In celebration of Aruba Flag and Anthem Day CHUCHUBI foundation in collaboration with University of St. Martin presents the book, "Sibling Voices of the Sunrise City" written by the sibling pair Tammy Richardson and Gregory Richardson. The presentation will be held on March 18th 2013 from 7:00 – 9:00pm at the University of St. Martin and will form part of the USM Lecture series.
Sibling Voices of the Sunrise City is a collection of essays, songs and poems that dissect the experience of the life, mind and development of people living in the Aruban town of San Nicolas, affectionately known as Sunrise City or Chocolate City.
With the establishment of the Lago oil refinery in the early half of the 20th century, many persons from the surrounding Caribbean region and the rest of the world settled in the San Nicolas area. This resulted in an ethnically and culturally diverse town of varying identities and experiences. With all these differences, San Nicolas residents still managed to find ways to coexist as a family, while at the same time experienced instances of racism and prejudice.
The narrative of Ms. Mary and Ms. Ann from the Village are never heard by the wider population and the struggles and triumphs of the Omas and the Tantes in Lago Heights, Rooi Hundo and Brazil, make up no part of our school curriculum" (from: Sibling Voices of Sunrise City, P.30). Through the use of various literary forms Tammy and Gregory express their opinion on the various social political and cultural issues of Aruba. They address these issues from different angles of identity, ethnicity, religion, gender, music and language. Tammy says that " This book by no means is only intended for the people of San Nicholas, on the contrary it is intended for all who wish to know more about the life, mind and the development of the Aruban town we have come to know as the Sunrise City.
The aim of the book presentation is to explore the ever present Aruba –St. Maarten connection. A significant amount of St. Maarteners during the period of 1930 onward lived and grew up in Aruba particularly in the town of San Nicolas. For those St Maarteners the dynamics of the Sunrise city help shape their identities wider view of the world.
Gregory Richardson has an MA degree in Latin American & Caribbean Studies, University of Utrecht. He currently works as a teacher and researcher at the IPA in Aruba. Tammy Richardson has an MA degree in Organizational Science and Public Administration, University of Utrecht. She currently works as program manager at the Department of the Interior & Kingdom Relations in St. Maarten