The fuse has been lit for the 26th of February: National light parade will be without facemasks

Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) and the Minister for Culture and Tourism held a press conference to announce the national light parade that will take place on the 26^th of February. The pandemic prevented us from celebrating Carnaval, so in order to hold this parade, ATA’s funds will be used. The route will be the one that is always used for the Carnaval parade in Oranjestad.

The Aruban Government, via the Minister of Culture, is organizing a national light parade, according to the minister of Culture and Finance, Xiomara Maduro. 2the parade will take place on the 26^th of February and the theme will be the Aruban flag, namely, its colors. This will be seen as a start to the ‘flag day’ celebration on the 18^th of March.

Xiomara Maduro expressed that it’s time that we all came together. We got the green light from the Crisis Team to start getting back to normal. Keeping the cultural agenda in mind, it is time to start organizing this national parade. The main question on the minister’s mind is where the funds for this parade were going to come from. To this, she answered that she sat with ATA as well as the minister for Tourism to allocate the funds. This way, musicians can get back out there, as well allowing foundations to get an opportunity to raise some funds. They also touched upon the 12.6%, but as this is a requirement from the Netherlands, the power to resolve that issue is out of our government’s hands.

ATA has a budget for large cultural events and has been aiding with funds for the past 10 years. This contribution is from ATA, and not from the government, according to the Minister for Tourism, Dangui Oduber. After speaking with ATA, they have agreed to offer the Aruban Public a parade by sponsoring this event.

ATA’s CEO, Ronella Croes, explained that they have been handing in an annual budget since 2011 and explained how they go about this. Since 2011, they have had a budget for Carnaval, as well as for other cultural events. This was first done together with SAC, and then with SMAC. ATA has always been a huge supporter of Carnaval as they believe it keeps the spirit and the culture of our island alive.