Press Day celebrations marked by commemoration of Slavery Past 1st of September 2023
As the guardian of democracy, the press has a crucial role in our society. The 1st of September is Press Day and the time to express our appreciation for the press. This year's celebration is dedicated to the commemoration of the Slavery Past. At the invitation of the Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland (RCN), Roland Colastica played his performance 'Verlangen'.
Roland Colastica is a writer, playwright, author, and teacher in Curaçao. He uses theatre to form a bridge between two worlds that have many differences, but also many similarities. For although the physical distance between the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom is great, understanding knows no distance.
'Verlangen' (Desire) is about the impact of the slavery past in the present. Through narration, song and recitation, the audience was taken into the world of thoughts and feelings of a person who has experienced the pain of slavery and what it has done and still does to him.
Born out of Colastica's own work, verbal tradition and literature, the performance is about the desire to be free, the desire to be equal and the desire to have the same material opportunities as white people. Because slaves also had dreams, and the only thing the slave owners could not take away from them were those dreams. In addition to desire, his performance is also about trust, fairness, equality and being equal.
The performance was followed by an follow-up discussion with the press present. The performance made an impressed, gave considerable food for thought and required self-reflection. And that is why RCN Communications opted for this performance. To provide insight and understanding into the thoughts and feelings of people who are in any way marked by the history of slavery. To use this insight to enter conversation with each other about the slavery past with an open mind to each other's views and ideas.