Caribbean Day Presents: Tula•Verse II: Sœurité Vernon Chatlein

Tula.Verse is an Afro-futuristic story about the Curaçaoan resistance against the colonial system. The performance is named after freedom fighter Tula and uses music, spoken word, theatre and visual art.

Creator Vernon Chatlein invites the audience to look differently at existing stories and archives. Together we explore the traces of Caribbean uprisings against oppression and slavery.

A story of sisterhood

In Tula.Verse, the story of Agatha and Maria is central. Their story begins in 1716 on plantation Santa Maria on Curaçao. During an uprising, dozens of enslaved people storm the overseer's house. The overseer, an enforcer of the West-Indische Compagnie, and his wife are killed.

The overseer's wife manages to escape with her children. Later, she declares that she saw a bloodied enslaved person enter Maria's house. Maria is accused of having incited the uprising, out of anger over the death of her previous husband. When the news reaches Willemstad, a manhunt begins.

The performance asks the question: how do the stories of Maria and Agatha relate to the great uprising of Tula, almost 80 years later?

Who was Tula

Tula was the leader of the largest slave uprising in Dutch colonial history. On 17 August 1795, together with 40 to 50 other enslaved people, he began a peaceful protest on plantation Knip. They demanded freedom and justice.

Tula grew into an important symbol of resistance. In 2010, he was declared a national hero of Curaçao. In 2023, he was officially recognised as a resistance hero in the Netherlands.