Intro to Ladera

First Visits

It was almost two weeks before I would begin introducing myself to the people of Ladera. Bernardino had set it up such that I would have a different guide over the following three days to visit each of the households (I ended up visiting 18-20 of the 28 or so households). He himself couldn't serve as a guide as he was busy most days driving the minibus route between Cubo and Curva del Río. The first day I remember quite well what I ate for breakfast: a boiled egg and buchu (boiled bananas - tastes like potato), with some sweetened cacao drink to wash it down.

The first house I visited, just across the river, belonged to one Alfredo. It is customary, when having a visitor, to give them food or at least something to drink. Lo and behold I got a boiled egg and buchu. After an hour or so, we moved on to the next house - also received a boiled egg and buchu. After that I can't remember what I received, but it may well have been a boiled egg and buchu. However, it was during my visits in Ladera that I was introduced to Pinolillo, a drink composed of cornmeal and cacao.

Visiting so many houses at a time, and subsequently eating a lot of food, can mess with your digestive tract. I don't remember what my record was, it was either 7 or possibly 11, but that was not a comfortable day. After a close call, I relieved some serious pressure in the latrine and forewent dinner that night.

Neighborhoods of the Neighborhood

Though Ladera is technically just a neighborhood of the larger Curva del Río, the residents of Ladera have informally divided themselves into smaller neighborhoods, usually consisting of 1-3 households. Each of these neighborhoods are named, usually after countries, and known throughout the community. The neighborhoods of Ladera are: Antioquía, Colombia, Panamá, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, África, Tortuga, Valle Seco, Estados Unidos, and Alemania. Across the stream outside of Ladera, this same sort of name-game still occurs, with one man naming his domain La Unión Soviética.

History

After a few months living in the communities, I began a quest to learn the history of Ladera. One day, while I happened to be in Alemania, I stopped by to see José Montezuma. José was the oldest member of Ladera, estimated to be near 100 years old. However, he admitted that he was not the first to arrive. Instead, José Tera, grandfather of Bernardino, was the founder of Ladera. So I spoke with Carolina (Bernardino's mother) and Bernardino in an attempt to gather some information. Unfortunately they weren't able to recall much about those early days and said I would have to ask the man himself. He no longer lived in the community, but rather another community too far away. Bernardino provided me directions on how to find him, but Carolina warned me that José would recount the story in Ngäbere. In preparation, I created a set of questions and asked Juliana to help me translate them.

A couple of days later when my schedule permitted me, I travelled out to find José. He lived a 15 minute hike away from a community that was located between Curva del Río and Cubo. Along the way, I found a good samaritan who showed me the way to José's. He told me to watch out for the dogs, but when I approached the house, none were present. There was however a large flock of chickens.

I announced my presence and was greeted by Angelina, who has been taking care of her grandparents. I was told that José was tending to some ducks but that he should return soon. When José did come (along with the aforementioned dogs), I did my best to introduce myself in Ngäbere and explain the reason for my presence. While he did understand Spanish quite well, he preferred to speak in Ngäbere. Fortunately, Angelina was able to provide translation. After he settled onto a hammock, he began to reminisce.

Carlos Quintero and a brother of his had been hunting over a period of days in the wilds of the Bocas del Toro province. By chance they came upon a cacao farm inhabited by a Latino named Félix Smith and various laborers. They had inquired about the extent of his land, declaring that they would like to establish homes in the area. Félix apparently told them that he did not want to see a single Ngäbe near his lands, and that he would call the law on them should they try.

Undeterred, Carlos approached the governor in Changuinola to inquire about settlement rights. The governor assured him that he had nothing to fear from Félix, giving a green light for settlement. Carlos informed his family in Changuinola about the land, but ultimately decided not to settle there. Instead, his relative José Tera would be the first to go and work the land. Félix would abandon his land soon after as his cacao operation failed to make much in the way of profits.

José "Itili" came with his wife Isabel Salinas and their four children at the time. He recalled that Curva del Río had only consisted of three households at the time and that Chitä had already been settled in what was to become Lado Oeste. Others would later arrive and settle in Ladera, such as Chalí Vega, Mario Guerra (no relation), and José Montezuma.

José Tera recalled that the area was rich in wildlife, with an abundance of tigers, monkeys, turkeys, other game, and fish. In particular, he and Isabel liked eating monkey meat. Though the hunting of monkeys had the dual purpose of protecting the corn harvest, which the monkeys would eat. For Isabel's part, she said she enjoyed being able to weave kra (chácara) which she hadn't been able to do much of in Changuinola.

The land eventually became less productive, particularly when it came to growing rice. As his kids had grown older by that time, he divided the land between them and moved to land his father owned in a valley that is today flooded.

The soil in that river valley was extremely rich, he recounted. The dam was constructed using local labor of which José Tera and Isabel Salinas took part. People from even as far away as Lado Oeste travelled to take part in the construction as the company paid good money.

It would seem odd that José would lament the construction of the dam after having taken part. But he explained that he didn't know what a dam was or what it would do.

"Nunca habiamos visto uno." Angelina translated.

The company would periodically call meetings to inform the residents that once the dam was built, they would have to leave the land. But José and his family were incredulous. It seemed impossible that an area so large could become totally flooded. Perhaps, the company representatives were mistaken. At the very least, they never understood that their own property was at risk.

Part of constructing the dam consisted of clearing the land of trees. Isabel recalled how she felt when she laid witness to all the trees that had been felled.

"Ver todos esos árboles de lado, especialmente el cacao, fue como ver cadáveres." Angelina translated.

Isabel had been working as a cook for the laborers, and the elated mood of the workers on break juxtaposed with her sadness.

Though they did not believe it could happen, the water levels slowly began to rise. They found themselves evicted and eventually, the whole valley would become a lake.

They moved back to Ladera for a time, and then used part of their compensation from the dam company to buy the land they were occupying at the time of my visit. They'd prefer to live in Ladera, they said, if it the terrain wasn't so rough. However, Isabel would tell me that if running water were to arrive in Ladera, she would move back.