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
Anuschka Cova: Breaking Barriers, Building a Legacy & rediscovering my purpose | EP 190
Anushka Kovar, CEO of CHATA, shares her journey from beauty queen to business leader while discussing the importance of authenticity, confidence, and breaking free from societal expectations.
• Started her public career at 17 as Miss Curaçao, motivated by winning a car rather than the crown
• Built a successful 20-year career in the financial sector, becoming a managing director at 29
• Advocates for women supporting each other rather than competing
• Believes in turning challenging situations around instead of adopting a victim mentality
• Balances professional life, motherhood, and marriage through intentional time management
• Currently leads Curaçao's tourism sector which represents 48% of the island's GDP
• Runs a charity that feeds 620 children daily
• Emphasizes the importance of preserving Curaçao's authentic culture and identity
• Identifies limiting beliefs as a significant barrier to personal and community growth
• Promotes critical thinking and proper debate skills for effective leadership
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And some guys might feel like a little bit like hey, relax, why are you coming so hard? I mean, like some people might feel offended because of their ego, because when you come at them as a woman, like I don't have a woman, I have to go here. Like get out of here, bro, like no.
Speaker 2:This is why we have shitty politicians now. It's because it's just a popularity contest, yeah, but they're shitty Like they don't know how to debate. They get emotional, then they want to do personal attacks and all this bullshit and being a woman.
Speaker 3:It has its negative things, but it has a good thing right and and the boxing is a thing for me, right, you have to be a wife, you have to be a mother, so there is a box in which you fit, and if that's what you want, be that all right, but you don't have to be that because people expect that from you. I'm not a victim of anything you know. You're a victim of yourself of course you know you can turn every situation around.
Speaker 3:Started feeling around 49 that I had no purpose in what sense this is great.
Speaker 2:This is maybe some girls listening to this.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna stop you right there. This is a prime example of like I'm here to win this, like this is competition.
Speaker 3:This is a competition.
Speaker 1:We'll be friends afterwards, but right now it's you against me. Hey yo, what is up guys? Welcome to the abc islands favorite podcast, no filter in paradise. A show about anything and everything between two friends one is straight and the other your favorite melanated homosexual babies you know, this is what I always say this bro me gusta walk. A reaction. They always start laughing because like they don't see it coming and I'm like wait for it, wait for it. Ladies and gentlemen, today we have English or Spanish.
Speaker 2:English.
Speaker 1:Perfect. So today, why would you say Spanish, Wait English. Or papiamento?
Speaker 2:I was like nigga we would never do Spanish. No, no, Wrong show wrong host.
Speaker 1:I was talking to Ricardo, the guy from Bar P, like hey, how will you go to the Netherlands? Like yeah, it won't happen, exactly.
Speaker 3:It's not going to happen. When I come into the airport, I go like hola. I go like hola, it's golf, I'm going to go to the beach.
Speaker 2:I think you two are going to vibe really well, there's going to be another episode of Shark and the Guest and me as a bystand kidding.
Speaker 1:imagine our special guest, our understanding, we had her daughter and then during that episode fabulous daughter, fabulous, always fashion what the fuck guys? I get it right and through that episode she spoke very, very highly of her mother and we were like we need to have this woman on, and you happen to be calling it during the episode or right after the episode was done. Yeah, you called. Yeah, we just finished recording. You called yes and you said yes, I'm like it's fine, okay, you say so, yeah, yeah thank you.
Speaker 3:Thank you love the energy. Thank you for the invite. Uh, no, no, it's gonna be.
Speaker 1:I'm not sure where this conversation is going to go, but I think Dios salvanos yeah, please, but you know the theme of the show is no filter. A conversation can go by any direction. But what we do want to know, just like we did with Kiana, we want to know who's Anushka, your childhood, how did you grow up like, who made the person that's sitting here today?
Speaker 3:Perfect, Okay, good.
Speaker 1:Before we start with that part, who is Anusha Kovar today?
Speaker 3:Today I'm the CEO of CHATA, Curacao Hospitality and Tourism Association. Nice Plus, I'm on the board of the hospitality faculty of the University of Curacao.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:That and a couple of other boards, and I'm the president of Turmo Chame Se Come, which is a charity organization where we feed 620 kids per day.
Speaker 1:Oh wow Per day. Per day. I thought you were going to say like per month. I'm like oh wow Per day. Damn, that's nice Started in 2017. So we wanted to give back and that's a way to give back to. That is amazing facts. So that's who I am today. Plus, I'm still a mother, a wife, a sister, a fun mother. I saw kiana's story. There was some crazy stuff. I'm like can we interview the lady over there?
Speaker 3:I like to think that, yeah, yeah I think you're a cool mom thank you also very very fashionable, cool mom too, for sure.
Speaker 1:I feel like you and kiana be like either sharing clothes or like fighting who has got who's got the best outfit or when we walked together.
Speaker 3:They go like mom. How can she be your mom? She's like what.
Speaker 1:Did you think they were a lesbian couple, hello always oh I feel like you posted the other day and um kiana posted her story the other day. He's like this is my mom's outfit today, because mine sucks yeah.
Speaker 3:So she's like just look at her, yeah, today, look at her yeah yeah, do you have.
Speaker 1:Do you have a big walk-in closet?
Speaker 3:I do is it?
Speaker 1:is it like give me an idea like smaller than this room, because I'm assuming you have a lot of clothes in?
Speaker 3:the room, but the point is that things pop out right, so it's like a lot of stuff, yeah, yeah it's because I'm multi-faceted. Let me think about that like that. Yeah, I like fashion. I'm a serious, you know businesswoman. But you know, there you have reception, serious fashion going out. So it's like a lot of everything which is representing how I am and of course, of course of, of course so go ahead.
Speaker 2:Sorry, so I want to. I want to. Let's talk fashion real quick. Yeah, where did your love for fashion come from? How did where did that stem from? Was you?
Speaker 3:did you see your mom growing up Like yeah, my mom, definitely my mom, but also I became a curious young you came to carissa, I was 17 yeah, I became mischievous oh, mischievous.
Speaker 1:Oh, I heard like I came to carissa. That was really young.
Speaker 3:I wouldn't advise that to anyone. I mean, you're too young to understand.
Speaker 2:You know what you're in what sense this is great. This is maybe some girls listening to this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sure, I think you have to understand that. You know it's a responsibility to carry that crown for your country yeah I mean, I kind of I didn't really grasp the significance of that. To be honest, I wanted to win a car and my dad said, yeah, simple, the crown is great, but that car, though.
Speaker 3:That's why I'm here, you know, my sister became a teenager. They asked me do you want to participate? I'm like what's in it? You could win a car. My dad didn't want to buy it. He's like are you crazy, you, you could win a car. My dad didn't want to buy it. He's like are you crazy? You're only 17. So I'm like I'm going to win that thing, right. So my first interview you know everybody says why do you participate, do you? Participate for the experience. For that I'm like to win.
Speaker 1:And he's like can you at least you know take a nudge?
Speaker 3:down. I'm like is a prime example of like I'm here to win this, like this is competition, yeah, this came through.
Speaker 1:Just we'll be friends afterwards, but right now it's you against me and that car I have to go drive tomorrow. I have things to do, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3:So then the passion started from that. Because I got a lot of modeling contracts. So I did modeling in um in netherlands, for you know a lot of modeling contracts. So I did modeling in um in Netherlands for you know a lot of years, and went to Germany as well. Then my dad came back. The dad is a thing, right? I said no, no, you have to finish yourself. So I quit that, went to university. But I, you know, continued that modeling career for 18 years. I still do it once in a while when they asked me, I just did it two last year Very nice ones Cura, holanda and Curacao Yoclo.
Speaker 3:So that's my fashion thing. I love it and I think you know you identify with how you feel, who you are Like. Today you see me with this green. I felt you know and I'm sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so it is. Tell me, do you think a lot? I think zero about it, I just think it happens. And it happens, yeah, and depending on where I'm going, you know who I'm meeting.
Speaker 3:You said cool, I go like cool yeah, so kiana said but why I said cool, they said cool this is what it is baby, you know, you were just for yourself, not for like outside validation.
Speaker 3:No, no except for work you know, when, when something you know has to be in a certain way. But even there I don't necessarily adhere to. You know, if you go to a meeting it has to be like a boring suit whatever, you still have to give a nushka I have to be a little bit me and everything but it's full red, yeah, or it's tailored yeah, I like a little.
Speaker 2:Or a brooch or whatever it is. You love brooches.
Speaker 3:I love a brooch that especially makes me feel like me. You know, I don't want to be anybody else. I think why they're not as fabulous. They're like.
Speaker 2:I don't want to be you, I know. They're fabulous in their own right, for sure.
Speaker 3:But they ain't you, they ain't. I mean your power. Is that you're you right, exactly.
Speaker 2:You are you too.
Speaker 3:No, I know that Speaking at 200 miles an hour is you?
Speaker 1:Oh, my God guys. Oh she's shady too, I know. I literally said it's going to be a shocking Anushik show.
Speaker 3:I think it's super cool.
Speaker 1:Did I talk too fast?
Speaker 2:I just told him, it's like you speak as fast as you think, so he's a fast thinker, and not everybody can do that adaptable.
Speaker 3:Oh well see I'll never finish your sentences no, my wife has to keep up.
Speaker 1:She tries to keep up like I just gave up. Last year. I was like, yeah, whatever he said, he said I go with that. You know, I love it.
Speaker 2:I love it. No, okay, so take us now a little bit back. Let's take it all the way back, because you talked about your dad a lot, so, yeah, he comes up in the story a lot. Yeah, so what was your childhood life and your household like growing up? Yeah give me seven-year-old Anushka what was that life like?
Speaker 3:super nice with the ups and downs of every family of course my mom is from. They were both first generation in Curacao. My mom's family is from Santa Marta, colombia okay her dad from Panama, panama. My dad's from Venezuela, all the way, so he's very white blue eyes. My mom is darker. We're a mix. They knew each other from Suvisant it's a very Latin neighborhood. I was born after she lost four babies.
Speaker 2:Oh shit, You're the miracle baby.
Speaker 3:She got three girls, so I'm the oldest of the three and anyway seven years old. We grew up in Dominguito, then we moved to Ocean Blut. My dad worked at Isla, then he became the let's say, the head of the whole union federation of Curacao. He did that for a very long time. Central de Sindicato Corso, that's the president of all the unions of Curacao, and that's the president of all the unions of Curacao, and he was in politics. My mom worked as a secretary at Aqualectra, which was Ogham at the time. She won an Irlandia Prize, very fashionable, nice, good-looking lady too. So that was me and it was a very nice upbringing. I went to Rodolfo's College, pierre College, rodolfo's College. Then I left, like most people do, but I went to Miami to do my bachelor's there and then, for career, came back went to what prompted that.
Speaker 2:you said let's do Miami versus Holland.
Speaker 3:Aha, a funny story. So I was accepted at Erasmus University. My dad, as much as I love him, he never prepared me for that. So I went into those white you know big white buildings in in rotterdam. A student, uh woning and I came in and I saw a pile of you know plates with pizza stuff and shared, shared bathroom and it was nasty, nasty, nasty, so I called home and he's like what happened?
Speaker 1:get me out of here.
Speaker 3:They're gonna sexually assault you. It feels like it. I know it sounds so ridiculous, but oh my god, you should come back, I said I cannot. I cannot. Now, on the hindsight, I think people are better prepared. You know what you're doing. My parents were not academically you know educated, so I don't think they knew all that. So I came back and then I said no, never so. And then I went to, I got a, let's say, a loan, student loan, and I went to University of Miami in that time, which was fabulous.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. And it's funny because, like the kiana stories, they're very similar.
Speaker 2:I was thinking about it.
Speaker 1:But wasn't kiana a little bit reversed, like she wanted to go to kiana?
Speaker 3:was a little bit.
Speaker 1:Kiana got placed to in boston and she decided two weeks before to go to holland yeah, she was she grew up in miami yeah, yeah, she told a story about like she made a whole calculation to save money.
Speaker 3:Until this day she uses that remember I saved you.
Speaker 1:She used it in the podcast last year.
Speaker 3:I'm like, listen, that saving is gone right now with everything you kind of used before.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, your other sister's getting nothing like. Yeah, your other sister used everything.
Speaker 3:I have three to go. No, no, no, yeah yeah, I guess for you guys to know something very funny, because people like to say you know, you're so good in public speaking, blah, blah, blah. At 12 years old I was in sixth grade here. I won the speech competition of all the schools in Curacao Of all schools yes.
Speaker 3:It was an essay competition and I wrote my whole a day in my life, type of thing what I had to do, and then you had to present it. But that's for at 12 imagine 12 you're it's very early on to be standing in central arte and do this and I happened to win that. So my I I think it was very natural for me, uh, to speak in public, and I grew with that and I'm natural with it.
Speaker 2:You have this aesthetic of and I would love to know where you got your confidence from, because we see a lot of women. They jealous each other and we can we like to say like it doesn't exist, but it does exist. Women jealous each other a lot and it's a very small percentage of women that can live in their truth, as fabulous as they are, and have the confidence that you have. And it really shows that your confidence is not bullshit, because if you look at like a kiana, she also is very much in her own, like this is who I am, I'm like, I'm a pretty girl, I'm smart, I'm educated, I'm this. So where did that confidence stem from for you?
Speaker 3:I think again, it's from my, my parents, um in, in that respect, I think mostly my dad union leader is a thing right where they call each other hermano, and asked him once I'm like, why do you call him hermano? He said, at the end of the day, we're all brothers, we're all sisters, no matter the color, no matter if you're rich or not or whatever. So don't ever feel less, or you know, and that if you're educated with that, you're going to own up to whatever it is you are and what you believe in. And being a woman, it has its negative things, but it has good things right, I keep telling the same story and kiana had made the same comments in your podcast.
Speaker 3:I I chose the financial sector for a reason, I think. I knew that it's going to be hard and it was hard, but the moment you get the respect, you turn that around right, um, and when you turn that around, you'll never lose that. So for me it was a very hard school, but if you live to, if you learn to live with that, you learn and you grow, I think, and you and you can use that yeah so I think it's something that I never.
Speaker 3:I'm not a victim of anything, you know. You're a victim of yourself, of course, you know, you can turn every situation around. You can.
Speaker 1:I like that you don't use the victim card Because I'm a woman. I didn't get to.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:You're like, because I'm a woman, I'm going to make this happen.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, you have to work harder, but you do it 100% and you can.
Speaker 1:And some guys might feel a little bit like hey, relax, why? Just like you know what I mean. Like some people might feel offended because of their ego, because when you come at them as a woman, like like get out of here, bro, like no.
Speaker 3:And on the jealousy, you know it's funny that you say that I'm not at all.
Speaker 2:I can see that.
Speaker 3:If anything it's sad and it's it's it's a thing of insecurity to be jealous of other women, because we should. You know the male bonding. Why is it called male bonding? Why is it not called female bonding? We should bond. We should, you know, be that group that support each other, because it is harder for a woman. So anytime I can support a woman, I will, and I'm very open about that. If I have equal CVs, I'll go for the woman, because it's not equal, the world is not equal.
Speaker 2:It's not.
Speaker 3:It's not equal, the world is not, it's not, it's not so. That's a total utopian idea. So if you can give it a push, I will um, and I think you know, sister, let's let's support each other.
Speaker 1:Fix the crown. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Go for the ground and the car go for the ground and if I can help you with whatever else. If you're looking for a car, I got you two company cars.
Speaker 1:Which one do you want? Take one and maybe.
Speaker 3:Kiana has it for me, maybe not. She's her own character, she's her own woman.
Speaker 1:God knows that we don't always agree no, but she did mention, like a lot of her traits. She got it from you with that thumb that she's had and seeing you here I'm like I can see I get it. I get it, 100 for sure.
Speaker 3:Very proud of her and of my other daughters and of friends of mine, I think anybody that has the capacity of not, you know, don't give up, you know, don't get intimidated and just stand up. And and the boxing is a thing for me, right, you have to be a wife, you have to be a mother. So there is a thing for me, right, you have to be a wife, you have to be a mother. So there is a box in which you fit, and if that's what you want, be that.
Speaker 2:Own it.
Speaker 3:But you don't have to be that, because people expect that from you. I'm a mother, I'm a wife, I'm a sister, I'm a daughter, I'm also a fashion lady.
Speaker 1:I also like to go out and dance and have fun, so why should I not do it? Because I'm a ceo, you know what I mean. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think you can. You can still live your own personal life. I tell my wife a lot is yes, we're married, but life is like two. Like you have your circle, I have my circle and we have our circle.
Speaker 2:So you put it together a little tiny, that's us but you're supposed to have your own friends, your own.
Speaker 1:Hey, I'm going on a girl's trip To I don't freaking know Spain Go.
Speaker 3:Yeah, as long as you do it With respect and trust 100% 100%.
Speaker 1:Because, like why Sometimes you have these, these couples that like you would get married In a relationship, and the guy's like what are you doing?
Speaker 2:Don't be like this, don't be like this that's insecure.
Speaker 1:Just like To each other. Sometimes you say something Too much, say that's insecure. Just like I tell her. Like sometimes she stays home too much, please go, like go out to your friends, go, because if you do it for too long you're gonna be so codependent on me and then I need you to have your own your own circle?
Speaker 3:yeah, you have, and my husband has his own thing going and he's his own person and we love being in each other's company but he understands that I need my space too.
Speaker 1:You guys have business, business together, no.
Speaker 3:No, God knows no.
Speaker 1:God knows.
Speaker 2:My money is my money? No, not that.
Speaker 3:But he's a private equity manager and he does his thing and he's in the financial sector and we knew each other like that.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:But I don't think we're very strong personalities, both of us. I'm not sure how to work together. We work together in the charity, yeah, and that goes. That's very well. Um, he's also very driven, so, no, that that works. But he lets me be. So. Today I told him I'm going to the spark. He said, oh gosh, you do it, you'll be you I feel like we have to bring him on with her how's it like to be a woman like?
Speaker 1:how does it feel to be married? A woman like that, like bro? He's gonna laugh oh, my god like how does that? Work.
Speaker 3:You got two more daughters after that and he's gonna laugh at that yeah, you know somebody um asked him, does it take her like an hour to get ready? He's like no, much less than you would expect. I could be done in 50 minutes.
Speaker 2:I know, exactly what, how you know that's it okay, so I want to switch the conversation just a little bit because I think it's very important, and you were very much in a male dominated industry, yes, with a lot of things. So have you ever gotten any pushback because, especially how good you look have you ever gotten any pushback or like any type of disrespect from like men trying to, hey, let's like I think you should sleep your way up to the top, or like I can like I'll give you, give me a, give me a pass, and then I will make sure you get this position and stuff like this.
Speaker 3:No, not that directly the disrespect came from. Oh, this is going to be an easy meeting. You know that. What you do get is that people from the outside once you become. I became a managing director at 29 in a very, very male-dominated environment. There was only one more woman that was a managing director in 16, and it's a multinational company, but it's extremely professional. We had to do, you know, accounting statements per month, so there's no way you can sleep your way out of 400 clients, you know that environment, doesn't you know?
Speaker 3:but from the people outside, then you could hear like, oh, maybe she, she must have done something yeah I feel like you know, no, educate yourself on what it is that you do in an accounting practice like that. You, you can't. You simply can't um, because you're dealing with clients, you're dealing with deadlines and I dealt with 300 people that were reporting to me. So there's no way you can survive that 20 years, um, with the record that I had of growing, you know, 20, 30 percent per year, uh, which was really good, and what I like about it is you know, you show what you can do. It's not um, maybe, or an opinion.
Speaker 1:This is what the brought to the table.
Speaker 3:Yes, and no one can take that from you. No one your clients, not your personnel, not your supervisor, nobody. So in that respect, you know you felt that and when I came back I think I thought those things were mostly abroad. New York was brutal. I worked in New York for a very long time.
Speaker 2:You come in and it goes oh this is a young-looking lady.
Speaker 3:This is going to be an easy meeting. You spin that around pretty quick and the New Yorkers became my best clients. So, no, because that's the rudest, most you know, the hardest environment to work in, but that was the best learning Once you learn to dominate them, especially the New Yorkers.
Speaker 1:they're very much on.
Speaker 2:You have to insert the dominance of listen. Shut the fuck up, I run shit here. This is how this is going to happen.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. They respect you and that's that, but you have. When I came back after 20 years here, I think it was still a best male-dominated macho environment.
Speaker 2:It's macho. That's the thing with these Caribbean guys In one of these big meetings.
Speaker 3:They said we have the table question, ronda Ta'afo question, and so I said yeah, and he's like it's not really meant to ask the question. I'm like what do you mean? It's R role in the table.
Speaker 1:You have to ask the question. Can I start then?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm like I'm going to ask the damn question, you know, and the idea was nobody really does that, especially not you. You know you're new, so be quiet and submissive and listen and learn. So I did that two meetings, one, two, and after that it was done, so I started asking questions. Okay, I started, you know doing what? I do best, which is being critical, being efficient, being productive, and that's what you pay me to be amen asking a lot of questions to that yeah dory has that too.
Speaker 1:My wife has that too. Always like fuck, like this. But what about this? You?
Speaker 2:have to she works.
Speaker 3:She works in audits oh yeah, so it's same thing. Yeah, ask her about sleeping your way up.
Speaker 1:No, way, excuse me, no way. Well, that guy's remote, so it's remote work, so it's all good.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, no, you can't, but it's hard. You have to be, you know, very assertive and don't quit. Basically, you know, go on and on, and on and on until you earn that respect. And if you do it, especially with the work you deliver, then I think it becomes easier okay.
Speaker 2:So I'm sorry, no, no, go, go, go, go for it. I mean I'm enjoying this.
Speaker 1:I'm like again spectator.
Speaker 2:I'm like I'm loving this so how you talked about it. So I want to know a little bit more on how did you balance, then, motherhood, being a wife still having time for yourself, because that's something professionals have a huge issue with, yeah, is the disbalance of work-life balance. So how did you manage that?
Speaker 3:What are the things that?
Speaker 2:you cut out or stuff like that it was hard.
Speaker 3:No one is going to say it's not hard, but what you have to do is think of pregnancy not like a sickness, for example right, except if you have a really bad pregnancy. Pregnancy is part of life, so I enjoyed every pregnancy. My kids have eight years in between, so at any given time I had one that I have to really, really, you know, be there for. But I think they appreciate also that the things you have to do. It's quality. There's a harvard study about this. Right, you have a lot of moms, and no shade or disrespect for the moms that are at home, but if you're at home and you're happy with your situation and you give you all your attention to your kids, good. A lot of them, however, are unhappy with being home exactly, and they end up not giving that quality.
Speaker 3:You know that they have to give to the kids and then in that study they said it's better to have that quality hour or two hours per day with your kids than having a lot of time and you're not really doing anything because you're thinking about where's my husband when he's coming home. What should I be doing? Why am I doing not you know, that type of deal? Um, so how did I balance? Listen, I took time for myself. It sounds selfish, but it's true.
Speaker 2:You need to be selfish.
Speaker 3:You have to have me time and be happy before you can make anybody else happy. Um, I worked, which I loved, and I work, work still today because I love it. Kiana always says no, I'm gonna cover and buy the you this and that so you don't have to work. I'm like no, because I always work.
Speaker 1:I want to. I want to be working.
Speaker 3:I love it and then I chose when and where to be for my kids. So, in terms of sacrificing, I wasn't a cookie mom, like I couldn't be there for the cookies and the bake sales, but if there was a parent teacher conference, if there was something that was, you know, required, like a recital.
Speaker 1:a recital yeah.
Speaker 3:I would. Once I remember I lost a ballet recital of Kiana. I was in tears like sprinting from the airport Cause there was a delay. Those are the things that you know, you.
Speaker 1:You sacrifice and that could hurt you. But I never felt bad of not being able to go to the big sale. I'm like you know it's a big sale and uh, yeah, we can do it tomorrow and these moms that do big sale.
Speaker 3:This is no shade. It's good, it's good that you do, but I, I didn't feel bad how about how?
Speaker 1:about being a wife? Like was there some sort of like balance, of like, because, seeing you're both busy, like did you guys have time for each other, or like? You would schedule like okay, see, you're both busy. Maybe six days out of the week you don't really see each other, but that one sunday, like hey, we're going to clinton, curacao, go hang out, you know no, we met my husband and I make time we do make time for each other.
Speaker 3:We have and we have date nights and we have, you know, series nights where we watch stuff but we also, after every vacation we have a small mini vacation for the two of us. Okay, we put it in and even in the vacations it gets noticed. Right, we have date nights where we go and leave and stay somewhere else and they go there, they go again. You know, get a room, we're like we do, we do, we're getting a vacation from the vacation?
Speaker 3:yes and they got used to that. But I think that's one tip that I'll give anybody out there just make the time for that, make the time for your husband, make that particular time for you. For me it's a gym. I go almost every day from eight to nine. You know I build it in. I block it in my agenda. I think it's very important. It's an hour that it's not vanity. It's an hour that you're doing for you.
Speaker 3:You know, and yeah, and looking good, what I think it's. You know, once in a week you go to the hairdresser. You do your nails.
Speaker 2:That doesn't take too long. But it's part of the professional look as well it is. You're shaking people's hands, you're representing Curacao on a high scale. So, yeah, you kind of have to make sure your nails look good.
Speaker 3:I do think it matters.
Speaker 2:It does.
Speaker 3:It tells a story of that. You take care of you, so you take care of your work, of your duties.
Speaker 2:But it also gives people a perspective where, like, ooh, I want to hear what she has to say, just by simply how she looks.
Speaker 1:You look at her like she seems very interesting. I wonder what she does. Yeah, yeah, you're attracted to the person.
Speaker 2:I get it? I get it. No, but that's part of looking, presenting a full package, that's part of it.
Speaker 3:So you know and the thing I don't like is when they say you don't look like you're from curacao. I'm like what?
Speaker 2:what is? What is what is?
Speaker 1:curious.
Speaker 3:Exactly what is Curacao? Kiana gets very upset about that too. Hola como estas. Which part of Colombia?
Speaker 1:are you?
Speaker 3:Seriously.
Speaker 2:Skipped the whole Curacao. And the last thing doesn't help.
Speaker 3:No. And I said listen, what is from Curacao? I analyzed that for a second. The first inhabitants were what Indians you know. So Curacao is so the curacao is everything. Curacao is a mixture of everything yeah you know people that came from portugal, from a lot of jewish people, spanish people, then came to dutch, then came the imports, you know. So curacao is a mix of everything. So to identify me as not being or being is limiting yourself, and limiting beliefs is a topic on its own.
Speaker 3:I think it's something very significant that we should take care of on this island and I'm working about it on that. Limiting beliefs means that you know you're limiting yourself in, in putting yourself in boxes, yeah, and this is all I can do.
Speaker 1:Is all I can do.
Speaker 3:I can't, it's all I can be you know, and it's my color that determines me, or my status, or whether I'm gay or not gay, or whether women aren't.
Speaker 1:No, none of that matters just whatever you want to become, just think about it and just go for it and just go for it.
Speaker 3:And everything, everything takes work and sacrifice.
Speaker 1:True, that also stems out of like your parents.
Speaker 3:Yes, you know like your upbringing, your household.
Speaker 1:That's a big pressure on the mental belief of someone.
Speaker 2:Yes, it does. But I also see it as you can't jail yourself in that for a long time either, because your parents probably didn't know any better, because their parents that's what they got indoctrinated with. Yeah, if you have the opportunity and the ability because we have internet and we have the phones you can understand that. Hey, you know what that was a cycle I want to stop. Yeah, and again, it's not because, oh, my color of the skin or because my parents didn't teach me this. No, you have that opportunity now to be whatever you want. To me. I always see it as it is about who wants it the most, who's the hungriest? Who is going to be like listen, I don't know shit about this industry, but I'm going to learn everything about it because I want to be the best in it.
Speaker 3:Yes, and I have a minor in psychology, too, there is an age right where you have to own up your own character.
Speaker 1:You have to yes. What's that age?
Speaker 3:It's between 14 and 70. You already know who you are Good, not good, yes, no. And you have to own up and you become that adult. You know young adult, but you're becoming a man or a woman or whatever and you have to determine who you want to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And your upbringing helps, yes, and your conditions help. But I was just talking to gerandi martina before this right what he's also yuri corso, he also didn't have. You know the, maybe the right or yandino, you know those guys didn't have it easy yeah but what made it that you know that they became?
Speaker 1:what was that pivotal thing in life that made you switch like you know what fuck this, I'm gonna do what I want.
Speaker 3:That's grit, yeah it's all about grit.
Speaker 2:It's about you decide this is not who I'm gonna be I'm gonna be that what I want to and I had that at an early age.
Speaker 3:I think kiana had it. There's a lot of people that and sometimes it helps to motivate them and talk to them, but you have to have a little of that in your own right. You need to have that fire you have to be hungry to you have to be hungry, go be the next, whatever rihanna I don't know if she did research or someone told you.
Speaker 1:It's like there's no way you're gonna set that everybody.
Speaker 2:Baby, don't play with it scoring points with shark today. Don't play with it. She has to score. No point, she just walked in yeah yeah thank you, stop.
Speaker 1:I tried to prepare you guys and then I told you, like don't worry about it, like now you go to 90 is improvised all right, I'm gonna focus like 10, then make a 10 to 90.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah yeah, no, no, it's all good, it's fun, okay, so let's talk. How did this come about? How did they be like oh, kiana, we want you, um, um we want you or like how did this come about? Like?
Speaker 3:okay, I did in a nutshell 20 years private sector, came back, became the president of CIFA Curaçao International Financial Association and the vice president of Curaçao International Financial Sector. What?
Speaker 2:a C baby. A lot of finances as well. All finance, finance, finance.
Speaker 3:Started working with the government, worked with like six, seven ministers at the time, and so on. So after that tenure of six years it's four. You have to stop, but I took six, which is fine. I went into Ministry of Economic Development, became chief cabinet of one of the economic development ministers, then I became the advisor of the minister president and I became the liaison in the COVID period between Curacao and Holland. So I worked a lot with Holland and they liked the fact that I was a bridge builder, bruggebouwer the translation I could do easily. So that became a thing. Government change I did three years consultancy. I worked for a company in Miami. I do my own consultancy. I'm also a coach. So fine, I did that, finished a master's, finished. A coach. So fine, I did that, finished a master's, finished a coaching.
Speaker 1:I do a lot of things. Let me open my book, so I did this.
Speaker 3:So after that, the third year, then somebody said, wouldn't you like to take this role?
Speaker 2:And I was actually with Miles Tukong right now, which is C-NEXT CEO of.
Speaker 3:C-NEXT. So I kind of went into that, participated in that interview, and then somebody else said but wait, wait, chat also has an opening. And I said, okay, wait chat is completely something else.
Speaker 1:It takes me out of the whole finance investment thing that I've been doing for the last 30 years Go into hospitality tourism, which for me is new, bright. It's a fun challenge. It's fun. You're going to grow.
Speaker 3:When you talk tourism, I laugh.
Speaker 1:It's fun.
Speaker 3:It's something that always attracted me. So I said, no, okay, I'm going to drop out of that, get into that and you go to the interview, the loops, talk to a lot of board members, and the more I did that, the more I liked it. So that's how I came about and I was accepted for the role, thankfully with a very nice, you know, complete board and members. It's so positive. It's so positive on a lot of angles. It's growing.
Speaker 1:It's actually the largest economic pillar of the island right now nice tourism, all big hotels, yeah tourism, it's like 48 percent of the gdp of 20 000 people working it and growing, so I dare to say that that's trend is going to continue.
Speaker 3:Of course I work very closely with ctb. By the way, moriat would be another very great person for you to interview.
Speaker 1:We're gonna give us a connection?
Speaker 3:yeah, I'll give you the connection season three yes a young bride. You know upcoming. He understands, you know this, this um area. So we do it in a private public partnership type of deal. He's public, I'm private. We work with the government very well, so I don't mind. You know, here it's a small island, people tend to think if you work with the government very well, so I don't mind. You know, here it's a small island, people tend to think if you work with that minister, you're pro that.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah same thing. You know, you're a professional, you know and a professional works with any government because you're doing for the good of the country and not for the good of the country and because you're a fuck, yeah, it's.
Speaker 3:It's the your company competence that counts and not, you know, your preference for government.
Speaker 1:I want to do this because I think it's better, although you know your thing is going to fuck up a lot of other people. Meanwhile, we should do this because it makes more sense to help this many people. Yes, a little bit tougher, but you know what I mean. It's like you gotta, you gotta kind of like it's a balance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's a balance.
Speaker 3:But even there I say if it's a good for the country, go for it exactly why. Why would you? Not, you know, yeah, yeah so that works out very well. We've done a lot of great things last year. We're going to continue amen like aruba, is is highly dependent on americans.
Speaker 1:We're diversifying fully yeah, so we are. I saw a lot of brazilians come in brazilians. I was in the airport here in portuguese and make like what the fuck? Yeah, it's good.
Speaker 3:They are ice panders.
Speaker 1:They leave a lot.
Speaker 3:On the island, and that's the strategy we're talking about. Which kind of tourists Do you want to have? Correct, which countries? What do you want to go? Where do you want to go With tourism? So it's not A formula of quantity, it's about quality.
Speaker 2:That's what Aruba is trying to switch now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but Aruba already did that. The only thing is we were diversified, we had five economic pillars and now you're down to one or two. But my own personal idea about it is, if your one pillar is very strong, the domino effect of it is huge and it can maintain your island forever.
Speaker 1:As long as there's no COVID.
Speaker 3:And then it's not even only aruba is really diversifying.
Speaker 1:Right now, though, like right now, I think covid made us realize like, oh shoot, we need to like diversify. Now we're looking into, like, where the the oil refinery is. They want to tear it down, build maybe vertical farming. They want to build a new cruise port terminal yes, but in reality how much?
Speaker 3:how much are they diversifying? It's still 90 yeah, they're trying.
Speaker 1:They're trying to invest now in agriculture and by I think they're starting with lowering the cost of living. So, instead of bringing all those stuff from outside but shipping it in, they're going to invest like here's 200 for you, 100k for you. Now go invest, yeah, and build, you know, the agriculture but it's long term and I mean it's good that they're doing that. Yeah, yeah so it's, it's this.
Speaker 3:Plus you have construction, but the construction is related to hospitality and tourism then they're thinking you know, digital nomads it call, that's all fine, but in reality macroeconomically it's still very small. And this is big and I like sorry.
Speaker 2:I like also that y'all are and curious out here. You all respect the orange economy so much more Like oh yeah, I see how.
Speaker 1:The love we're getting here is crazy, you all invest in local influencers.
Speaker 2:Local, this look like very much. You go crazy with your local talents and they are the faces of, yes, everything. You don't look for like outsiders to come, unless the outsiders are also from like sister islands. So you look from from somebody from aruba, somebody from bunear yeah and still give that flavor of oh, this is our own people promoting our own stuff and I love that so much and I'm like Aruba, please I've said this many times like to Ata and stuff.
Speaker 1:Like you know, like I understand, you want to work with an agency from New York to bring this influence. I'm like, come on, do your research, like, look at the analytics of these influences you're bringing. Why not find five, three people in the culinary scene, ocean, whatever, invest in them for them to become influencers and they represent your island? There's a cooking competition. Everyone pays. Go, represent us, bring our fucking dishes and food. Go to Spain and make whatever.
Speaker 3:And a better person to represent than somebody from here.
Speaker 1:A hundred percent Like you're spending so much money on this other influencer. They come and have a good time and they'll never come again. Meanwhile, you can pay a local person. They have a salary now, they can survive on this and they get to create content around what they love.
Speaker 2:Because you're, you're pushing it and promote the island that they live on 100%.
Speaker 1:They build a fan base, they stay here the fan base, like, hey, I really fuck with aruba, like I don't know what this guy is and that's why I just had that conversation with jirandi.
Speaker 3:As I you know, I want to propose him to become an ambassador for chatter, because what sells is the story right. Ctb does see sands and sand. It's all beautiful and they they're doing more of product development.
Speaker 1:They hook us up with a car. Good, thank you, thank you kudos to them.
Speaker 3:And they're doing also because we have an mou with them more of product development and storytelling. But we market locally too, so we want that. We want that story from the man in puna in you know, trabanda, telling us what is it that you do, because that is the number one thing that attracts the tourists at now to curacao exactly authenticity yeah you know the warmth of the people.
Speaker 1:It's always the people and that's something you guys still have. Like I will walk around yes, the culture and everything like we see it like huge. The food, you guys love your food. You guys love your music and eat was that he put it like lately we were going to funchi. Uh, we went there yesterday. I mean, I expect a way that hey, what's up, hey podcast, I'm like what the fuck legit. And some other guy from the table came over hey, what's up, I'm like what the fuck?
Speaker 2:the guy gave us a bunch of juices. This is my product delight delighted.
Speaker 3:Okay, so if Aruba doesn't contract you, we will. What lie?
Speaker 2:sign me up to Curacao.
Speaker 1:You don't even have that accent get the condos ready, we'll move in right away. Nah, but it's. I like it if Hopi Love was the show that just hands like if they love something like yo. That means hey, I love you yeah and her room is in shape.
Speaker 3:I think it's like reverse Like.
Speaker 1:I hope you love the course.
Speaker 3:I hope you love hey.
Speaker 1:What's up?
Speaker 3:I went.
Speaker 1:I went yeah, that's really, that's really cool. There's a venue, there's an airplane hangar.
Speaker 3:It's at the Near the airport.
Speaker 1:Okay, so there's an airplane hangar Back in the day near the airport. Okay, so it's an airplane hangar back in the day. Yes, it was very nice air conditioned, it was really nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love it. So that was cool, you see.
Speaker 1:I go to parties hey, let's go hopefully, hopefully, I'll get to see it one day when we have a big party here and I'm in Aruba tomorrow.
Speaker 3:How fun is that?
Speaker 1:that's crazy, yeah oh, yeah, you told me. Yeah, you told me, you have something to go to super nice shout out to tisa, yeah, we love tisa. Tisa has helped us a lot, like whenever I go to her for advice, sometimes like I would like, hey, so this is happening like she gives the best advice.
Speaker 3:She advises me? No, she's, I love her, she's always she always books me for.
Speaker 1:Like some of the eventsata events, I also host AMC stuff in Aruba, so it's funny you were mentioning AMC earlier. I failed public speaking in school 12 years. Media failed me, so who's laughing now?
Speaker 3:but anyways, I remember that same school told me on the AMC event.
Speaker 1:Who's laughing now?
Speaker 3:but you know what it means right, you didn't give up exactly. So what have we said? I just, I just enjoyed doing it.
Speaker 1:I just found found it so much fun. Like I always have this thing. Whenever I take on a project, my first question is like am I gonna enjoy this? If I do, and they're like all, right, now let's proceed. The next one how how can we make this work, bro? If I'm not gonna enjoy, then I'm not gonna freaking. Do it. Yeah, because I'm, I'm gonna be like you guys enjoy it, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, we're here, but you're also lucky that you can make a living out of that right and not everybody has that, but I agree. I mean, I'm a fierce defender of do what you love yeah yeah otherwise it's not gonna come out. I don't do nothing I don't want to do exactly and I'm not sorry about it either but that's also your generation, you know, you. You refuse to. You know, give in into what for sure what you love to do.
Speaker 1:Love it, love it I had a question, but I forgot damn you forgot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know actually. Uh, now I'm thinking about.
Speaker 1:It's not a question I want to ask you, but I don't want to say it on camera. So okay, because people are gonna be stealing my ideas, you know uh-huh then, then you'll do it after.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I just anyways okay, so what has been your biggest learning since being in this position. Like what is your biggest take back? You can be like. You know what. Since doing this current position, I've learned.
Speaker 3:XYZ you know, I've learned that working together is still and I always believed in that but it's still the best formula to go ahead Even if you don't get along, even if you don't necessarily, you know, agree with everything. You cannot do it alone, and that counts for organizations as well. We're as strong as our you know weakest link, and so take the weakest link, make unite with them, and then that's how we move forward as a country. Right?
Speaker 3:so I may still disagree with with things, but you, you need each other so my biggest takeaway and my biggest advice is to, no matter what, put the differences aside. It's not ego Good book, by the way Ego is the enemy.
Speaker 1:Ryan Holiday, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Very good book. Put the ego aside and just keep thinking on. You know where it is you're going to and what's your goal, and you'll get there if you do it together.
Speaker 1:Are you a book reader?
Speaker 3:I am yeah.
Speaker 1:What was the one book that changed? I am, yeah. What was the one book that changed? Sorry, I'm segueing, but like everybody has that one book that ooh Like, for me it was Rich Dad, poor Dad. Okay, that made me like, oh so Emundo Acatexiste, like this is a real thing.
Speaker 3:I had the Second Mountain. The Second Mountain is a book.
Speaker 2:I started feeling around 49 that I had no purpose and I made a lot of.
Speaker 3:I made a lot of money, but in in what I was doing, but there was something missing yeah right, it was stagnant.
Speaker 3:Yes, and the second mountain tells you that at some point and it's different for everyone you reach that and then you have to find purpose, and and that purpose is different for everyone for me, it was that I had to give back to my community, to my country, um, and and it's very easy to sit in miami or holland and say what you're doing wrong, but actually you know, come be part of the solution yeah, and bring your knowledge back and like how can we bring?
Speaker 3:knowledge back you know, helping with with with that, but also helping the community and it gave me that sense of purpose very quickly. And yes, there were roadblocks and you know we spoke about some of those, but I think in net, net, what you get out of it is so much more and so much better than what you give up for. So I love that and I think you know you know you give up 40 of maybe your income to come here. But, what is life about? It's about legacy. It's about your children seeing that you're doing something good.
Speaker 3:Something really good, and if that's something you carry with you, then by all means do it. It's worth it, because money for money, yeah. How many shoes can you buy?
Speaker 2:Yeah, how many shoes can you buy? So what are? What are three things that you would like to fulfill before you close your eyes to this world? Oh, wow, yeah, I would love to know this, cause I feel like you've accomplished, you've did so, you've done so much, you've accomplished so much, so like, if there's three more things that you would be like, hey, you know what I would love to do these things before I die.
Speaker 3:First of all, I would like to see my kids happy and completed in in their own rights and whatever they want to do. Second, um, you know, I would like to see more, uh, peace and happiness in the people from this particular country, like more positivity, more of that, more that you can do it type of deal. What we spoke about Leaving the past to the past, let bygone be bygone.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And that part. And third, for myself yes, I mean, I'm right now in the hospitality sector. I would like to make sure that it's a sustainable hospitality sector, that it's something that curacao can thrive on. You can hire much more people, you can learn much more. For it, it becomes sustainable. You know, even if there is a covet um, you have a diversified economy that is sustainable, and if I can help my granito for that to happen, that would be something one of your stuff that you want to accomplish?
Speaker 3:yes, in in what I'm doing right now, so for sure sorry is.
Speaker 2:Is chata now involved in school as well, like in education?
Speaker 3:yes, we um, but the hospitality side. So what we're trying to do with the Ministry of Education is go to the schools and give lectures on why you should work in hospitality. Why? Because there's right now in the hospitality faculty, around 14 kids start studying that Six or seven graduate.
Speaker 3:It's expensive for them, they have to work while they while they study, and so that's why we started a hospitality, let's say sponsorship program too. And the second is, is they believe like there's no future in it. So that's the the, the mentality that we're trying to change, and educate them that there is a future. You have to make it them that there is a future. You have to make it do you guys have?
Speaker 1:do you guys have a shortage in the in the hospitality sector? Absolutely yeah. I'm only asking because in aruba there's that. That's a big problem right now, huge listen.
Speaker 3:We aruba is. Curacao grew in economy 5.4 percent last year and we're looking to grow again this year.
Speaker 1:The biggest uh catalysa of course you're running it. That's why I'm sorry, yeah it's tourism.
Speaker 3:So we're gonna have an additional 4 000 rooms for 2027, which means 2 000 3 000 people we need in hospitality to work which is impossible to find here or aruba. So we have to make sure that the permits are right and we have to import.
Speaker 1:While you're incentivizing your students to study.
Speaker 3:And once they have that diploma they can grow, Because we have enough GMs here that are.
Speaker 1:You gotta show them like you could be. You gotta also find out if they're passionate about it. And how do you do it? Maybe for them because they don't have the finance or something to like buy the knives or buy whatever. Maybe you guys gift them like, hey, here's a whole talk about chefs, yeah, I think yeah, you know what you have to do.
Speaker 3:Tell justin to go give a lecture absolutely justin sorry, but he's gonna be my next panelist. Yeah, he goes like no, no, but that's.
Speaker 2:That's one of the things.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I agree that you know he's an example of somebody.
Speaker 1:Another example and he's cool oh so, being a chef, being a school, like you know, like you, you kind of want to make it seem like, oh, I want to be that guy it's cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, be in that set yeah, and it wasn't before, but but it is now.
Speaker 1:And for all the guys, for all the guys, women like guys who can cook. I don't know why my wife married me because I can't cook, for shit. I guess I'm just very funny.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And other attributes and other attributes yeah.
Speaker 3:No so yeah, we do go to schools and we get matches.
Speaker 2:No, I asked this just because in one of your three goals that you would love to accomplish, you talked about you what like to see more positivity in the community and all this good stuff, and I feel like that starts with education. Yes, yeah, because in underbow is where the kids are developing the most. That's when they suck in the most information. They're a sponge and I feel like our school systems filled us. No tea, no shade. But just speaking from my own perspective, I feel like our school systems filled us in the sense of why did we not have debate classes where we could learn to debate on a professional level as children?
Speaker 1:critical thinking we could.
Speaker 2:Why don't we have more um speaking classes, like we didn't speak birds, but I'm talking at like a higher level of what you're communicating. I'm talking about like sex education. I'm talking all of these type of things. I feel like these should have been done in an underbought system where you're now learning. By the time you go to Marvel, you kind of have a better idea of what you want to do in life, where you want to go versus getting all of this at Exactly.
Speaker 1:Even like taxes yeah.
Speaker 2:Why do we not learn about taxes?
Speaker 1:I wish I did it's something we're going to have to deal with Budgeting. Yeah, no, no wish I did.
Speaker 3:It's something we're going to have to deal with Budgeting. No, no, I agree. I mean, listen, I cannot say education on its own is a whole different. You know ball game to talk about. I mean, which system? We're still very you know, we follow the Dutch system too, so it's. But yes, I agree that you could put more into that, and that's why I don't always put the blame you. That's why I don't always put the blame. You know people like to blame government for everything. I always think what do you do? We?
Speaker 2:have a right to use it.
Speaker 3:So our point is we're going to go to the schools and offer this from the private sector. You know our education or mentorship, or you know critical thinking courses from the private sector side and that's what we bring to the table and I think if everybody does that a little bit, we're going to get there right. But we should all be part of that solution. And I agree with you In America you just spoke about debating. At 10 years they start with debating classes, right. So you know very early on.
Speaker 1:Wait, is this in Courses? Yes, no. In the US. Ohs, okay, I was like, wait, they do this like no international school does.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but um you know, it should be part of every school you should learn that.
Speaker 1:You know me and shark are a great example. We agree to disagree a lot like we don't.
Speaker 3:Sometimes we don't agree you don't think it personal.
Speaker 1:We're still here, like five years later still doing this show yeah but yeah, it is what it is soft on the man, hard on the issue.
Speaker 3:You know that. That's part of the whole political landscape too, and let's not go personal and let's discuss the issue and if you have enough, arguments.
Speaker 1:It's very hard for somebody to like when somebody says something to me that of quote-unquote offends me. I'm not offending you like as a person. It's like the whole idea of what we're doing is not working, but some people and their ego. Take it personally, they're like I was, I mean like dude. No, I was.
Speaker 2:But this is also.
Speaker 1:It doesn't make sense, but okay.
Speaker 2:This is why we have shitty politicians now. Yeah, it's because.
Speaker 1:It's just a popularity contest.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they get emotional, then they want to do personal attacks and all this bullshit. But if they got like debate classes and like from a young age they understood how this works. You're going up there now to represent yourself in such a high professional way where it's like no, we can stay.
Speaker 3:No, this is what the conversation is about, but it's even simple things, right? You see how you let me speak and then I let you speak nobody, you know interrupts and those are simple things, that if you have that within you, that you can have a conversation. We can talk like this, for you know, till tonight and have and agree and disagree yeah, you guys also have it in aruba.
Speaker 1:I mean, they get very personal in government and they keep that palabra. You guys have like that issue also yeah, it's like a circus instead of a parliament that sucks.
Speaker 3:I hate that sorry I don't want to put you in a difficult position no, no, you have that too in general, saying that's a part of the culture, I believe yeah um, but if I wish that that would change. Yes, I think then you get more to the you.
Speaker 2:You know the issues, the actual issues, but you also have younger people that might actually now be interested in politics and be interested in because now most people that I know they have such a love for passion and a passion for politics. But just because they know how personal the attacks can become, it's like, yeah, I'm not going to do that.
Speaker 3:No, that's not true. I think a lot of people.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, it's not true. Can become. It's like, yeah, I'm not gonna do that, no, that I think a lot of people you change yourself, you're a better person. Well, are people gonna dig your past and just putting them like on blast?
Speaker 3:yeah, but you know, even with that I learned that from a I think it was the yahoo or one of these um that was going to run for president. Everybody has a past, exactly, everybody has something to be ashamed of or some skeleton. I don't think does that determine you I don't know.
Speaker 1:No People will judge you for it.
Speaker 3:Except if you killed somebody or whatever. But if you made normal mistakes, it's part of growing up Facts and I think that's just normal. So if you take that attitude yeah, yeah, I messed up there, True.
Speaker 1:Would you ever run for prime minister?
Speaker 3:of course no no, I mean listen apparently everything you touch grows 5%, 30%.
Speaker 1:I'm like listen.
Speaker 2:She's a grower.
Speaker 1:Maybe you say no today, but maybe in two, three years no.
Speaker 3:I have a lot of peace of mind. You know Lagami. No, I help the government where I'm at. And I'm fine with that in that respect. So I don't want to know. Not particularly I love these type of conversations. But, to be thrown on Facebook every day. I mean, you have to, you want, you want to have to.
Speaker 1:No, no, no you make your impact in a different way in a different way. I'm behind the scenes, behind the curtains, like that I did, but I'm not going to tell you it was me, but I did that and also I'm too factual, too right, I mean I wouldn't, I would.
Speaker 3:I would prefer to do stuff, really do it, and then tell them this is what I did, you know, and but that's all you know part of politics, and I respect them because you know it's a hard work yeah, this is something we talk about a lot, because we did the whole political show in Aruba as well just now and Shark always brings this up.
Speaker 1:It's like I'm like I don't know much about politics, but you just said do the right things and your track record will speak for itself. Exactly, I don't know much about politics, but you just said do the right things and your track record will speak for itself.
Speaker 3:Exactly, that's it. That's all you have to do Instead of the promises. Right, the promises are the false promises. Empty promises.
Speaker 1:Empty, empty, yeah, so.
Speaker 3:I think for young people, I think it's, you know very nice if they would get involved, but I you know very nice if they would get involved, but I can also understand this. You know the whole personal attack thing why they wouldn't want to do it. Um, it's a shame, because you do need help of professionals in politics as well so obviously you are a very, extremely busy woman yes what does anushka do to relax on the career saddle? Oh no, I relax. I do, I don't know, but like what?
Speaker 1:maybe it's something we go see, like what's your favorite beach to go to, like what's your favorite thing to do here we, we go boating.
Speaker 3:And on sundays, um, I told you that I work out every morning with five, six friends and my sister. I love that it's time for myself. I go to the movies, I watch series, I love series, um, and we go, you know, restaurant hopping, we go out.
Speaker 1:If there are things, cultural things to do, I'll do it yeah, I love you know um music museums, um if there's anything, the holland, the holland, something I love that place, yeah, um which one? Yeah, very nice. So if there are events jazz festivals, blues festival, film festivals which one? Cura Holanda, cura Holanda, yeah, cura Holanda, super nice.
Speaker 3:It was there yesterday, Very nice. So if there are events jazz festivals, blues festivals, film festivals, hockey, anything that there is that we're here for- A little ambience, A little ambience yes.
Speaker 1:If there's ambience, we'll be there.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes If there's ambience, we'll be there.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, but when you jump in, not to coast to coast, but you try what's your favorite like I'm asking answers, what's your favorite place to eat here and your favorite beach? Because saturday and sunday we're taking like the day off a little bit and we're gonna go explore a little bit.
Speaker 3:So I go to ferg.
Speaker 1:I love ferg go with the boat.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you really go to ferg so you go out of spanish water and there's a little beach on the right. We call it blue lagoon. When, once you get in on the right, remember that okay super beautiful, small, love it. I love banda bow. All the beaches in banda bow um favorite place to eat. I have a couple, but you know my members are gonna kill me give us your top five.
Speaker 1:Make some of them happy top five.
Speaker 3:I love kaleo in cura holanda okay I Okay, I love Serafina, it's Italian. I love um Kome, which is right here Um top five Omundo. I lunch a lot. I like um soy 95.
Speaker 1:What's that? Like it's in Penstrat.
Speaker 3:What kind of food is it?
Speaker 1:Soy.
Speaker 3:I'm thinking soy sauce eclectic. Really nice, you should go.
Speaker 1:But we have so many. You know, you have taqueria and peter mai, you, you have so many. I think the come because I was looking at the filter. I think, come, just follow us on instagram. And now we have to go and french, it's esty.
Speaker 3:You know, you have brasbourg you have a lot of nice places but those ones I like because I have my favorite dishes. They're waiting for me what's your favorite dish in come, because you might be going there come chicken and waffles, fried chicken and waffles so good, caleo, they have this really nice mushroom and in um yesterday yes, yes, she was there. Yeah, and I was there too and and serafina, you have cachoe pepe. That's such a nice pasta, so yeah I'm getting hungry, so you have your favorite dishes everywhere.
Speaker 3:You know you can't go wrong yeah, yeah, yeah, wow you go for nice cocktails.
Speaker 1:Another one perfect good cocktail.
Speaker 3:Yeah, where's mosacaya, mosacaya, yeah where is this? Um next to serafina, that's also in the area dinner boom drinks yeah, I love cocktails like yeah, and I don't like
Speaker 2:tequila, but that's him and Kiana.
Speaker 1:They like that oh yes, give me a good tequila a good Mexican meal.
Speaker 3:I like mezcal too did you guys experience Curacao?
Speaker 1:No, not yet not like that so for me, I've been to Curacao many, many times but I've always come for like waleed used to throw these full moon parties, so I would. I would come in as an mc in and out, in and out, like for the longest time. This is actually the first time I come to career south for so long and we thought the first five days we're going to focus on just recording. And saturday and sunday we will try to take sunday for sure. We said sunday, we're not doing nothing, yeah, and saturday also, we're trying to get saturday now off so we can go like saturday we do all the beaches or we do like all the restaurants, and then sunday we do like maybe go to all the beaches, go to otro banda, whatever. So now we're gonna go explore a little bit. We never got the chance yet, but we've done a few funchiku. Yeah, fridays. That's why, wow, just yeah, love that place.
Speaker 3:Super the birria ramen yeah, yeah ridiculous yeah so, but you know, next time an idea you let us know, and chata can host one of these hotels awesome yes can host you and you can do the podcast there and we we arrange a trip I think we're booking next month, right, super nice, but what was your experience?
Speaker 2:we're working on it.
Speaker 1:We're working on it, yeah he's been to carissa before they would love to.
Speaker 3:I'm sure they would love to do it last time.
Speaker 2:Yes, and they tourist board last time and it was fabulous.
Speaker 3:They took us everywhere.
Speaker 2:We went to different beaches, we had different places to eat. Yeah, every night before the jazz festival, because that's what we came for, they took us to dinner somewhere.
Speaker 3:So we went to the Marriott, but they hosted special dinners, so it wasn't really like we got to eat at certain places got to eat certain places, but we went to pasawa, yeah, and like it was really fabulous. No, you can definitely organize something like that that you know, every time you come you, you know it's different places I've always I.
Speaker 1:This is something I learned from shark, too, when he was here. Uh, when he came back like man, these people really love their culture, like the buildings like in aruba. I do feel like we've lost a little bit of our, our identity, like all the houses, whatever, but everyone just became like burgers, fries and chicken tenders meanwhile over here.
Speaker 3:You know that has to do with the tourists, of course, of course.
Speaker 1:But here you guys still have it like even nixon joseph speaks so much about the history, like he told those about this guy in holland that really dug into the archives of the past of the abc islands. Now we want to interview this guy. So, yeah, we are going to holland, hopefully end of august. So this is definitely one guy on their list to talk about the history of curacao and the history of y'all don't hide slavery like y'all.
Speaker 2:Like y'all celebrate tula. Yes, celebrate all these things. It's part of your past.
Speaker 1:Right, we don't have that, no we lost it there's a lost, it it's part of our past. Oh yeah, we kill a chicken. What?
Speaker 2:Yeah, now you have to use fake chickens. No, you have to celebrate it and you have to learn from it, right?
Speaker 3:So these are lessons, I agree, but it is part of who we are.
Speaker 2:We have to know where we came from. Who was here before us?
Speaker 3:We know none of that. We learned, learn in school about Christopher.
Speaker 2:Columbus Correct. Who is he? Why do I learn about this white man that probably finds? Some places that was already discovered Like you ain't find shit, but that's whatever.
Speaker 3:That's like a whole conversation and you know, protect that authenticity, which is what attracts. You know, right now, Even the digital nomads, young guys like you guys, come to work in Curacao because they say we feel that there's an energy and you know it's authentic. And that's the part that we want to protect. You don't want to make it a small America, you don't want to make it a small anything.
Speaker 2:We are who we are we did a nice tuk tuk tour as well a little car it was so fabulous. They took us a bunch of different places, took us to different statues, explained who the statues were. They explained how the spanish um and the the hot, the dutch people came here, how they invaded the space, what they did yeah, but they invaded, they took over the people they talked about.
Speaker 2:How no filter yeah, they talked about how y'all came up with, like, the colors of the houses, of the, how the government actually invested in like, okay, everybody gets a pop of color in their house and all that. So, like all of that was like, oh, wow, okay, so this is how that goes. You know the colors, what they mean and you did the murals tour too.
Speaker 3:Did you talk to Kurt and Clayton? I believe we did some murals.
Speaker 2:We even went to this little the Kaya.
Speaker 3:Kaya guys no.
Speaker 2:We didn't get to talk to them, but they took us to their places. They took us to Kaya Kaya, so I'll give you the content.
Speaker 1:Who are the Kaya Kaya guys?
Speaker 3:Kurt, schoop and Clayton.
Speaker 1:And Barrio Hotel.
Speaker 3:Yeah, anyway, I'll give you the numbers. They would be very nice.
Speaker 1:To have on the show.
Speaker 3:To have on the show.
Speaker 1:It was fabulous seeing how much love we got the last few days here. We need to come back one more time, because you try to do one season every year. I feel like we have to do two seasons every year I feel like that too.
Speaker 3:Because you guys are fun, you need to come back. You need to come back, yes, because it's a fun program. It doesn't feel forced. I think that works. I was debating.
Speaker 1:I screen recorded it. Cesar told me the same. He sent me I was debating. I screen recorded I was debating on putting it on our story. He's like man, this is. I was just telling my wife this is the best interview I ever had, ever period. I love that. I didn't promote any music. It was just me, my family, my history. We talked about his father passing. He has a kid. He talked about family. So it's. It's so far from what they're doing, because this is also the beauty of our show is like we, just before we started recording, I told you I just want to know who you are yes, like you do great things, percentage bum, bum, bum, but like who's a news girl?
Speaker 2:like yeah, again, no interruptions of like cards and readings okay, this is the question. Yeah, no, I get that.
Speaker 1:No, I'm happy you get it, which is why I was at ease when you said that I'm like yeah, okay, finally let's just wing it, see where it goes. Because now this also leads, because if you make it too perfect, there will never be a part two. Because now every episode finishes like with an open ending, like correct, I have to come back.
Speaker 3:And what did you do after that?
Speaker 1:yeah, you know what the next one is gonna be anushka and kiana together who's gonna be the? Best dressed on the show and come in come in different cars. So don't tell until you show up. Then you find out like, oh, that's what you wore. Okay, that's interesting. The comments decide like all right, mom or daughter, who's got the most points?
Speaker 3:but I know how she is. She's gonna see. If anyone, then her it's fine, yeah she's that type.
Speaker 2:She's that type.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if anyone her on those guys okay wait before we close out no, no, go for it I have to ask, because if I don't, i'll'll probably kill myself.
Speaker 2:Damn, what type of series do you watch? I had that question too.
Speaker 1:I just really wanted to know what are you watching right now? I?
Speaker 3:finished Yellowstone, which I think the last season was a bummer.
Speaker 1:Really, I'm sure it didn't really.
Speaker 3:Did you guys watch it? No, no, so we watched it until. Let me not spoil it.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no, because it's only three seasons and now they just added. I don't know if it's already there, but I know two more seasons are coming to netflix, or it's on hbo no, the last season came out okay, so that's the fifth, I think yeah, and I think kevin costner left to share it and spoke mostly about himself, yeah, and that kind of ruined it.
Speaker 3:But I like that time, I liked succession that's a good show.
Speaker 1:I think it was a very good show. Billionaire I need billions. Yeah, Billionaire this.
Speaker 3:Is Us Anything? That has the dynamics you know, I love that. Multi-dynamic shows, Love that. So that's, you know what I'm doing right now.
Speaker 2:More or less?
Speaker 3:Okay, now I can die in peace.
Speaker 2:You can die in peace.
Speaker 1:so, before we close this off, what are some goals for you want to accomplish by the end of 2025?
Speaker 3:oh, we have a whole bunch of things that I want to give you your top three.
Speaker 1:Like this needs to be like done by the end of the year we have, uh, signed an lb for chata with 12 resolutions.
Speaker 3:We have to complete at least what we can from the low-hanging fruits of those, because I like to deliver when I promise something, so that's what I'm going to do. Second, we have to work on sustainability. Sustainability is a big thing in the tourism sector and I feel that not everybody's taking it seriously, so that's something I'm going to work on.
Speaker 2:The world needs to take this seriously. Yes, global warming is real, because you see what's happening in California.
Speaker 3:Those are all parts of the global warming and the climate changes. So the world needs to take that seriously and for me I would like to accomplish that. I get on to my reading again, like I used to Nice, Like right now I read in planes, you know here and there it's not consistent. It's not consistent and I want to be go back to that, to books. You know a quarter at least.
Speaker 2:Do you read online or do you read like the physical book? No, no Book book.
Speaker 1:Book book. I love the book book. Give me a physical. Yeah, yeah, if I have a Kind I can't.
Speaker 2:To me it's not even like I don't feel like you're really reading a book. Like I need to have the physical hard copy, or when you're listening, it's also it doesn't feel I can't listen to audiobooks.
Speaker 3:The last book. It was Obama's book that.
Speaker 2:I was listening to.
Speaker 3:I'm like no, this is not the same.
Speaker 1:It frustrates me. I need to read read.
Speaker 3:I think that it's. You just learn so much out of reading, so that's something that I want to add, I should also get back on that I used to.
Speaker 1:I won't say used to. My biggest problem is I fall asleep very fast when I start reading and I'm gone. But like I do want to get back on it because I've have you read the book Atomic Habits.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:You should, it's. I mean, maybe you already have your own systems, do your things, but for someone that doesn't know how to navigate their day like it talks about creating systems that forces you to like, do what needs to be done.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, instead of like, did you finish the? Book yeah, I did actually I think you didn't read it again, oh actually I heard the audiobook when I'm in the gym or when I'm driving.
Speaker 1:Read the physical book now yeah, well, I do recommend that book I will, I will not.
Speaker 3:My last one was I told you, ego is the enemy which I thought was very good, and one of my other favorites is blink, did you guys? Read me Blink would be very good for both of you. It's about your, your first impression of somebody, and whether it's right or wrong, and it it analyzes first impressions. Very interesting why all most of American presidents are as tall as they are because there is a thing about you know walking into the room and be like, oh shit, this person over here and sometimes it is also wrong and if you have that self-realization you can correct yourself immediately.
Speaker 3:Very good book Blink.
Speaker 1:Blink. Go for it. Awesome guys, go read it. Yes, nushka, I want to say thank you for taking out your time out of your day, cause I day because I know you're traveling to uru tomorrow. You couldn't do it yesterday. Today was the only day we could do it. I'm happy you made time for us. Thank you for adapting. It's good. It is good because now we're gonna go to monday, I'm gonna film with your daughter after yes, she also reads a lot.
Speaker 3:Ask her I want to ask what's your favorite book? Yes, but it was really fun. I loved it, enjoyed it.
Speaker 1:Come and we're definitely going to come back. I think. I think I do see us coming back this year again. I do see it happening. Please do, and, guys, hope you enjoyed this episode, hope you learned the new things, if you like what you saw. If you like what you saw, I know you have all the different light Plug yourself real quick.
Speaker 2:Let people know where they can find you or follow Chata on social media and all this stuff.
Speaker 3:Chata on Instagram Chata. My personal is Anushka Kova. You can find us on the website too, wwwchataorg, so contact us.
Speaker 1:Charity what charities do you?
Speaker 3:Tur, mucho Mestre, come Important we feed 620 kids per day, also in the vacation period. If you can help, anything will help. Thank you, for that.
Speaker 1:Awesome, awesome. Well, guys, hope you enjoyed the show. Make sure to subscribe, comment, like all that good stuff. Peace, adios.