‘Chano’, of rural origin, healthy and good-natured, was born in the village of Camarones, a small town located in the Caribbean, where its inhabitants face the sea every day in small motor boats in search of daily sustenance.
‘Chano’, unlike the other shrimp farmers from a very young age, dedicated himself to other tasks, including tilling the land and returning in the afternoon feasting on his donkey on top of two loads of firewood from Brazil, used by his wife Teodora for daily cooking tasks.
AIR CRASH
It was the time of the green bonanza or of the weeds as Juan Gossaín described in his breaking latest news the time of the marimba.
One fine day at the usual time ‘Chano’ was returning home with two loads of malanga deposited in two three-striped sisal sacks. He stopped his march when he heard a strange sound above him that made him turn his eyes towards the incandescent horizon and see a robust silver tin plane descending from the skies at full speed and identified with an American flag with one of its engines on fire and that minutes later crashed in a nearby place causing a crash when it fell, rolling wildly mind on the ground, raising a dustbin, at the same time as it rolled, tearing up cacti and destroying thousands of small trupillos that it found in its path.
The crash of a smuggling plane enriched a peasant from Camarones, La Guajira. PHOTO: COURTESY.
VERY SUPPORTIVE
As a good Christian, he approached the aircraft to help its occupants, finding a disastrous scene inside as the entire crew had perished on impact.
It points to an old adage that the die is cast and that God has carved our destiny for each one of us, that was the day of ‘Chano’, when he entered the interior of the plane, many wads of high-denomination dollar bills were scattered all over the floor, Initially, he hesitated to take advantage of it, but the braying of his donkey, as if indicating that in life everything is possible, made him change his mind, he quickly put the taro aside and deposited the loot found in the sacks, immediately leaving for Camarones.
THE NEW RICH OF THE PEOPLE
‘Chano’, rich and lucky in compensation for Tiburcio, his donkey, orders the best cabinetmaker in the region to build him an air-conditioned stable on his farm and keep 20 donkeys and 10 fine mares in a nearby pasture, to satisfy the sexual appetite of the Catalan.
The years passed and Tiburcio died of a sudden heart attack, the love and appreciation he had for his little animal was so great that he decided to talk to the town priest so that he could carry out the Christian burial in the local cemetery where he had ordered him to build a mausoleum.
As expected, he found opposition from the priest, who told him that biblically that could not be done, that the masses and burial in a cemetery were for human beings but not for animals to which ‘Chano’ replied: Father, everything is possible, here is 20 million pesos for you plus 2 boxes of Buchanan Master and a high contribution of 100 million for the arrangement of the altar and the remodeling of the Church endowment of the rectory, so that he does not give mind to it and does the mass for me and gives a Christian burial to my donkey.
Faced with such an insinuation, the father did not hesitate to accept the offer and decided to bury the donkey in the central cemetery.
FROM DEFENDANT TO PARTNER
The episode of the pompous burial reached the ears of the bishop, who immediately sent for the priest with an urgent message, when he arrived; The monsignor scolded him without hesitation and asked him how could he think of saying masses for him and giving a donkey a Christian burial. The priest, being rebuked by the bishop, tells him: Mr. Bishop, everything is possible! How so that everything is possible? Monsignor, the owner of the donkey, to perform the liturgy gave me 20 million pesos plus 2 boxes of whiskey and a large contribution of 100 million for the church. I propose to you, don’t get angry that everything is possible, let’s divide the sum, here I have 10 million for you plus 1 box of whiskey, everything is possible, Mr. Bishop.
The bishop upon receiving the stipend tells the priest: no problem, everything is possible! When the priest leaves, he makes him come back and whispers in his ear, tell ‘Chano’ that if you are not going to send his donkey to do the nine masses, which he gladly did for him, tell him that with money everything is possible!
BY: PEDRO NORBERTO CASTRO ARAUJO/SPECIAL FOR EL PILÓN.
The entry El Cuento de Pedro: “Everything is possible” was first published in El Pilón | News from Valledupar, El Vallenato and the Colombian Caribbean.