Letters from San Lucas

... Micaela nd Mauro's family has come a long way. With the support of the San Lucas family (owners, employees, guests, and friends), all of the children have been -- or are being -- educated, and everyone is working hard and following the examples of dedication, sacrifice, and strong moral principles set by the parents.

By Flavia Cueva
If there were ever a great story of sustainable tourism and the beauty of tourism in contributing to the development of a community in Honduras, the story of Micaela and Mauro and their children would be it. More than a decade ago, I found this family living like squatters at San Lucas... in utter poverty. Their son, Manuel, could not have been more than 6-8 years old. Slowly, our relationship with this family grew and strengthened, to the point where Micaela eventually became our chef and Mauro our groundskeeper. Because of their hard work and loyalty over the past 12 years, these parents have been able to send all of their 10 children to school -- two of them to the Mayatan Bilingual School. Those kids now have a future.

I am so incredibly proud of Manuel, who recently graduated with honors from high school with a degree in tourism. This young man can actually run San Lucas, lead nature tours, and tell the history of our family business. He certainly knows the story of "Doña Flavia" in and out, and what it has taken to lovingly build San Lucas and a tradition that will hopefully live on for many years to come. Manuel has learned to manage all facets of hotel service. It is unusual for a boy in Honduras to know how to cook, do laundry, make the beds, and other duties typically reserved for women in our country. But he does it all, with pride and enthusiasm.

Of course, Manuel was always ahead of the pack because he had grown up learning and helping his parents. He is not shy and he is the first boy to graduate from secundaria (high school) from the nearby village of La Pintada. His twin sisters also graduated from secundaria. But all the children learned to work and study at San Lucas during weekends and vacations. They have walked from La Pintada to the colegio (school) in Ostuman through thick and thin.

The gemelas (twins) are now teachers, who are serving as examples to other teachers in the mountain villages in the Copán valley. They are being paid by the Conimch (Maya Chortí National Indigenous Council) to teach in the villages up in the mountains. Through the years, some of our guests have provided them financial support to help pay for books and other school supplies.

In any case, Micaela nd Mauro's family has come a long way. With the support of the entire San Lucas family (owners, employees, guests, and friends), all of the children have been -- or are being -- educated, and everyone is working hard and following the examples of dedication, sacrifice, and strong moral principles set by the parents. We've all pulled together, and this makes me very happy. (12/6/11) (photo courtesy Hacienda San Lucas)

Note: The author is the proprietor of the Hacienda San Lucas eco-lodge just outside the town of Copán Ruinas and overlooking the Copán river and the ancient Maya ruins of Copán. For her work in sustainable tourism, Flavia Cueva in 2009 received the "Premio Copán" from the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Board of Honduras.