Max Blue knows cocoa - wait and see.
Presently Pacheco returned to stand near Antonio. Tell me about Hidalgo, he said.
Antonio had
a lot to say about Hidalgo. I was amazed when he approached me, he began. I would
never have guessed he was a narco. Like Oscar, I have known Hidalgo for many years, which I think, explains why he approached me. He has been security chief at
the CAT for, I would say, at least four years. Before that he was a regular guard for about the same amount of time. I have
been working here for eight years I think he came about a year earlier than me. He lives in the same barrio as me, the Barrio Americano across the bridge from downtown
Turrialba. His children are classmates of my children. He has three sons and a daughter. He makes more money than I do, but
not that much more. I think he is being careful with the extra money he is receiving so as not to draw attention to it. I
have not noticed any signs that lately he has gotten richer. He has a motorbike, but no car. He said there was money to be
made, and why shouldn't I have some of it.
Did he give
you any money? Pacheco asked.
Antonio nodded.
How could I refuse? he asked. He gave me 5,000 colones. So now I am obligated to him and to you. I feel like a piece of meat
that is being auctioned to the highest bidder.
What does
he want you to do? Pacheco asked.
I am to continue
working here in the cacao collection for now, Antonio responded. I was told nothing about what is expected from me. He said
I would be informed in due time.
Pacheco took
off his hat and scratched his head. What are your duties here? he asked
Antonio harvested
another ripe cacao pod, took a deep breath and began a long monologue punctuated by frequent pauses to gather his thoughts.
Like all the other peones, he began, I work on 2-month contracts. I am in charge of the cacao collection, which means I am
in charge of myself The CAT is always short of money, and not able to hire the help required to do everything that is needed
to maintain the collection in the very best condition Occasionally I have help, but mostly I work alone I have about 10,000
trees to take care of on about 15 hectares of land I have to keep the collection pruned and as free of diseased fruit as possible
Weeds are not a big problem because the trees drop large numbers of leaves, which form a mat that keeps the weeds down Basically,
I have to keep the collection looking good so that when the bigwig visitors come, Seņor
Aguilar, head of the Genetic Resources Unit at the CAT, can show off what a good job he is doing Also, I assist the scientists
in their experiments; sometimes I collect data I do all the hand pollinations
for the breeding experiments, and I do grafting of selected clonal material The busiest time is during the main harvest, which
comes in October and November. We harvest close to half a million cacao pods, then we have to open the pods, remove the seeds
and put them in large fermentation boxes where they remain for about six days without fermentation no chocolate flavor develops.
After that the seeds are dried in the sun and put into 60-kilogram bags for transport to the cacao buying station in Siquieres
We ship about 400 bags of cacao in the Fall, and maybe another 200 bags at various times during the rest of the year Part
of the money for maintaining the germplasm collections at the CAT comes from selling the products that are grown here. The
same is done for coffee, and pejibaye. Antonio paused. I have been talking a lot, he said.
