Gourmet Coffee Shop

Thursday, July 06, 2006 -----

Did anyone see the New Juan Valdez?

I thought this was a joke, but apparently it was for real:

(this is from the Associated Press)

BOGOTA, Colombia -- After a two-year search among more than 300,000 candidates nationwide, Colombia unveiled the new Juan Valdez, the country's iconic coffee ambassador to the world.

His real name is Carlos Castaneda. (anyone remember books by the author of the same name?)

Like his two predecessors, the 39-year-old sports the leather bag, bushy mustache and straw hat typical of rural Colombia where the world-famous arabica coffee is grown. But unlike those other Valdezes -- who were played by a Cuban-born actor and a silk-screen artisan -- Castaneda knows a thing or two about growing coffee. The oldest of 10 children born on a coffee farm, he picked his first bean at age 6.

Like most of the nation's 566,000 coffee growers, Castaneda has lived a modest life, with his family's 10-acre plot earning $200 a month.That changed last week at a ceremony in the capital of Bogota, when Castaneda literally took over the reins of Conchita the mule from the previous Valdez -- Carlos Sanchez, who is retiring after 37 years. Dressed in the trademark Juan Valdez poncho, Castaneda said he's nervous about his new job. "But I'm going to put all my heart and will into making sure things go well."

The Juan Valdez trademark has become one of the most recognizable in the world, the fictional figure one of the most famous Colombians of all time. Juan Valdez even made it to Hollywood, sharing a scene with Jim Carrey in the film "Bruce Almighty."

::  Posted by: 3am Art  at 12:27 PM
  

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