Almost every other corner in my
hometown -at least the older part of town where I lived- had a bodega. This is
our term for the old-time neighborhood corner store. Where you went to buy the
stuff you needed to create lunch or dinner, buy a quick Coca-Cola in the middle
of a hot summer day, or where the guys went to have a beer and shoot the breeze
at the end of a workday. Just prior to getting home, which was just a few short
steps away. After all, it was the “bodega de la esquina” (the corner store).
These weren’t fancy places. Imagine
a wide-open front main entrance … and around the very corner, another wide
entrance. After all, there had to be access from both sides of the corner, not
just one. Basic marketing in motion. It also helped with the breeze on a hot
afternoon. No air conditioning here…
As you entered, there were barrels
of the dry stuff along a very long, wooden counter, sitting on a very old cement
floor. What was the dry stuff? Well, since you asked … rice, beans of different
colors, corn, potatoes, green plantains, yuca roots… Behind the counter, along
the walls and accessible only to one of the two aforementioned denizens, were
colorful baskets full of tropical fruits and some green stuff we seldom used
(lettuce and those things) … yes, I know. Our diet then would be horrible by
today’s standards. But wow … was it full of flavor and home!!
The rest of the walls were taken
up by assorted “stuff” (never accessed… probably to fill space) and prominent single
display lines of different alcoholic beverages. Nothing too fancy… no orange or
lime vodkas, no bitters, no … well, nothing out of the ordinary. And what was
the ordinary? Rum, in all its variants, beer bottles lined up and waiting their
turn to go into the coolers and … yes, a
couple of plain vodka, whisky and gin bottles gathering dust (never knew
when a liquor savant wannabe could show up) along with plenty of local aguardiente.
This last, along with the rum, were the most consumed items. The rum, straight up
or in a “Cuba libre” (coke, lemon slice and ice). The aguardiente …
always straight up. By the way … aguardiente means “burning water” and that is
exactly what it was. In two versions: 60% alcohol (mild) and 80% alcohol
(strong … for the “real” men).
But what about the two guys who
ran this show? … and did so literally, from 7am to 8pm every day of the week,
including Sundays until 5pm. They came from Spain as young (very, as was the
norm then) men to find their way in the “Islands”. How they ended up in
Cienfuegos, I really don’t know. Probably relatives; the same reason my
grandfather ended up in this city, when it was his turn to get off the boat in
Havana.
Working together, they lived in
the back of the store, as was common with many of the migrants who came and managed
to open a little business somewhere. They grew up in this store, at least from
being young entrepreneurs to being older (to my young eyes, anyway. Although
they were probably in their late 30’s/early 40’s around the time of these
memories) business partners. Paco was shorter and wiry, always with an aura
of impatient energy. Pedro was the bigger and probably younger of the two. A
bit heavy and always with a smile. Maybe because of this I found it easier to
go to him.
They were the quintessential example
of the average early 20th century Spanish immigrant to Cuba. Young
(sometimes very young), of humble origins and willing to work at anything until
they could open their own little something, whatever it might be, somewhere. Many
of these little stores grew and spawned most of the bigger commercial
enterprises that helped Cuban towns and cities expand and prosper.
Pedro and Paco’s store, while
remaining the corner bodega, also grew over the years. Serving their faithful
clientele, always helping the neighborhood and always willing to go the extra
mile.
The best, as far as I was concerned?
Whatever I would get (within
reason) I could always shout …
-“Pedro … put it on the tab!!”
for, as with most corner bodegas, the long standing clients had a monthly tab
to which the younger denizens of the family had access… you know … the cokes, candies,
cookies and ice cream that made the summer days “funner” and more memorable.
With the coming of the new
government and political system, that store and all private businesses were
eventually either taken over by the government or closed. I assume this was
also the case with “Siglo XX” (The name of the store) and I don’t know
the eventual fate of Pedro and Paco. I hope their latter years were as kind to
them as they were to us in their earlier years.
Pedro y Paco… The bodega kings …
at least on the corner of San Luis and Boullon Sts.
Be
Well … Be Back!!!
Final Notes:
· Pray
for those who are
fighting an illness which may take them away from their loved ones… Every request
is heard, and counts!!
