courtesy of: The Morning News
Written by: Rosalie Klein
The noteworthy Italian restaurant situated on the cliff adjacent to the Aruba California Lighthouse was the venue for a most congenial evening of music and fine food, punctuated by the spectacular vista from the terrace of La Trattoria El Faro Blanco this past Saturday evening, July 9. Owners hosted the concert as a community service; talented Aruban performer Angelo Koolman needs to the raise the funds to dedicate his time to compete in a Dutch version of “American Idol,” for which he learned he was selected after the preliminary auditions a few months ago.
Angelo, a very popular and charismatic singer known to audience for his lead role in “Let’s Go Latin,” in the Crystal Theater and now as a regular in Cilo Lounge in Oranjestad, Aruba, decided to try his luck when the call went out to all corners of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He was recently informed he made the cut, and was presented with a quandary: how to get by in Holland for the 3 or 4 months required to compete, while leaving behind his work on Aruba?
Angelo’s very good friend, Edjean Semeleer, an extremely popular young baritone in his own right, and a savvy concert promoter, came up with the idea of a unique fundraising concert with a particularly memorable ambiance, which for him meant only one venue: La Trattoria El Faro Blanco restaurant. The spectacular sunset recital, “Angelo Unplugged” was a singular success; the terraces of the restaurant were filled with fans of the two handsome young singers, and they did not disappoint. This was Angelo’s opportunity to show what he could do, but it was natural for Edjean to lend his talents to this delightully entertaining evening.
“I love the ambiance and surroundings of La Trattoria,” expressed Edjean, “this is perfect for our kind of music and our audience; we are very pleased with the turnout and reception to the idea. I am very happy to encourage and support Angelo in his career; he is a great talent that deserves this chance.”
The melding of lovely location, mellow music, and fine food has both Edjean and the restaurant thinking about continuing such events on a regular basis. Fortunate patrons, who came to their favorite place for dinner on Aruba to discover this additional perk on Saturday evening, were pleasantly surprised and quite enthusiastic about more such concerts in these beautiful surroundings.
