Coconut Telefax: 2/18/19
Aruba Marriott Names Its Queens for Carnival 2019
Associates from different departments, together with family and friends, gathered at Centro di Bario Noord to cheer for their favorite queen at the Aruba Marriott’s 5th Carnival Queen Election.
The candidates for Carnival Queen 2019 were Eliysha Browne of Activities Surf Club; Xerxia Leon of Food & Beverage Resort; Yaneka Nugent of Front Desk Ocean Club; Juneyda Chayadi of Finance Department; Miangela (Mia) Croes of Reservations, Revenue, Sales & Marketing Department; Jasmine Irausquin of Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Amandae (Dae) Hereira of Loss Prevention Department.
The candidates for Mrs. Carnival 2019 were Maria Rodriguez of Housekeeping Ocean Club; Yazira Feliciana of Stellaris Casino; Debbie Mauricio of “At Your Service;” and Anny Kock of Engineering Surf Club. And the candidate for LGBT Queen 2019 was Kristopher (Kristina) Oehlers of Food & Beverage Resort.
At the end of a fun-filled night full of creativity, colorful costumes, and entertaining shows, the judges named the following candidates the winners of the Aruba Marriott Carnival Queen Election:
Carnival Queen Category:
- Best Makeup – Jasmine Irausquin – Ruth’s Chris Steak House
- Best Speech – Juneyda Chayadi – Finance Department
- Best Show – Xerxia Leon – Food & Beverage Resort
- Best Costume – Miangela Croes – Reservations, Revenue, Sales & Marketing Department
- 2nd Runner-Up – Xerxia Leon – Food & Beverage Resort
- 1st Runner-Up – Miangela Croes – Reservations, Revenue, Sales & Marketing Department
- Carnival Queen 2019 – Juneyda Chayadi – Finance Department
Mrs. Carnival Category:
- Best Speech – Yazira Feliciana – Stellaris Casino
- Best Show – Debbie Mauricio – At Your Service
- Best Costume – Maria Rodriguez – Housekeeping Ocean Club
- 1st Runner-Up – Yazira Feliciana – Stellaris Casino
- Mrs. Carnival 2019 – Debbie Mauricio – At Your Service
LGBT Carnival Queen Category:
- LGBT Carnival Queen 2019 – Kristopher (Kristina) Oehlers – Food & Beverage Resort
Aruba Marriott is delighted to have hosted another successful Aruba Marriott Queen Election in order to celebrate Aruba’s 65th Carnival with its associates and the local community while at the same time promoting equality, diversity and inclusion by once more naming an LGBT Carnival Queen and opening the election to all associates who are part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
Marriott is a global hospitality company committed to putting people first and creating a welcoming environment of inclusion and fairness for all of its guests and associates. This includes the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, and their families and allies.
La Cabana Hosts Carnival Queen Elections
La Cabana Beach Resort & Casino hosted its annual Queen Election pageant, with four queen candidates representing different resort departments in the race.
The fun event was hosted by the Social Committee in collaboration with the department of Human Resources, and it delivered a delightful afternoon during which guests and associates rooted for their favorite candidate to Carnival music.
The participating royalties included Front Office, Food & Beverage, Housekeeping, and Casino representatives, who were asked to introduce themselves with a speech wearing a glitzy Carnival costume in front of a judges’ panel made up of guests, as the brass band animated the gathering.
After careful deliberations, and in consideration of each candidate’s “jolly” factor, the panel of guest judges picked Lucienne Ras of the F&B department as the winner, and she was crowned by Assistant General Manager Jessica Franken as the 2019 La Cabana Beach Resort & Casino Carnival Queen, ceremoniously escorted by Prins and Pancho Jason Martijn & Randolf Roch.
Congratulations to all queen candidates who participated and gave it their best, and congratulations to Queen Lucienne, who landed the ultimate title. May you enjoy your reign in the kingdom of La Cabana.
Department of Justice K-9 Unit
The Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino will be supporting the K-9 unit of the Department of Justice for an upcoming conference in April, so the dogs and their handlers paid a short Sunday morning visit to the facility and admired its upscale amenities.
The unit consists of 11 handlers and 12 dogs, all Dutch-born mutts. Most of them are mixed Dutch Shepherds that are medium-sized, well-proportioned, and well-muscled dogs, very smart and ultra-trainable.
The unit is run by a retired Dutch man in blue who spent 30 years with the police. On his last assignment in the Netherlands, he ran that country’s official police dog academy, before being lured to the Caribbean and Aruba, recruited to put a K-9 program together here.
You must note that there are two Cocker Spaniels in our picture. Besides their cuteness, these dogs are most disarming and great in crowds. They work well in detecting currency, drugs, and cell phones, graced by superior olfactory faculties, and they have a calming effect on their environment as opposed to the Shepherds, which can be a bit intimidating when alert and focused.
Aruba is blessed by three K-9 units, working for the Police Department, the correctional institute, and Customs.
Monument Bureau Heads to Local Schools
The Ministry of Culture recently praised the island’s Monument Bureau for a program it instituted in the local schools in which representatives of the bureau visit elementary school students of the 5th and 6th grades to teach them about the island monuments, the importance of conservation, and how it all relates to the island cultural and historic heritage.
The program has also been expanded to include the island’s high schools, where students are introduced to the different monuments and learn to distinguish the architectural style and its function.
Students are acquainted with Aruba’s traditional hex sign decorations and are taught to recognize and respect the special seal that historical buildings receive when declared a national treasure.
Among Aruba’s monuments: California Lighthouse, 1915; Water Tower in San Nicolas, 1939; Water Tower in Oranjestad, 1935; Lime Kiln and Water Tank in Rancho; several cunucu houses and buildings in Oranjestad and other neighborhoods; and Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins.
Find out more about our monuments here.