Hato Viejo

Hato Viejo river born in the Cordillera Septentrional, and flowing down to the Center of the Ceiba Madera, San Victor, Moca, community.  There were a handful of family farms along the Hato Viejo river; my father's family farm was one of them.  He and his brothers and sisters grew up there; and had a farm of more than 100 acres on the mountain.

After my parents married my mother and father lived on the mountain for a time.  Eventually it became difficult living high up on the mountain away from the community in the valley below.  We are a big family- I have 2 sisters, and six brothers.

On a typical day, my father would head to the farm at 5AM with my brothers for a few hours before they went to school.  When my brothers came home from school, they would head back to the farm to help pick coffee.

I have many memories of going to the mountain and enjoying the Hato Viejo river for a swim.  Riding horses and donkeys and picking fresh mangos.  At the end of the day we would stop at my Aunt’s home for a fresh glass of cold water.

A few years ago, a corporate farm that raised chickens for egg production started buying all the farms.  Little by little they bought all the land to expand production.  Today the road is closed, and all the family farms are gone.

I chose the name Hato Viejo to preserve its history and my connection to my family’s small coffee farm that defined our family.  I do not want the name forgotten for my nephews and my children to always know where they came from.  In Spanish, we will say ”De la loma de Hato Viejo”.