Collect Paradise with Ron Tropical
This 2024 summer we are Capturing Paradise with a new Ron Tropical Campaign, but wait, it is a double campaign! Besides winning great prizes you can also collect 6 glasses depicting Aruba’s flora and fauna. With this campaign we wanted to take the opportunity and give our fans something lasting of Aruba, something that represents our island, our heritage and our brand. After all Ron Tropical Is the Island way!
Behind the Campaign
With this idea in mind we initiated a collaboration with local artist Armando Goedgedrag. Armando is known for portraying stunning depictions of Aruban flora and fauna on canvas and murals around the island. We saw an opportunity to have him craft a series of paintings exclusively for Ron Tropical, showcasing various of symbols, that are symbolic to Aruba and hold significant importance in our daily Lives.
Biography Armando Goedgedrag
Armando Goedgedrag is a local artist, a painter, photographer and multimedia specialist who enjoys developing his natural talents. He started drawing at the age of two and started painting with acrylic at the age of 16. He’s often inspired by nature, especially Aruba’s nature. One of his goals is to bring awareness of the beauty of nature that surrounds us. Armando was born in the Netherlands and grew up in Aruba. After graduating Colegio Arubano, he went to the Netherlands to continue his studies. There he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Multimedia Design followed by his Master’s degree in Animation. He’s currently living on the Island where his daily involvement in the preservation and awareness of the nature and beauty of Aruba is making a difference. He is the owner and founder of Artmando Multimedia.
Armando’s Project Description:
As an artist, I feel like it’s my calling to display Aruba’s nature through my art. When approached for this collaboration with ATC on their Ron Tropical Campaign we wanted to create paintings that would illustrate parts of Aruba’s nature. Our nature is ever evolving but there are key parts that are so unique to our island.
From our Shoco that camouflages in its surroundings to the Prikichi’s vibrant colors that blend into the trees to the beautiful Kibrahacha tree that only blooms once or twice a year to the turtles that are swimming in our oceans every day. Each painting showcasing a beautiful part of Aruba’s flora and fauna.
Collectable Glasses
The following 6 glasses are available, make sure to collect them all.
Turtuga
The green sea turtle is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle. They are unique among sea turtles in that they are herbivores, eating mostly seagrasses and algae. This diet is what gives their fat a greenish color (not their shells), which is where their name comes from. Aruba is one of the lucky locations where you can spot these beautiful turtles close to shore.
Shoco
Our Burrowing Owl has the distinction of being Aruba’s National Symbol and is known as the “Shoco”. Unlike the Brown-Throated Parakeet, there are no Burrowing Owls on Bonaire or Curacao. They are expert diggers, equipped with very long legs, they are known to dig their nesting burrows up to 4 meters deep with several exits. These owls often nest with family groups close by. They feed in the early morning and late afternoon mostly on insects, lizards and small mammals. Sadly, the Shoco’s population has greatly diminished in the last few decades and is now considered endangered, with estimates of less than 200 pairs remaining on the island. Many conservation efforts are being made to safe them from extinction.
Prikichi
The beautiful Brown-Throated Parakeet aratinga pertinax arubenis is one of the two endemic subspecies of birds on Aruba. Each of the ABC Islands has a different form of Caribbean Parakeet. This magnificent bird has the honor of being Aruba’s National Bird and is known as a “Prikichi”. Flying in small flocks, you can always hear these strikingly colorful birds before you see them. Our subspecies on Aruba has the distinction of a pale brown breast. These birds feed off of fruit and seeds.
Bushi Cactus
Melocactus Macracanthos, locally known as either Bushi or Cabez di Indjan or Turks Cap in English is an interesting cactus distinguished by the odd cephalium that grows from the top. The cephalium is designed to produce flowers and fruit and can grow up to a few feet tall in some cases. The cephaliums form small pink flowers inside their mass. Their fruits are waxy and tubular and very delicious. Birds, bats, small animals and humans love to eat them.
Kibrahacha
The Kibrahacha is a famous tree known locally for its bright, yellow flowers that blooms for just three days. Scientifically known as Tabebuia billbergii, and in English as the Yellow Poui, this tree is native to the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, and is considered among locals as one of the most spectacular trees on the island. It is said that the wood of the tree is so hard that even an ax will break on it, therefore the name “Kibrtahacha” (Brak an ax in English).
Iguana
Of all the reptiles running through the hot and dry sand looking for shelter in among trees and cacti, the iguana is the most remarkable. A fully-grown male can reach a length of 2 meters including his tail. However, size does not detract from speed when the iguana senses danger. An adult iguana’s color normally is a grayish green, while a young iguana is a bright neon green, which can become darker as soon as it feels threatened. The iguana’s food of choice are green leaves and certain fruits and they have the ability to find the leaves with a higher nutritional content. The female iguana lays her eggs in a hole that she excavated herself.
Sources: Wikipedia – Aruba Ecotours – TurtugAruba – Aruba Today – Vist Aruba