Traveling Far in Grandfather’s Car: The Life Cycle of Central Colombian Coffee Estates. The Case of Viotá, Cundinamarca (1900-30)
When I hear it said that the cultivation of coffee should bring great prosperity to our country, I am happy and wish that it could be so. But then I recall our distance from the sea, the oppressiveness of government, the scarcity of labor, the laziness of our workers, the dearness of money and tools, the insecurity in which we live (waiting for revolution, if not in the middle of one), our backwardness in mechanical skills, time, and capital which are in addition to hard work integral to the success of any coffee enterprise. Thus, I shelter grave fears that all this prosperity will only be wishful thinking. Pedro Alejo Forerol September 1879 Viota', Cundinamarca