A rare look at Aruban film-making with Papa's Song

Renwick Heronimo, an architect and an artist, also in charge of Cas di Cultura, our cultural center tells a story in which he strolls through the wet streets of London and finds shelter in a dark theater. A foreign film festival is unfolding and as Renwick, a native of Aruba, sits back in the dark room he finds it hard to believe his ears: The sounds of Papiamento are coming off the screen accompanied by familiar images from neighboring Curacao.

That's how Renwick stumbled upon a full-length movie, Almacita di Desolato (1986), based on the work of Aruban writer/poet Norman de Palm. It was a fantastic experience Renwick shares, meanwhile discovering that de Palm is already diligently working on his FOURTH full length production.

Papa's Song premiered July 18th 1999, in Amsterdam, and de Palm has been traveling with it since, showing his 1.6 million florins, low-budget romantic thriller in various foreign film festivals with his eye on the big ones. Last week de Palm brought his oeuvre to Curacao. That's when Renwick managed to convince him to also visit Aruba.

You are lucky, an amazingly gifted storyteller is showing the entire body of his work Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. at Cas Di Cultura, and you are invited. Admission is just Afls 15 per person.

About the Movie

Papa's Song was in production for three years. It originated as a stage play titled LUST and was even produced in Aruba two years ago. De Palm explains he read a short blurb in the local paper in Curacao relating to a fatal love triangle of two sisters and one man. That sparked his creativity, and he became eager to explore the issues of family bonds, family secrets and jealousy, giving birth to Lust.  It then evolved into a big screen version, renamed Papa's Song.

Incidentally, De Palm is a memorable actor himself and many moviegoers in the audience last night still remember his performance in Equus, no nude scenes here, a decade ago.

I saw Papa's Song Monday night and it is EXCELLENT. As good as any art-films coming out of Sundance or Cannes. In its center lies a strong bond between two sisters, passionate Antillean women. While Magda marries a colorful islander, Hugo, the elder sister goes Dutch. Shirley weds an upper-middle class lawyer, Nico, adopting his culture down to the single string of white pearls around her neck.

The sisters' lives collide again when as a result of some marital problems the two boys born to Magda and Hugo on Curacao get shipped to Shirley in Holland.

Childless, she takes her sister's children over, then Magda appears to reclaim them.

The movie begins with Magda's arrival. She is an exotic creature, all hair and jewelry, bold African prints and smiles. With her appearance, old, repressed family issues resurface and from the intense interaction between the two women Nico slowly comes to understand that a strong undercurrent of past events keeps these two constantly at each other's throat.

The secret at the heart of Papa's Song is an incestuous relationship of Papa, a popular band leader, first with his older daughter, then with the younger. Shirley ends up killing her father, a crime which lays heavy at the core of her being.

The story is told from four different points of views, so that the audience is presented with a rich, complex and confusing web of emotions so typical of a sick, enmeshed family system.

Will Nico forgive his wife is the question raised at the end? Having been raised in Curacao as the son of a foreign oil worker, will he be able to again embrace the culture that begot his wife's tragic background?

When the lights went on at Cas Di Cultura, ticket-holders hung on in the foyer speculating on the different aspects of the story. De Palm was there with his artistic director Gunnar Frank, describing the movie’s artistic process and adding his angle to the perplexity of themes raised.

Which brings me to the visual appeal of the work. The movie is absolutely beautiful. The beginning scenes depicting Nico's life in Curacao as a Dutch kid among Cunucu folks is carefully staged. The colors are exquisite, the ocean, the boats, the old homes, period clothes and cars are accurately, lyrically painted. Sounds, music and of course the Dutch and Papiamento language interaction are very unique.

When the plot moves to Holland the color palate change to green and blue, cool and calm vs. vivid reds and flaming oranges of life on the island.

As for the choice of subject matter. De Palm says incest exists in the Antilles and in so-called more civilized societies. No, this is not a local protest, this is a universal cry for help and women he says from all walks of life have been coming up to him to thank him for his frank and at the same time timid treatment of the explosive subject. Superb acting especially by Nico, a famous Dutch movie star, Rene van Asten, 48, allows viewers to live in that man’s head and view the action from his sober, pragmatic perspective. This movie is going places and you want to say you’ve already seen it.

Lenny's outer bands send storm surge to Aruba

ARUBA, NOV. 17, 1999

Aruba had a storm surge of several feet Tuesday morning. Practically all parts of the coast were affected by increased surf. No tropical storm or hurricane watches or warnings were in effect - these were in fact fringe effects of the outer bands of Hurricane Lenny, but quite impressive and in parts damaging nonetheless. The wind was buffeting quite strongly earlier in the day but lessened as the system moved east-north-east and was later expected to turn more sharply northeast unfortunately taking the eye closer towards more islands such as Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin islands and also Dutch/French St. Maarten again as well as possibly Saba and St. Eustatius.

See satellite imagery and tracking maps at www.gopbi.com/weather/storm/satellite/
www.gopbi.com/auto/channels/weather/storm/atlantic/lenny/lennymap-c.html

Many beaches were invisible with the surf having quite a battering effect coming up close to the road in certain parts. The police and public works department closed off certain roads including Malmokweg where some houses were evacuated because of the surf threat and accompanying debris. Around the island people were bringing boats and other sea vessels onshore as much as possible to avoid damage by the waves.

In downtown Oranjestad opposite Sonesta Resort, police and public works people were monitoring the situation of the water affecting the area below the road (this part of Oranjestad was all formerly beachfront). In another parts of the island piers were swept away by the pounding waves.

Here are some pictures taken on Tuesday, Nov 16, 1999 and today showing the effects Lenny had on Aruba. Fortunately things have calmed down considerably and a cleanup is under way.

Divi/Casa del Mar area


Wild Sea


Divi/Casa del Mar area



Between Divi & Casa del Mar



Not so sunken wreck






Fisherman's Huts (Hadicurari)


Fisherman's Huts  (Hadicurari)


Fisherman's Huts (Hadicurari)


Next to Marriott Ocean Club


Next to Marriott Ocean Club


Sad end for Sidienne



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Photos courtesy of
Rona Coster, Roy Cohen & Vincent Heineman

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