Alma Café | My Roots

   “The most beautiful memories... they are part of my essence.”

La Ceiba is the fourth largest city in Honduras and full of diversity. My community is mixed with Spanish, Indian and African cultures. The agriculture is very diverse and consists of pineapples, coconuts, plantains, and bananas. The fishing in La Ceiba is one of the best in the world. 

We are a fourth family generation. My grandmother is from Santa Rosa de Copán. She migrated to La Ceiba, then we migrated to the United States.

There are so many beautiful memories I have of when I was a kid. One of them is the beach in La Ceiba. 

At that time, my father used to work for the “Standard”, now known as the “Standard Food Company”. This company had exclusive camps within five minutes of the beach only for their employees. The camps were houses with an architecture such as a porch in the front with big screen windows. These are very similar to the ones found here in New Orleans. 

Since my father was an employee for this company, we not only lived in these traditional styled homes but we were one of a few Honduran families that had access to the camps. I remember the house being so close to the beach that you could walk a few feet and you were there. 

One vivid memory I have is when I was two years old, walking on the beach, wearing a red bikini with black polka dots. I remember the sun was so vibrant that it was not letting me see the person walking along the beach with me. Now I realize that the person next to me that day on the beach was my sister Ana. 

My childhood in Honduras, in La Ceiba, was always quiet, calm and relaxed.