so many creative people living here, and I think we're very resilient also as people, meaning that we push through. I mean, you had to, you had to work a job and then, besides that, do other things as creatives. That's how we are. We find ways to make it happen. So I think there is a lot of potential and we need to tap more into that potential.
Speaker 1Even like, if you find someone, let's say a film industry, even like, hey, we'll support you for a year. But also, by the way, if there's a specific course you want to go, take three weeks in new york, we'll fund that. We'll fund that. But with one condition you have to come back to aruba and you have to give 12 workshops. One per month like, and then you're giving back like what? What did you learn that? Three months, all right.
Speaker 3Now you have in that one year once a once a month, you rent the space 25 kids like you know, it used to be done in the past not precisely, I think, by the government, by but but I'm not going to mention the name but by one entity. It doesn't happen anymore because it was not successful. There are reasons why it's not successful because people need to pull through and people need to be held accountable not precisely those that, but those that need to supervise the projects. But they stopped, and it's unfortunate that they stopped again. People need to start seeing potential. They need to start recognizing potential. The potential has to be valued, and I'm one of those that are not going to be sitting and waiting for others to do that. We have to do it on our own damn right and we're gonna make it happen.
Speaker 2I'm sure of that I have no doubt it's also like what um the teacher, akil, also talked about like that development actually starts in school and in school with the kids and like it's so the first yeah because it was focusing on the importance of creativity and arts and education, but also shaping these minds to be more entrepreneurial. Yeah, it was. It was fantastic, man, Like just what Philomena is actually doing like the afterschool program yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2It's crazy and it's legit. What's needed? Cause it's like it's not costing you. I mean it's costing you, but I mean you're actually building your future with this. So many of these kids you remember seeing the video?
Speaker 3yes, so bailabo historia. They got to learn more about their own past. They got to talk about topics that we don't talk about, like like slavery that we had in aruba, and their, their ancestry, and how, through a creative way, they could tell your story. But then I saw that the move, the shift is happening also in this school that she wants to focus much more on creative abilities, because she talked about having school that only shaped these minds. For the creative industries, because for decades we've had Hotel Vox School that shapes our people to. For the creative industries, because for decades we've had hotel vac school that shapes our people to enter the tourism industry the service industry?
Speaker 3Why can't we have schools that shape them? For the creative industries, an industry that nothing limited?
Speaker 2in that.
Speaker 3Nothing limited in anything, and the world is your stage, not just Aruba, because you're exporting products and talents and services also.
Speaker 1I don't want to be the devil's advocate here, but don't you think by service industry? You hope you travel? Well, apparently not because you have to ship people in, because all these hotels, but if you're somebody in the creative industry, that's why everybody wants to become a painter, right? Next thing, you know, 100 people graduate as a painter. Is there a big enough market to be able to sell these paintings? Do you know what I mean? To make a living? Yes, I know. So that's my argument there. I'm not saying I'm against it.
Speaker 2I get what you're saying.
Speaker 1Okay, how can we overcome this obstacle?
Speaker 2I get it. Sorry if this obstacle, I get it. If I sorry, if I just may real quick, I think I understand what you're saying. 100. First of all, I don't think everybody wants to be a painter it's just an example, no I understand, I understand. I'm saying I don't think everybody wants to be a painter and even if they did, at some point there would be a breakthrough that, hmm, maybe paintings just don't sell. What about tapping into a whole new creative market and doing something completely different with this art that you can create?
Speaker 3nobody has to say it has to be on a canva and there are going to be only a few of those who are going to be successful, because I compare it to let's say, we open 50 restaurants in this area. Not all of them are going to make it, nope, um, only a few of them. Why would they make it? What sets them apart?
Speaker 2exactly, uh, so it should be what, yeah?
Speaker 3sets you apart and it's not just about talent, guys, it's about hunger and also discipline.
Speaker 1It's always about.
Speaker 3Look at lima. Lima's a great freaking example lima bistro.
Speaker 1I don't know if you ever been to lima before lima, which is on the other now.
Speaker 3I haven't been yet what?
Speaker 1no, I haven't actually do yourself a favor. Go. Sorry, I haven't been yet.
Speaker 3Yesterday during Autentico, I saw a dish that they were selling. My goodness, it looked amazing.
Building Awareness for Creative Industries
Speaker 1Well, their chef won first place yesterday. Oh okay, yeah, eray, eray, shout out to you, bro, the queue. The reason why I bring them up is because it's you're not even through the door like hey, welcome back, samuel. I'm like, how the fuck do you know me and how do you know I've been here before? It's like damn, I feel like I'm part of it. You want to go back. Ask them how many times I've been there. Way too much. I'm poor because of them.
Speaker 3So, by developing the industry. It's not a given that everybody's going to be extremely successful. You have to find your niche, you have to find a way to make it happen. Exactly not everybody, everybody's going to be talking great things about it. However, hey, it's life, man, I mean, as I said, and as he said um, it's not just about talent, it's about hunger, um, obviously, creativity also, and I feel like all of that thrives.
Speaker 2Once you're hungry like once you're hungry, you will find a way. That's just it. You're hunting, that's it. It's makes sense, killer killer be killed.
Speaker 1Plus, you need to have a like. This is something I struggled with, and you know this. It's like you can be as creative as you want, but if you don't and this is where I like the, the academy that joffrey wants to bring well, I don't know what the fuck it is, but I know it's like some sort of entrepreneurship creative academy yeah which I hope they teach.
Speaker 1Like quote, like I want to say mental toughness, because it's not easy. Like yeah, I just have like fucking, I have mental breakdowns. I'm like I don't know how, like when you, when you have a job, you wake up and you know all right, within what, within what job description, you know what to do there is security you a hundred percent.
Speaker 1This is like my first year, as like I have no net underneath. If this feels, there you go I. I have a wife that makes money. Well, you know she makes her money and I can just kind of hey babe, what's? Up, I want this, but it's it's. Sometimes you're just I'm just right, I'm like how the fuck, like how am I gonna figure this out? Or today I have a client, tomorrow they might drop me and there's no security. So you also have to build that the month is the worst.
Speaker 2I'm like, oh my god.
Speaker 1And the 14th, we want to renew. Oh yes, oh say, samil, I think we're gonna end the comic. Don't tell me, man like. All right, so I gotta fill this gap, otherwise financially like I'm screwed.
Speaker 3I think we felt it in the pandemic right a hundred percent.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean I worked in the service industry and also we did a podcast during that, during them.
Speaker 3But I I had I was one that had to be extremely creative yeah started doing like recording concerts and selling advertisement yeah because we had to make it. I have no other I mean no other income, no income yeah um, I, I personally did not apply for the faza thing.
Speaker 3I was not that I was against it or anything, I just didn't didn't do that. But it made me realize how many things are not in place for us on the island and how much barbados did for their creatives. That was crazy. That was amazing the things that they did for their creatives. That was crazy. That was amazing the things that they did for their creatives to continue to thrive. They created an emergency fund, they created incentives and he was the minister back then.
Speaker 1He should come back. Aruba should give him like a one-year visa to live here as a consultant. Like you start out like I'm being gobierno no puede caer.
Speaker 2Or Aruba, should have just came to the freaking thing Like gobierno, especially Because that's the perfect lesson for them. They were actually the main people that had to hear that more than us, because they should have been like hey, creatives, guess what we're about to do for you? We're going to roll this shit out. They weren't even there. I mean the ones that were that even stayed long enough To hear what was actually going on.
Speaker 3Oh, now I get what you're saying.
Speaker 2So decision makers, the government, we could just sit there and just be like alright, cool, we got this information. I can't tell the casinos to hey, we don't get a tax cut if you do this.
Speaker 1I can't tell the casinos. Is that possible? Can a government go in like, hey, listen, let's implement, Imagine 3%, whatever I don't know?
Speaker 3I don't know, I don't know, I don't know how that goes, but there must be a way for them to reach a consensus. That, for instance because John King mentioned this about the casinos with a percentage, for example, for a fund.
Speaker 1Correct.
Speaker 3There are other ways. By the way, if you're creative enough, there are other ways, and I want to go back to what you said I guess I'm not creative enough During my speech and maybe I shouldn't linger on this, but during my speech the first day you were not there, I did mention that on my personal Facebook page. I invited Aruban politicians basically to tell them guys, buy tickets, buy the tickets, because Go Cultura is not doing this for free.
Speaker 3The costs are extremely high. I'm very grateful that we had partners and the tourism authority being the main one that saw potential and is seeing potential. Be there, especially now that we're in campaign. But not for us just to see you or maybe to vote for you. No, because then you're part of the conversation, you know what is needed, you know what the ideas are. Be part of the dialogue, be part of it. Don't just, don't just come to the artist and say what you're doing is important, what you're doing is valuable.
Speaker 2No, I know that. Have a plan.
Speaker 3So, even if you don't devise the plan and I said, look at what we have here present today, look at those who are and who aren't your absence also means a lot. It was taken out of context.
Speaker 2Oh shit.
Speaker 3Yeah, I mean not that it phases me, but I had to take time to kind of fix that issue.
Speaker 1Yeah, a little damage. But, I mean come on?
Speaker 3No, yeah, of course we get it.
Speaker 2That's stupid shit Like people like you said what the fuck? You said, like whatever it's fact or fact, how could you respect what each speaker had to say when everybody had to hear what you had to say and then you just leave after that? That's low key, disrespectful. It really is. I don't care what you say, I'm talking to you all. It's very disrespectful.
Speaker 1You just called them out.
Speaker 2It's nothing wrong.
Speaker 1People need to normalize that shit.
Speaker 3We need to do that more 100%.
Speaker 2We do it here all the time.
Speaker 3Because they're decision makers, they're politicians. We choose them. Well, we choose our parliament members, but then we want them to do things for us also, for the sector also, because the sector has huge impact on so many levels on mental well-being of our people. We inspire, we motivate, we elevate. But then on the economy also thanks to this sector, I think, hope it tax money also going. Then, you know, and it's not seen like that thanks to carnival, which smock I think, Smok was the second day right.
Speaker 1Yeah, I was there.
Speaker 3yeah, Sheraldine used one example of beer cases Millions. I think that was just one parade that she used. So, for every parade. Imagine having so many people, and every person has an average of 10 beer cases, so every person also has two beer cases. That's. I mean, I didn't even stand still to that specific example before she presented it. But then imagine how many millions Carnival translates. But still they're struggling as an organization to have funds to organize Carnival.
Speaker 1Why? What do you think? What do you think is b? Why they're why do you think? I'm not trying to put you on the spot or anything, though, but I'm trying.
Speaker 3I'm curious because, again, not being understood, not having the data. I mean it. It had to be done in the past. Let's map carnival, let's know what the impact is 70 years, you still have nothing exactly.
Speaker 1It shows you how we are on the island.
Speaker 3We just talk about anecdotes. Let's stop just talking. Let's yeah, let's have evidence, like, let's look for the evidence. There are ways. I'm and, by the way, I'm not saying that I know everything because I don't know but there are ways to collect data for you to be able to make your case why it is needed for you to invest more in Carnival.
Speaker 1Bring more tourism. Like, oh, we got to go to Aruba Like the Carnival there is fucking amazing.
Speaker 2And then I've been saying this that you know Carnival is a business. It's such a lucrative business. It's crazy that so many people are not investing in the business, that it is Because nobody looks at it as a business, and that's the craziest part.
Speaker 3Because looks at it as a business and that's the craziest part, because it makes you feel good, it brings joy, which is great. But then let's look at the numbers also. I mean companies, not they do good business, liquor companies it brings jobs for people as well costurera, makeup artists, musicians, etc. Everybody even the people that clean the road, like everybody, has a job now like so it's great for the economy as well I just think we haven't looked at it this way.
Speaker 3I mean, as you said, like it's more than that dude, like it is more people show that's how people see it even if it doesn't bring hopi tourists, it does create an authentic experience for those who are here, because the season that we are doing it in is high season and they say, well, maybe it doesn't have such an impact on bringing in more tourists. But then if you want to create a more authentic island, a more authentic experience for those who are on the island, carnival is come on the one thing that brings us all together, not even Christmas.
Speaker 1It doesn't matter the color of the politics you're in, like hey, it's the brother of a wolf, not even.
Speaker 2Christmas Carnival is that time I do want to go back to what you said.
Speaker 3I do want everybody, not just politicians, I do want everybody to know that we felt it during these two days that there is a movement going on.
Speaker 3So those that were present feel that something is happening and there is momentum, and we need to make good use of this momentum as a collective that was there to continue taking action for action to happen. And again we're in campaigning season. These politicians need to show us what their plans are, but then, of course, when the net government is there, I think they're going to hear a lot from us, not just Go Cultura, but from the collective. This is what we need, because, again, go Cultura is doing the mapping. We're going to have the data. This is the data, this is the potential. These are the low-hanging fruits, these are the challenges. Now let's work, let's change things and let's start seeing these industries as what they are potential.
Speaker 2Damn right, and do y'all have the recording of the seminar? Of course, okay, because I told a few of them to reach out to y'all, so they can. I don't know, how they're going to do it, how y'all deal, if they can buy it or what.
Speaker 3No, no, they're going to do like how y'all deal if they can buy it or what, but no, no, the. The idea is to re-edit, so take out the stuff that that's not needed, mostly the, the one hour of music, but then the core of the the conference is going to be available on our youtube page, gokultura channel, and the idea would be to broadcast this nationally for all age levels to see this in a few weeks.
Speaker 1Okay, good, good good before election time. Don't forget to make reels like find highlights of certain moments make instagrammers, because this is how you get people to come see the whole thing. Like I'm gonna play a slate, I don't know what the fuck I'm gonna look at, but if you have like a real, oh, I like this topic you're not gonna sit down and watch seven hours.
Speaker 3No, I barely watched joe rogan for three hours, like the most I'll do is go through the movies and they're like all right hour and a half to hours I'm done yeah, and I'm pretty sure that we can make great reels, because everybody had something important to say, especially mr king, especially mr buitrago, that I remember at the end of his, his, uh, his speech, he showed us like a refinery.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah but all the refinery and everything popping out, yeah a reimagined refinery.
Speaker 3The refinery of talents.
Speaker 1What are you trying to say?
Speaker 3The refinery, in a room where we create into a. He planted the seed in our heads and I think we should maybe consider at least talking about this.
Speaker 1Make it a plant.
Speaker 3Agriculture and.
Speaker 1And creative.
Speaker 3I mean, why not?
Speaker 2Something. I didn't see that part. I missed that, so he started talking about oil.
Speaker 3Yeah, and like oh, here he comes, Because I knew that he was going to put that in his speech. When he saw the refinery in Aruba, he went crazy. He's like guys, you have this structure. This can set you apart. In the Caribbean region People love to take photos and he started taking pictures and he's like of the forerunner this what is a space for a film? A film producing company.
Speaker 3This is a space for an open air theater this is I'm like whoa okay, I mean, that's how you should be creative and maybe not direct your efforts towards just the energy industry, but then maybe we can think of the orange refinery or the refinery of talent.
Speaker 1Why not? Or have a big venue again, throw concerts and shit in there, you know it's necessary I mean, I think there's a carnival village right there, so like why not?
Empowerment Through Knowledge Sharing
Speaker 3fix that shit like this one with it. Yeah, so that's what. That's the seed he planted at the end of his speech. But then Mrs Clara Reyes from St Martin my goodness, that was an artist. She presented the first day.
Speaker 2Crazy man. I feel like I missed out a lot. You missed. She was fantastic as well. The food was great, by the way.
Speaker 3The food was good.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 3Shout out to Renaissance.
Speaker 1No, it was actually good, Very Creole Canisto banana yeah.
Speaker 3I had lunch the second day, not the first day, but I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1I enjoyed it For sure, for sure.
Speaker 3The first day she presented the intersection between education, but knowing your story connecting with your ancestors. So my grandparents were warriors. For my parents to be businessmen or businesswomen, for me to be a dreamer Dude, she's presented that it's crazy, or? For me to be an artist.
Speaker 2An artist.
Speaker 3Yeah, amazing, she started her presentation like that.
Speaker 1Where is she from?
Speaker 2St Martin.
Speaker 3She was born in Curacao, but she was very little when she went to St Martin. She is the director of the Department of Culture in St Martin.
Speaker 2Fucking people are willing to take notes. They're amazing. They're amazing people. It was really her speech, especially that part. That's when she caught me, and it just makes you think like you were thinking like, okay, no, everybody's grandparents are on the same level. Then you're like, no, the ones that are successful now is because of whatever happened there, and who's struggling right now is because the next generation after you they probably won't be, or they probably will have it less than, and then you see who's ever like mellowing in between, and it's, it's so much facts, it's like so much facts it was very powerful.
Speaker 3It was very powerful. And when she said, own your story like own it, be the owner of your story.
Speaker 2And you're the only person that has that story Like from that perspective. It's only you, so there's no wrong way for that story to go Like it's yours. It can be as however you want it to go.
Speaker 3It was extremely impactful, really it was, and I feel that something great is happening, because we can continue and we should talk about frustrations and disappointments, but we should take action, like we need to talk about solutions also, and I I feel, I know, but I feel that something great is happening and for me, it was great to see that those that were there majority was artist, they were artists, creatives and that the age differences I mean there was a singer there that she's been singing for over 65 years, so she's close to 80 years old um, and so many young people and they they understood the whole idea, they understood why we need to be walking on this road, people from different industries. I do like the stick thing.
Speaker 1Now all started to wake up. Oh, now we have a funding for a million. I'm like about damn time To be walking on this road, people from different industries, I do like that I was thinking. Now I also started to wake up. Oh, now we have a funding For a million. I'm like About damn time. Like when is the? Where have you been? Where is the formula?
Speaker 2I mean, I want to be the first one in line and I remember this one girl Also told us she was always thought by doing her job. She was like, oh, everybody understands it. And she says like now, being at the conference, she was like, okay, now she realizes like she has to change some stuff because people don't even realize that they have this access, yeah, to even come to these type of things or like to do certain things.
Speaker 1so she's like this is like the guy and the girl that came up to our table yeah, the cultura something. They were sitting like two tables. They had their own table in the front where the speaker is like two tables over.
Speaker 3Departamento de Cultura. Yeah, what did they say?
Speaker 2no, they came to us, yeah, but she was just talking to us about, like this situation of basically how, like people don't know they have access to these things.
Speaker 3And there is like it's an explain probably funding, yeah, funding, don't know they have access to these things and there is like it's like probably funding.
Speaker 1Yeah, so she's semi-personal here.
Speaker 3Here's like you can you got for a familiar yeah, the document, yeah, yeah yeah, it's on, it's on.
Speaker 1It's on the platform that we use for the conference the hoover, the hoover app or the hoover platform which is great because I got to email myself all the stuff that you guys are in there really.
Speaker 3So I didn't do that I mean mean we put documents on there, but it was used not to just sell the tickets but for people to kind of like network and post pictures, not just that.
Speaker 1I like that. It's like a whole social media platform for the event itself, like you get to see who's there. Yeah, you can do fun quizzes. Yeah, samila's does media. Oh, I need. Hey, let's connect.
Speaker 3Yeah there was an organization there that came all the way from holland, mondrian phones and a lot of people maybe, when they hear that name, really go. I'm not asking them anymore for funds or I've never heard of them. It gives us the opportunity to talk about all these funds in the netherlands that that we have access to, and these are millions of euros. It's just that it's a bit more challenging to kind of fill in the petition. But, come on, we know each other, we can help each other fill in these petitions and there you have access to millions of euros. Besides, of course, let's say unoka, that you have here, or um culture phones in in curacao, for instance. You have access to these, to these funds if you're working on a project and if you have a great idea.
Speaker 1So I have a few, I just don't know how to. My problem is I don't know how to pitch it. I can put it down on paper, but to sell the vision like hey, this is the reason why, if I can fix this place up, quote, unquote, I can do all of this and we can do workshop for all of this.
Speaker 2But that's weird. Their funding is not to help you fix this, their funding is to help you get your own space that you don't have to like focus on nothing else. Again, it's like it's they're trying to get to like the what's your end goal. That's what they want to fund.
Speaker 1Like your main end goal.
Speaker 3I need a space to do stuff Exactly so it would be like, but in these fundings I don't think any funding is going to invest. Well, these particular funds in the Netherlands they're not going to fund infrastructure.
Speaker 1No, but however, there are ways.
Speaker 3I mean, we are connected now and I think through this connection, even between those that were there, we should continue empowering each other. So I can give you ideas, I can help you prepare yourself to pitch it better. Um, tweak it here, make it, make it visually more appealing. Um, I don't think that we should be islands on an island. I mean, it's okay to be unique, it's okay to be, to embrace your individuality, but if I can help you become better, if I can help you be more successful, I don't see why I cannot share the knowledge. I think knowledge means nothing if it's not passed on.
Speaker 2Yeah, there's so many gatekeepers, that's the problem. Everybody just wants to hold information. It's like jesus christ, like he just fucking give me the damn info. Like I'm sorry, like most of the youngins, they know they come straight up to me. They're like hey, shark, how do I do this? I'm like look, do this, check this, try this thing, contact this person, tell them I sent you yeah, and during the first day we had a panel with with tisa ahata andronela, yeah, fantastic ceo of ahata
Speaker 3and tisa was speaking about mentorship. So, those that have the knowledge, those that have the talent, those that have the talent, those that have the experience, you should share this. You should use it to shape and to help others develop why? Not when it comes to knowledge of carnival, like those that were weldering, or share this knowledge, because there are some trades that we should find ways to.
Speaker 2And shout out to Ranchi, because Ranchi also mentioned it and Ranchi is one that I had to like, clap it all the way up because it's facts. Ranchi do message that he like, hey, really proud of you. Hey, if you need, help with anything.
Speaker 2Yeah, ranchi reaches out. Like every time if I see ranchi anywhere he's like hey look, try this thing. Hey, remember, your time is everything. If you have to charge a price for your charge, that charge, whatever you want to charge, because you know how much work you put into it. He would always give you that little pep talk or whatever and it's like respect.
Speaker 3He's not a gatekeeper and he said before his speech and he posted it on social media my speech is going to have no filter. I loved it. It reminded me of you guys and it was with no filter. He said things that I've never heard him say before publicly so shout out to him for sure.
Speaker 1Um, shout out to his suit that you bought from him. I bought, hey, I told you like, hey, damn it, I'm here with the course I like the color I like I want to copy paste the thing I want People are talking so serious On the stage.
Speaker 2He's like hey Shark, I'm like Yo. He's like I really like Asian suit.
Speaker 3And you knew that I was going to Tell you trash. Maybe I didn't know. No, I didn't know.
Speaker 1I thought maybe like Zaro, maybe an express In America, I don't know, I've never seen.
Speaker 2The color before. So he just saw it and he was like I really love that suit.
Speaker 1I'm thinking about. I wear it at weddings, when I host.
Speaker 3To add on to that story a few months ago I saw him emceeing. That's what he told me yeah, At the award show of the Ahata and I'm like I love this guy's suit with the white sneakers. I want to wear this in another gig so it was his inspiration, which is kind of funny.
Speaker 2Not the same color of suit, no, no, no. And I was like when he was telling me I'm like, dude, you've worn suits like this before, but not that color. Like I had a burgundy, I was like dude, I've seen you in suits like this before.
Speaker 1Like okay conversation, because somebody's talking on stage now like now, I know I'm gonna hey, ronchi, I'm coming to you. I like that specific color because I always like to add different colors down to suits because, like whenever the burgundy one like oh shit, it's a cool color. Or the, the full gray with a black on like and the white is like what the fuck everybody's wearing like tan, all these tourists wearing tan colors or whatever, so that color will look so dope like at a wedding anyways still has a few yeah, I'm gonna go, mr king, whatever.
Speaker 3So that color would look so dope at a wedding. Anyways, still has a few.
Speaker 1Yeah, I'm going to go. Mr King was going to wear that color.
Speaker 3I'm like, no, mr King, don't do it, you may be a guest speaker, but you're not stealing the show from me, at least not during a conference.
Speaker 1You can buy it and wear it to.
Speaker 3Barbados or not, on the same day.
Speaker 1So we're coming close to an end, because time is a little short for a shark, pero I want to know next year, what's your plan for next year?
Mapping Data for Creative Industries
Speaker 3Our plan for the next weeks is going to be the reintroduction of the mapping Because, as we've told in the conference, there were a few hiccups during the mapping. Creatives need to be willing to share their data. There was an anonymous video like literally anonymous with the mask the first day, saying that we will protect your data. Don't think that we're going to share it with the tax department or anything, but you have to be able to, of course, want to register your business, your venture.
Speaker 3But this data is going to help us collect evidence, but create strategy for your own good. What kind of data Business that you're in, average of revenue that you make? Because this is going to help us. Even if you want your own name to be anonymous for us, that's okay, as long as we have data to make our point. We're not going to force you to share everything or anything that you don't want to share, but it's for us to have this plan for strategy, to have this plan to move forward. That is an example of walking the talk, in the sense of the mapping is happening Like.
Speaker 3We have support, we have teamed up with a company or an organization that is going to do this, and I think in the next few weeks, we're going to announce the next Creativo, which is going to be in the next 12 months.
Speaker 3We probably think it's going to be October again, but of course, before that, we're going to have how do you call these roundtable meetings and discussions that are going to be part of the mapping effort, and the whole idea is again to collect the data, to have evidence and then, based on this evidence, start creating and devising strategies.
Speaker 3This information will also help for us to say well, these are the areas that need investment. These are the areas that need investment. Yeah, uh, these are the industries that need investment that you need to take a closer look at. However, it, it gives us an idea and a roadmap for the future. So those are the two of many of other concrete plans, but relating to the creative industries, relating to the orange economy and the, let's say, the effort of capacity building will continue in 2025 because we've organized a few workshops. We did not continue doing that during 2024 because we focused on starting the mapping and the conference, but in 2025, the workshops are going to continue for those who want to expand their knowledge, acquire skills and become more successful as entrepreneurs.
Speaker 1You're looking at a monthly workshop. People can come and learn.
Speaker 3Yes, and not just monthly workshops, but also creating it on our platform, gokulturaorg, for you to, anytime that you want, have access to instructional videos that you can have access to to help you with your projects or ideas.
Speaker 1Any speaker you want to bring down specifically you would wish.
Speaker 3Um, mr john hawkins unfortunately did not arrive this time. He was supposed to be one of our speakers. Yeah, he's. He's the father of the creative economy. He coined this concept. Felipe was the one who coined the orange economy. He was there. He used to work at the inter-american development in Washington DC, which is a bank that Aruba is not really a member of. The Netherlands is an observing member. They invest in millions in projects in Caribbean region, latin American region. There is a lady working there, trinidad Saldivar, that we approached this year to be a speaker. I think next year she this year to be a speaker. I think next year she is going to be a speaker and going to showcase what they did as an organization to to trigger projects in the caribbean region. And mr john hawkins, because of the fact that he couldn't arrive this time, he was. He was actually. He needed to send a video but he didn't make it on time. He's coming next year.
Speaker 1Um, and he's the eminence, he's the authority of the creative industry I just like you, bring people that don't bring theory, but they bring facts, like yeah, here's how we did it. Now you have it.
Speaker 3Now go implement it yourself, you know and I think this year speakers are going to be part of the conference again, maybe not as speakers, maybe maybe as speakers.
Speaker 1Maybe would you make it a little shorter or would you keep it the same length because, like I was, kind of long it was long I felt like and and we didn't evaluate that yet I think it's also like, this is just my because. I was like, obviously, because it's long people, and it was a tuesday and wednesday, would you wouldn't it be better to maybe do it on the, on the weekend? Maybe we're for that Only because, like, if you have a parent, like oh, they were going to be.
Speaker 3you know this has to do also with Renaissance's schedule.
Speaker 1Well, now we can plan ahead, you know yeah.
Speaker 3I think weekend would be a great thing, maybe not in vacation time or maybe in vacation time?
Speaker 1I don't know, not in vacation time.
Speaker 3But we are going to give everybody that was there the opportunity to fill in a survey and you can put your ideas and even if you think, okay, I think it should be shorter, I think you should not really cover this topic. I think you should look for a speaker to cover a different topic. I think the food was not okay, I think the service was not okay, don't touch the food.
Speaker 1It was good.
Speaker 3No, but it's okay for you to be critical and for you to question, like yeah, we were very open-minded.
Speaker 1We're very open for that. Listen, man, you got the forefront for all of us here because, yeah, you're the one to stick the bullet.
Speaker 3You know like thanks, you had your like.
Speaker 1Maybe we could showcase you guys as creatives next year let's see how far we get first and let's see how we survive tell us your success story a year from now.
Speaker 3Deal, that would be awesome. I mean, would you do it together or just Shark would prefer?
Speaker 2doing it alone. What no, Wait, what no. This is my team.
Speaker 1The fuck the two of you, we can do like a little panel. You know, have a podcast set up during the show awesome yeah have a little podcast. I love that idea. Yeah, it's all freebie here you go, we're all brainstorming. All right, let's end it over here, because it has to be at a radio in five minutes. Oh shit, you're really like um the shark though. Oh my god, hola babies you're right there, shark.
Speaker 3Yeah, it's right there, right all right.
Speaker 1So once again, thank you for coming on the show thank you for having me I think we'll do this again in the future, like once, once.
Speaker 1No, we will, because once you announce the next one, you could come on a few weeks before so we can talk about what's what's to come, what we're gonna do, yada, yada yada, figure out how we can all work together. Because I feel the frustration. I'm like this. I'm like fuck bosa, I'm gonna do it on my own, like, and when it works out, don't come at me Like, no, like when I came to you for help, but I feel like it's also very Aruba, like not the Udabo, the horrible Meike, the horrible Meike. Hey, call us for Udabo.
Speaker 3I think many people can identify with that story, so 100% Anyways with that story, so 100%.
Speaker 1Anyways, thanks for having me.
Speaker 3No, real quick, it was a pleasure.
Speaker 1This is your camera. Where can people find you Go? Cultura Creativo.
Speaker 2Creativo.
Speaker 1Creativo, which is a great name.
Speaker 2Everybody keeps pissing me off with Creativo Like.
Speaker 1Creativo. Yeah, so where can people find all the information?
Speaker 3dot org. Visit all of our social media pages gokultura aruba on insta. Gokultura foundation on facebook. You will find a lot of information. Gokultura channel on youtube. The conference will be available soon. They're editing the conference, but join the movement, let's I mean history is happening happening. Let's make history together. Let's continue talking about these powerful topics. There is incredible potential in formalizing and developing Aruba's creative industries. Let's continue talking about the orange economy. Do research, do simple research for you to know. Maybe you are part of it.
Speaker 3And join the movement. Great things are happening Awesome.
Speaker 1Well, guys, I hope you liked this episode. Make sure to subscribe, leave a comment and like the video. We'll see you next week, peace.