A parrotfish and a donkey had me at hello at Aruba Captured, a photography auction at La Cabana benefiting FCVR.
Both photographs, with distinctly different personalities.
#1 A wildly adorable parrotfish who seemingly posed for the camera.
#88 A quiet, timeless photograph of a donkey in the cunucu.
I instantly fell in love with both.
Organized by Maria Silva of Vibration PR & Media, Aruba Captured brought local photographers, artists and familiar Aruba faces together at La Cabana on September 19, 2026, with more than 100 photographs offered in support of Fundacion Contra Violencia Relacional (FCVR) and its work against domestic violence in Aruba.
Floating through the room was the warm voice of Lucre Houtman as we admired photograph after photograph. At an easy tempo, flutes of Prosecco were raised, hors d’oeuvres circulated, and artists, locals and island visitors mingled easily.
Our photographers captured the beauty of Aruba. Our community responded with its typical generosity. On display that night was the spirit of an island that cares.
For an evening, Aruba was seen through the lenses of the people who capture it best.
Wandering the streets of San Nicolas, I first discovered the murals of nature lover Armando Goedgedrag.
That’s one of the things I love about San Nicolas. One discovery always seems to lead to another.
While developing Kukoo Kunuku’s A Taste of San Nicolas, Armando’s murals found their way onto our mural tour, our map and our website.
His parrotfish was the first photograph up for auction that night.
After nearly 30 years of snorkeling with Jolly Pirates, I’ve developed a particular fondness for parrotfish. I’ve written about them, watched them on our reefs, and knew immediately this one belonged in my art collection.
The parrotfish was coming home with me, and knowing the purchase would help FCVR made it extra special.
Cado de Lannoy’s photograph stopped me for an entirely different reason.
A lone donkey makes his unhurried way down a dirt road through the cunucu, surrounded by cactus and open sky. The photograph is soft and muted, almost timeless.
It was its subtlety that moved me. There is something about that empty road, the little donkey and all that open space that feels like a glimpse of an Aruba from another time.
There’s a quiet elegance to Cado’s photography. Nothing asks for attention, yet somehow you linger. Even ordinary moments feel worth remembering.
I wasn’t the only one who found a photograph impossible to leave behind.
Columnist Rona Coster chose a beautiful photograph by Maria Silva of Maria’s son standing at the edge of the sea, his arms stretched wide toward the water. It was another photograph with a completely different personality, and another reminder of just how varied the work in the room was that evening.
As part of its 35th anniversary year, La Cabana Beach Resort & Casino hosted Aruba Captured, bringing art and community together for a cause that matters to so many.
I remember La Cabana before it was quite La Cabana. I lived on the third floor while the resort was still being finished, watching the grass go in and the swimming pool fill with water. Thirty-five years later, that’s quite a memory.
More than 100 photographs were offered that evening, each helping support FCVR and its work against domestic violence in Aruba.
Credit belongs to the photographers who donated their work and to everyone who came out, bid and helped make the evening a success.
Aruba Captured was a lovely reminder of what can happen when art, community and a good cause share the same room.
Carla Cavallaro has called Aruba home since 1989 and helped launch Jolly Pirates in 1997. As Brand Manager for Jolly Pirates and Kukoo Kunuku, she created Taste of San Nicolas with the Aruba Wine and Dine Group, inspired by the remarkable people and stories of Aruba’s Sunrise City.
Read more of her stories.
