Its surprising presence caught the attention of everyone. Some asked, incredulous, what that was, others argued that was a huge fossilized egg, or a meteorite because of its dark shape. Its silhouette, almost round, reminded me of the modeling clay children at early ages play with. The solitude where it was placed became a point of meeting.
Several came and looked as if it were something exotic, and it really was. Then Urbano Gonzalez Guiza came announcing, as if it were the presence of a European monarch, what that was. “In front of you there is the biggest homemade cocoa ball that has been made in Cuba “.It was true! A ball of cocoa 40 pounds! Urbano’s face was happy, while the others’ were in awe.
Gonzalez Guiza, told us how he came out with the idea to making such ball, in Baracoa, a town that retains its chocolate tradition 500 years after its foundation. At 60, he has dedicated many years to the study and cultivation of cocoa, Urbano, as he prefers to be called, attracted in the hallway the attention of those present briefly. With subtle humor his words were describing the importance of this seed.
“Cocoa is life for life. So I would like to be named and not as it is now known as Theobroma, cacao drink of the gods, very nice, but unfair adjective. I am one who proposes to call it Theobroma cacao life for life. That’s the name that does justice for all the goodness that gives life ” thus Urbano commented his answers.
Someone asked him how much he owes to cocoa. Urbano made a slight pause, took his index finger of the right hand to the center of hos lips.
By looking at the 40-pound giant, he stated that cacao is the first member of his family. “My life has been linked to it. I owe it all. I say it is part of my family, because if you visit my house you will find two bushes at the entrance, most of my books deal with these issues, I cannot live away from a cacao plant.”
The conversation turned a lesson for everyone. Urbano was a sea of gestures; the sparkle in his eyes showed us the simple farmer, loving plants and nature. He described the hardships for him and his companions to do such craft work, when a normal cocoa ball does not exceed 200 grams. His words were cut, when he was told his indispensable presence was needed in one of the rooms to give another lecture ….on cacao.
Urban walked away, looked for the last time the giant ball. He knew its final destination; his gaze lost the momentum of minutes ago. That immovable mass that would be dissected into pieces and distributed among those present, while Urbano, meters away, explained the cocoa’s importance to life.
