"The Fight for Coffee"

Mrs. Marta is a foreigner who, when she arrived in my country, had many stories and anecdotes to tell. She was an elderly woman, almost the same age as my grandmother and she liked to enjoy dark coffee without sugar.

My cousins and I always enjoyed her gatherings and her wisdom. In her youth she saw many outrages as a result of the change of government she lived through.

One day she came as usual to visit my grandmother Teresa's house, as always with her impeccable dress and manners of a society woman, those she never lost despite the economic decline she went through. Her hair was always finely tied up and as usual she had a cigar in her hand and my grandmother with the kindness that characterizes her goes to the kitchen and prepares to prepare an espresso coffee as her guest likes.

When the two began to talk about the trivialities of everyday life and the current situation that our country is living, where despite living in democracy, in the background we can smell in the air that a possible dictatorship is looming for our country, or maybe we live in a disguised democracy.

At that moment when they turn on the television and watch the news that is happening in the national and international panorama, Doña Marta releases a deep sigh and begins to tell one of her many experiences expressing the following:

_Oh dear Maria and dear Luis and Andres - referring to me and my cousin who was 2 years younger than me - here drinking this delicious cup of coffee prepared by the blessed hands of his grandmother comes to my memory those moments when in my country the government was vilely overthrown, restricting freedom of expression and committing arbitrary acts against a defenseless people.

_Tell us more, Mrs. Marta, we used to tell her. Listening to her, we were transported back to that time with every word she uttered.

Source

Doña Marta told us that when she was 25 years old she lived in a small country, where her father had some fruitful coffee plantations from which he extracted some of the best coffee of the place, which was exported to other countries and was recognized for its excellence and quality.

In his country there were political differences and ideologies, but one day there was an outbreak, what we call "a coup d'état", where a group of military troops took power in an authoritarian manner, overthrowing the president in office and establishing a dictatorial regime that stole the freedom of its inhabitants.

Horacio was the name of the dictator who kept its inhabitants oppressed. No one could leave that small country, which in reality was an island. The media was closed and any information was censored. The rest of the countries did not speak out about it. There were all kinds of interests and it seemed that nobody cared about what was happening.

According to Doña Marta, her father was arrested and imprisoned and their coffee plantations were expropriated. They no longer owned anything. Only anxiety reigned in that place. One of the orders given was to expropriate the coffee plantations from their owners and to decree that the consumption of coffee was prohibited in the country. Whoever traded coffee was put behind bars, and little by little the merchandise was confiscated.

General Horacio knew that coffee was a beverage that had such a magic that it united people. Coffee was always present in every conversation and he feared that they would meet with the intention of overthrowing him and removing him from his authoritarian and oppressive power.

Coffee was like a precious treasure for the inhabitants of that island. Many lamented and did not know what to do. Some of the more daring ones dug enormous holes and buried an infinite number of packages with the faith that this situation would soon end. Others, more fearful, delivered the merchandise out of fear, but secretly they were organizing themselves to devise a strategy to fight against this unjust measure.

This is how two years went by -Doña Marta- where only the bravest, those who hid the coffee, could consume it very secretly, as if it were a crime. The people could not stand it any longer, and a totally oppressed people, when it reaches its limits, is capable of uniting and achieving great things.

One night, when no one expected it, the long-awaited rebellion occurred. The people took to the streets without fear, it was very painful. There is no real battle without the loss of some lives. The cause was about coffee. They wanted to consume it again in a free way, without limitations, without hiding. They wanted to export it again and for the coffee plantations to be reborn, since the main economic source came from this fruit and by prohibiting it they also made the people go hungry and suffer hardships.

The battle was successfully fought and from that moment on they understood that in unity there is strength and that for something as simple as coffee even a war can be unleashed if we are not strong and brave enough to courageously defend this legacy.

“DESPUES DE LA TORMENTA SIEMPRE SALE EL ARCOIRIS. ¡NUNCA TE RINDAS!”

Me despido.

I bid you farewell.

Todo el contenido que se encuentra en esta publicación es de mi autoría, cualquier duda hacer mención a mi persona y con gusto les responderé @surglen.

All the content found in this publication is my authorship, if you have any questions, mention me and I will Gladys answer you @surglen.

Las Fotografías son de mi propiedad, excepto las citadas con su fuente.@surglen

Photographs are my property, except those cited with their source. @surglen.

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