The Boy Who Played the Sax E-Book

Simone Malacrida

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Krimi
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Power, intrigue, love and crime intertwine following more than fifty years of history in the Republic of Aurora, a South American state suspended between agricultural traditions and industrial progress. The epic of one family, the Coronado, traverses the stages of development of this state and alternates with the social rise of a single person until the final showdown between landowners and drug traffickers, military and revolutionaries, entrepreneurs and politicians.

Leseprobe

Simone Malacrida

The Boy Who Played the Sax

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

The Boy Who Played the Sax

"The Boy Who Played the Sax"

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XXI

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The Boy Who Played the Sax

SIMONE MALACRIDA

"The Boy Who Played the Sax"

"The Boy Who Played the Sax"

Simone Malacrida (1977)

Engineer and writer, has worked on research, finance, energy policy and industrial plants.

Power, intrigue, love and crime intertwine following more than fifty years of history in the Republic of Aurora, a South American state suspended between agricultural traditions and industrial progress.

The epic of one family, the Coronado, traverses the stages of development of this state and alternates with the social rise of a single person until the final showdown between landowners and drug traffickers, military and revolutionaries, entrepreneurs and politicians.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The main protagonists of the book, as well as the places described within the borders of the imaginary Republic of Aurora, are the result of the author's pure imagination and do not correspond to real individuals, just as their actions did not actually happen. For these characters, any reference to people or things is purely casual. In the book there are also very specific historical references to facts, events and people. These events and characters really happened and existed.

ANALYTICAL INDEX

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XI

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XXI

I

I

November 4, 1918

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The colors of dawn were about to reach the plain of Horacia, a fertile highland area in the center of a natural basin, enclosed between four now extinct volcanoes of the Andean cordillera.

The capital of the Aurora Republic was ready for the great event.

The clear and clean streets, the flags displayed, the vestments in plain sight along the entire route of the military parade, would have been worthy witnesses of the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Republic.

Exactly fifty years earlier, General Horacio proclaimed the independence of this state, after a bloody war that lasted ten years against the neighboring nations, Colombia and Peru.

At the time, Ramon Pablo Coronado was only twenty years old. After the death of his brother Francisco Alfonso, who had actively participated in the war of independence, he remained the only descendant of the Coronado family.

His father, José Guillermo Coronado, was a landowner, one of those who started with a small plot and then saw the birth of a thriving agricultural industry.

José Guillermo felt like a revolutionary, in his own way that is. He understood that the cultivation of coffee, the main agricultural resource in the highlands, had to be accompanied by some other form of income to avoid the periods of crisis which inevitably occur in the cultivation tradition.

He had acquired land beyond the volcanoes, where the tropical climate allowed for the cultivation of bananas and sugar cane.

When the moment had been right, much had been done to support General Horacio and his war of independence.

The victory of the pro-independence troops against the Colombian loyalists and against the Peruvian army battalions had sanctioned the definitive rise of the Coronado family as the main latifundist of the newly established Republic of Aurora.

Ramon Pablo should have continued in the family tradition.

“Remember that we Coronado are directly descended from the Spanish conquistador, that Coronado who was in Mexico. A branch of his lineage left for the South and landed in Colombia, where my great-grandfather, Aurelio Fernando, was born, the first to cultivate the fertile lands of Aurora.”

Thus José Guillermo had sanctioned the handover with his son Ramon Pablo.

Following independence, and to honor the great general, the capital was renamed Horacia, while the old name of Aurora was given to the republic itself.

The old colonial city, only twenty kilometers away from Horacia, was called Antigua Aurora. There remained the memories of a lavish past, with colonial-style buildings and a finely decorated Baroque cathedral.

It was the explorer Orellana who founded the city, when he was on a mission on behalf of Pizarro, and he baptized it with the name of Aurora, as it should have been in the middle of the fantastic state of El Dorado.

There had also been a few veins of gold, but already in the mid-eighteenth century it was exhausted and since then those territories lived mainly on agricultural products.

Going out onto the terrace of his sumptuous home, which overlooked the view of the entire city of Horacia with all its barrios , Ramon Pablo used to have breakfast reading the pro-government newspaper "La nacion de Aurora" .

That day, the entire edition was in a special format and recalled the events of that memorable victory with the entry of independence troops into the capital and the definitive seizure of power by General Horacio.

The in-depth articles on the following pages told the story of that war, carried out on the heights where Horacio's contingent easily got the better of the Colombian military, to continue the failed attempt to create an outlet towards the Pacific.

Just that move, he discovered the front and started the invasion by Peru, promptly rejected by the withdrawal of the contingent commanded by the general.

Having set aside the ambitions of expansion, the war continued avoiding any attempt at the intrusion of foreign powers to the point of definitively crushing the pro-Colombian rioters placed in the border areas.

The Republic of Aurora was established with a limited territorial extension, very suitable for agriculture and divided into a central area on high ground, where the capital was, surrounded by low-lying and sparsely populated expanses.

Another article on the fourth page instead recalled the launch of the Constitution, of the Parliament made up of one hundred members elected every five years, in conjunction with the presidential elections.

The President of the Republic, directly chosen by the people, ratified a government with a dozen key ministries, while holding military and political powers.

The first president was the same general Horacio who led the nation for three consecutive terms.

At the end of his political and military career, the maximum limit of two consecutive terms was established for the choice of President.

The Conservative Party, which has always been in power, had won all the democratic elections from 1869 onwards and the Coronado family had always been one of the main supporters of the Party, actively participating in the selection of the presidential candidate.

In 1919 there would be a new electoral round and Ramon Pablo began to probe the ground to understand which candidates could be acceptable within the leadership of the Conservative Party.

The other party, that of Progress, had been relegated to the opposition since the birth of the Republic, expressing above all requests from the peasants and the few remaining Indians, who, however, not knowing how to read and write, hardly participated in the electoral consultations.

Ramon Pablo had been a direct witness of all these events, having lived his entire life in favor of the independence of the Republic of Aurora.

For these reasons, he shared the nationalist spirit of the Conservative Party and the blow-ups of General Horacio that stood out in the streets with some slogans that had by now become common feeling:

“The Party loves the people. The people love the Party.”

“The army defends our beloved Republic.”

“The best Latin American people are those of Aurora.”

In particular, Ramon Pablo had inherited from his father that sense of superiority regarding the ruling class of Aurora, considered the best possible among those existing from Mexico to the Strait of Magellan.

That morning Ramon Pablo took longer than usual to have breakfast and read the newspaper. Too many memories crowded into his mind.

His whole life was enclosed in those thirty pages of the special edition.

He had long since relinquished control of agricultural activity and the flourishing industry which, under him, had expanded considerably.

At seventy he considered himself an elderly patriarch dedicated mainly to maintaining political and public relations for the continuation of the Coronado family's business and prosperity.

His son Pedro Miguel, always known as Pedrito, was now forty years old and eight years ago he had taken over the reins of the agricultural empire.

Coronado production was divided equally into four different products: coffee, sugar cane, bananas and cocoa. Of all these products, only coffee and partly cocoa were grown on high ground, near Horacia.

The marketing of the products took place using trucks or trains that departed from Horacia to reach the coasts of Colombia and from here they embarked for the whole world.

The old grievances with such an inconvenient and powerful neighbor, due to independence and war, had been overcome with a commercial agreement that regulated the reciprocal balance of forces in a precise way.

To consolidate the power of the family, Maria Perfecta, the second daughter of Ramon Pablo, seven years younger than her brother Pedro, had married Augusto Alvarez, scion of the second landowner family of Aurora.

Instead of waging a ruthless trade war, Ramon Pablo and the Alvarez patriarch, Don Pepe Alvarez, had agreed on an alliance sealed by the wedding, especially since the two boys were actually in love.

After the death of his wife Benedicta Pacifica, who had died giving birth to Maria Perfecta, that wedding was the first moment of joy for Ramon Pablo.

"Don Ramon, it's time to go."

Tuco, the butler of the Coronado house, had remained in the doorway between the large living room and the terrace , reminding the elderly patriarch of the appointments of that busy day.

Thanks to his high social position, Ramon Pablo Coronado would have attended the military parade from the box of honor, the one reserved for the President of the Republic, the ministers, the President of Parliament, the high military and judicial offices.

Together with his family and that of the Alvarez he would have attended the reception lunch in the presidential residence, the Golden Palace.

In the afternoon there would have been various recreational activities for the population, while in the evening the party of high officials would have moved to the "Mirador" , a place that Pedro Miguel had just bought together with some restaurants and shops in the capital.

The people would have celebrated in the streets and in the bars, downing inexhaustible rivers of rum, the national alcohol par excellence, produced largely by the Coronado and the Alvarez.

Pedro Miguel, who was now no longer referred to by the nickname of Pedrito except by his own father, had already acquired the nickname of Don at the age of forty, due to the immense innovations introduced in agricultural production.

He had invested a reckless amount of capital in machinery to improve the efficiency and productivity of crops, in stark contrast to what Ramon Pablo thought.

There had been heated disputes between father and son, above all for the social implications of that choice.

Ramon Pablo, although aware of being the most influential person in Aurora, still had a close relationship with his farmers and considered mechanization a kind of dehumanization of the countryside.

The results proved Pedro Miguel right.

Not only did production increase dramatically, but the quality of the products also benefited immensely. Under him, the products of the Coronado family became a kind of luxury that foreigners were willing to pay exorbitant prices, especially Americans.

“Dad, gringos are all crazy, they have no idea of the value of money. Let me do it and you'll see."

At the same time, no revolts had broken out among the peasants left without work, above all because Pedro Miguel had taken care to have them studied and had relocated almost all of them, reconverting them to repairing those machinery and carrying out the necessary maintenance.

The Alvarez had started late and still relied on an inconsiderate number of workers, thus giving the Coronado a competitive advantage that was difficult to fill.

Pedro Miguel's physical features mirrored the typical features of the Coronado. His hair, black as ink, was thick and straight, while his eyes were dark as the depths of the oceans.

These two peculiarities were the pride of the beauty of Maria Perfecta, who has always been considered the most fascinating female exponent in the entire history of the family, above all for her stature, greater than that of the Coronado and deriving from her mother's house.

Unlike Don Ramon, Pedro did not have a passion for horses, which he considered a legacy of the past. Conversely, he doted on technological innovations such as automobiles and was one of the few Aurora residents to own one.

The streets of Horacia were not yet ready for motor traffic and Pedro was aware of this, using his Rolls-Royce "Silver Ghost" model only on special occasions.

November 4, 1918 was one of those special occasions and Pedro took care to get his family ready for the car ride through the streets of Horacia.

His wife Elena wore a fresh linen dress that highlighted her candor and great composure.

They had met when they were young, during those parties that the upper middle class used to have, in the spring season, close to the city, generally in a panoramic place near the woods.

There had been no problems whatsoever between the families and not even between the two young people. Their marriage had been celebrated in May 1903, in the presence of the highest institutional and religious offices of the Aurora republic.

The only regret for the two spouses had occurred only in 1908, after the birth of Manuel Antonio.

The doctors had ruled that, due to the difficulties she had during the birth, Elena would no longer be able to have children.

It was a hard blow for everyone that undermined Pedro's certainties.

Following Ramon Pablo's advice, from the time Manuel was one year old, Pedro's entire family embarked on a journey across the South American continent, starting from the Colombian coast of Cartagena to reach the southern ends of Chilean and Argentine Patagonia, going up later the Brazilian state and the Amazon River.

After nearly a year, they returned to Horacia.

The journey had healed psychological wounds and brought new harmony to the family.

Furthermore, thanks to that experience, Pedro undertook the work of renewing the crops that he had seen applied elsewhere.

Manuel, whom everyone called Manuelito, grew up seeing travel and moving around as part of the normal course of events.

As an only child, he would be the future of the Coronado family.

This had obvious consequences from childhood. Not only did he have to educate himself privately as all the children of the upper middle class did, but he always accompanied his father during the main moments related to family affairs.

“For now, don't talk and listen.”

Thus Pedro instructed Manuelito who, like a good son and aware of being a sort of predestined one, carried out his father's instructions to perfection.

Manuelito was often at his grandfather Ramon Pablo's house. She got on well with him. Between them there was that typical bond between grandfather and grandson that transcends the age difference.

Ramon Pablo told the past stories of the Coronado family, the birth of the Republic of Aurora, the deeds of General Horacio and his great-grandfather José Guillermo.

Manuelito was enchanted as only children can do.

In his head, he made comparisons with those heroes of ancient Greece or the conquest of the American continent and wondered which person his grandfather described was Ulysses or Achilles, Pizarro or Cortes.

Compared to his three little cousins, the sons of Maria Perfecta Coronado and Augusto Alvarez, Manuelito was not only the eldest, but his grandfather's favorite.

Ramon Pablo recognized in him the true spirit of the Coronado, while he could not say the same about Remedios, Benito and Ruben.

He had fought hard to have his grandchildren given the double name, but Don Pepe Alvarez had imposed the law of his family:

“A single name, as befits the Alvarez.”

Manuelito paid no attention to his grandfather's complaints and shared the hours of play and entertainment with his younger cousins.

Remedios, two years younger , was the only girl in the group and felt responsible for the health of her little brothers, as if she were taking their mother's place.

Benito saw in Manuelito his idol and model to inspire himself and continually lent himself to being his sidekick, while Ruben almost always remained out of the game, given the six-year difference with Manuelito.

Only when Ruben was old enough to participate in the raids of the other three children, would he actually join the group.

That Monday, November 4, Manuelito dressed all the way, as befits a perfect ten-year-old boy from the most exponent family of Horacia.

He climbed into the back seat of the "Silver Ghost", just before Pedro and Elena left the house.

Pedro, proud of his car, headed towards the historic house of the Coronado, located on the Cono Sur hill, the highest in Horacia.

He knew very well that his father Ramon Pablo would have refused to get into the car, taken as he was with the fight against modernism. She would have to convince him.

Few were left to fight against modernity, among them, in addition to Don Ramon, Don Pepe and the bishop of Horacia stood out.

Manuelito, entering his grandfather's house, used to go immediately to the terrace to enjoy the view of the city.

He lived exactly at the foot of the Cono Sur hill, where the residential district of the Gran Casa merged with the economic and financial center of Horacia, the so-called Moneda.

From his room, Manuelito could not admire that panorama which spanned the entire fertile plain and which reached as far as the two volcanoes to the north.

That child's curiosity was always fueled by his grandfather's stories about the constitution of the city and the different buildings.

The Cathedral of the Virgin and the Golden Palace stood out in the center, like two complementary architectures looking at each other.

The Church and Power symbolized what the Coronado respected about the earthly world.

"Good morning Don Ramon."

Elena was always the first to greet her father-in-law.

"Good morning dear. Bye Pedro.”

Pedro walked over to his father and straightened his suit, making the handkerchief stick out more prominently and tightening the knot in his tie.

Manuelito was already on the terrace and contemplating the city in the early morning, while everyone was preparing to attend the party.

He would have liked to scrutinize every single person who, leaving the house, would have poured into the Gran Corso Central, the main street of Horacia, the one that led to Plaza Aurora, where the Cathedral and the Golden Palace were.

“Come on dads, get in the car. We have to go to the “ Mirador ” which is on the other side of the city, at the top of the Barrio Alto and then go back down to the center. You know very well that only with my Rolls will we be able to make it in time.”

Ramon Pablo had, somehow, to agree with his son.

He would settle next to Manuelito, to the delight of his nephew.

All along the route that separated Villa Coronado from the " Mirador ", people greeted Don Ramon by bowing and taking off their hats.

Manuelito was delighted to be able to sit next to such an important person and thought about how powerful he would become once he became an adult and with the command of the Coronado family in his hands.

He had always been raised with that fixed thought. On the other hand, the entire future of the Coronado lay in that slender figure of a child.

The " Mirador " was a very spacious room, with a large entrance and a monumental entrance, embellished with columns in the Greek style.

Above them was a neon sign visible from a considerable distance.

Inside, there were numerous tables where people could consume all kinds of food.

The kitchen worked constantly to churn out the culinary specialties typical of the Republic of Aurora, among which there was no shortage of beef cooked with corn or chicken with cocoa or rice creamed with unripe coffee beans or black bean flour.

At the bar you could order drinks, from natural fruit juices to alcoholic ones, among which there was, and could not be otherwise, a vast assortment of Coronado rums.

A stage had been set up at the back of the venue on which various singers could perform.

The " Mirador " was certainly a respectable proscenium, if only for the high-ranking audiences in the parterre.

Those who wanted to make their way quickly enough, aimed for an evening in that club, however, running the risk of being struck down for life if the performance turned out to be a disaster.

Generally the singers performed on the most crowded evenings, almost always on Fridays or on the occasion of special holidays.

To accompany them and to entertain them throughout the rest of the week, Pedro had recruited a group of three musicians. So next to the pianist, whose black instrument always sparkled in full view on the stage, there were a trumpeter and a cellist.

Someone had suggested to Pedro to reinforce that musical band to give space to modern sounds from the United States, such as jazz.

"It will mean that I will hire a saxophonist and a percussionist", he had let slip one evening the previous week.

For Manuelito that place had something magical, due to the skillful interlocking of lights and environments.

It seemed to be the ideal habitat for wizards and fairies.

The child had already understood how, during those evenings, his father concluded important deals and how music and food were a good way to start business negotiations and agreements.

Ramon Pablo scrutinized the room with the clinical eye of someone who knows a lot and who considered that as a pastime and not the main activity.

Ramon Pablo was only at ease viewing the crops, reviewing the coffee plantations, banana groves and sugar cane expanses, to then follow the production process right into the raw material refining factories and finally see the product finished, the one placed on the market.

This was to him the heart of the Coronado empire, the source of all wealth.

“Stay true to the land,” he always told Manuelito.

Despite his advanced age and his retirement from the family business, he always paid great attention to the state of the lands he owned and their productivity.

For his part, Pedro was a great administrator and owner with modern visions. All this guaranteed a strong continuity in the sign of the Coronado family.

The visit to the " Mirador " in the early morning was by no means accidental. All the preparations for the evening party had to be made.

Almost all the ministers and many important members of Parliament would have spent the evening there, sipping some Coronado vintage rum, such as the Gran Riserva 1900 or the delicate Don José, the first rum obtained in 1910 with the mechanization of crops and which Pedro had dedicated to his grandfather José Guillermo.

Pedro was overseeing every little detail. It had to be perfect.

The musical band was complete and that morning would be enriched by two new elements.

The percussionist had already been chosen, thanks to the musical instincts of the pianist, Alfredo Jimenez, a handsome thirty-year-old who had learned to play from an early age.

The choice of saxophonist seemed more difficult.

“It's a fairly recent tool. Few know how to play it decently. Only one person showed up. It's the one over there at the back of the club."

Alfredo Jimenez said to Pedro.

“He will have to be a good one. I don't hire a person just because they're the only one who showed up.”

Pedro was quite annoyed by that situation.

He was used to being able to choose and not be cornered. He could have easily postponed and postponed it to another day, but he was convinced that a musical band should have five members.

Pedro approached the boy decisively. He looked very young.

“Tell me, how old are you?”

“Eighteen, Don Pedro.”

“And since when do you play that instrument?”

“For ten years.”

Pedro looked him up and down.

He was dressed anonymously in a gray linen suit and white shirt. His hair was glued to his scalp and pulled back.

The clean-shaven and pointed face put more emphasis on his youth.

On the table was the case where the instrument was stored. A very worn greenish box, a sign of years of hard work and study.

“Let me hear what you play.”

The boy took the case and opened it.

He took out the instrument, obsessively polished and in a perfect state of maintenance.

He tested the mechanical functioning of the keys, the stem and the bell, then got up and took center stage.

The melody played was extremely delicate and the notes did not linger too long.

Despite this, the effect was harmonious and everyone felt transported by an indescribable feeling.

Pedro looked at his wife Elena. She seemed ecstatic.

“He will make many conquests if he manages to untie my wife like this,” Pedro said to himself.

At the end of the piece, the twenty people present at the " Mirador " applauded loudly.

Manuelito had been amazed by the sounds coming from that instrument. He hadn't heard anything like it before.

Pedro approached Alfredo Jimenez and they talked something.

“You did well with the classical and romantic pieces.”

Pedro ruled.

“This was a dedication to the ladies present.”

The only woman in the club was Elena.

That joke could have irritated Pedro and led to the boy's non-hiring.

Pedro thought about it for a moment; instinctively he would have thrown him out of the club. No one could afford to make those jokes or allusions to his wife.

Then he meditated on the business and on how that easy way could have a positive effect on the revenues of the " Mirador ".

At the suggestion of Alfredo Jimenez, he asked him for something more modern and livelier.

The boy looked hesitant.

He took two steps forward and dropped to his knees. He brought the saxophone to his mouth and played the first notes.

It was something never heard before, a mixture of syncopated rhythm and sudden speed, with accelerations and virtuosities of all kinds.

Manuelito was constantly staring at that boy's hands that were moving wildly.

How did he not make mistakes? Where did those sounds come from? Where had he learned them?

The boy moved around the club, moving to the rhythm of the music. He took the stage to perform the finale of that piece.

This time no one applauded. Everyone had been amazed by that music and hadn't had time to think rationally.

Alfredo Jimenez asked:

“Boy, what piece did you play?”

The young man promptly replied casually.

“I don't know, I made it up by mixing some melodies I had heard and improvising on the spot.”

The pianist smiled.

“If you don't know what it is, then it's jazz! Welcome on board."

Alfredo Jimenez, transported by the enthusiasm instilled by the music, had forgotten who was the boss and who had the final decision.

He turned to Pedro and asked:

"Don Pedro, what did you decide?"

Pedro scrutinized his wife and son. Both would have taken him on the fly, but he had to somehow clip the wings of that young man.

“Demanding and obtaining respect is the priority for a Coronado”, he remembered well those words of his grandfather José Guillermo.

“Boy, what's your name?”

“Carlos Rafael Rodriguez.”

It had the double name, just like the Coronado liked.

“Okay Carlos Rafael, you are on a trial basis for tonight. If you make a good impression, you'll get a permanent contract to play here at the “ Mirador ”.”

The boy seemed visibly satisfied.

"Thank you Don Pedro, I won't let you down."

Carlos Rafael was so elated that he didn't even ask how much the salary was. Any amount to start on that stage would have suited him.

Pedro turned to Alfredo.

“Have the tailor take your measurements; that boy needs a suit. Tonight I want to see him in the band's ordinance uniform. We can't afford him to go on stage with those four rags he's wearing."

The pianist turned to a boy who was keeping the place in order and told him what Don Pedro had just ordered.

There was no time to waste and the tailor would have to work during that morning and afternoon, missing the military parade and the party in the streets of Horacia.

Ramon Pablo had been out of the club for some time before Carlos Rafael began his musical performance.

Pedro turned to Elena:

“It's time to go, Dad must be getting impatient. He can't wait to get on the authorities' stage and watch the party."

Pedro called Manuelito who had approached Carlos Rafael to admire that musical instrument up close.

“Manuelito hurry up. We have to go."

The child greeted that boy and placed himself on his father's right, crossing the monumental exit of the “ Mirador ”.

Ramon Pablo was already sitting in the car.

“Pedro, let's get going. We've wasted enough time in this place already."

The old patriarch did not see the point of that visit and that place.

Before Pedro put the “Silver Ghost” in motion, Ramon Pablo said in an argumentative tone:

“What did we come here to do?”

“Dad, I had to hire someone. I found a boy who plays the sax.”

Ramon Pablo did not understand and retorted:

“But what does this have to do with the future of our family?”

Pedro started the engine and the roar of the Rolls drowned out any further words.

II

II

spring-summer-autumn 1919

––––––––

“How likely is that scenario?”

“Very likely, Don Pedro. I'd say more than an eighty percent chance.”

Don Evaristo Pernambuco, a well-known Colombian shipowner, downed his glass of rum diluted with lemon juice in one gulp.

He was the main person responsible for transporting the products of the Coronado which, from the ports of Barranquilla, Cartagena and Buenaventura, could thus reach the entire Central and North American continent, in particular Miami and Los Angeles.

In South America, however, the Coronado family relied on land transport, in particular using the railways which from Horacia carried the products to the capitals of the neighboring states and, from here, they could reach the entire aforementioned continent.

Europe and Asia were too far apart to be able to think of selling the products there. Only rum, raw cane sugar and cocoa could be transported with a certain food safety, but travel times were still too long.

Pedro understood how the newborn airways would be the solution of the future. Only by building an airport worthy of the name, the Republic of Aurora would have made a leap into modernity and its products would have been able to reach other continents as well.

For now, these thoughts remained only fantasies.

Don Evaristo had informed him of something more important and, above all, more immediate.

According to his interlocutor, an opinion was spreading in the United States, shared by religious groups and civil activists, regarding the ban on the consumption and sale of alcohol.

Don Evaristo rattled off unequivocal figures. Several proposals were filed in the United States Congress to initiate that prohibition on consumption and trade.

Pedro was used to not making hasty decisions and thinking a lot about the possible consequences.

He nodded. A waiter approached the sitting room of the " Mirador " that hosted him, together with his business partner.

“Bernardo, bring another one for Don Evaristo.”

The waiter immediately set to work.

“When will he be back here in Horacia?”

Don Evaristo took out an agenda and consulted it.

“In over a month, not before mid-May.”

Pedro was fine with it. He would have had time to reflect and confront his father Ramon Pablo.

“Okay Don Evaristo. Let me know when you're around here. It is always a pleasure to host you here with us.”

Pedro remained inside the club. That Friday evening a girl with a ringing voice and very high sonorities would perform.

The head nurse, Callisto Sorondo, introduced the band as usual.

“At the piano, the most famous pianist in all of Horacia, the talented Alfredo Jimenez.”

A burst of applause accompanied Alfredo's virtuosity.

“And on saxophone, the greatest charmer of the four volcanoes, straight from Barrio Alto, the now legendary golden boy Carlos Rafael Rodriguez.”

The audience welcomed the entry of the young man who performed regularly every night with an ovation.

Don Pedro had been right. That easy-going boy had proved to be a real deal for the “ Mirador ”.

His performances and his gallantry towards women had filled the halls of that club with an audience of all ages, above all of that bourgeoisie willing to spend money to please married ladies or to highlight young daughters to be married.

The revenues of the Coronado family grew day by day. Pedro could boast of having won that bet in diversifying the family's investments and capital.

Manuelito wanted at all costs to go to the " Mirador " almost every day to exchange words with Carlos Rafael.

She saw in him an older brother who could advise him on how to be successful with women.

Furthermore, he had made him hold his precious instrument in his hand, properly instructing him on the exact way to make it emit a pleasant sound.

The stop with Carlos Rafael represented for that little boy a sort of education in the good life, one that his grandfather Ramon could never have taught or told him.

In the following days, Pedro was thoughtful and his wife Elena noticed it in the blink of an eye.

“What's wrong, Pedro? What concerns are troubling you?”

"Come here Elena."

Pedro had always loved his wife. He could never conceive of life without her and he couldn't get over the thought of losing her.

“How did my father live without his wife?” he wondered every morning as he washed.

“Elena, in the coming months I will have to make a fundamental decision for the future of our family. If the information reaching me is correct, then we need to radically change our division of agricultural products. We have to take a very high risk.”

The good of the family was the main aim of life of every Coronado and Pedro did not escape that iron rule.

“Talk to your father about it. You will come to a conclusion that will be the best ever.”

Pedro was hesitant. He knew that his father was an expert connoisseur of the agricultural world, certainly more than him, but he was also aware that times had changed.

If he had listened to him, there would have been no mechanization of agricultural production and the Coronado would not have become so rich and so powerful.

Nonetheless, he decided to go up to his old man.

He got ready as if it were a visit to a commercial client.

"Hi Dad."

“Hi Pedro, come here and enjoy the spectacle of the city in bloom.”

Ramon Pablo had remained very clear headed. His seniority was revealed only in a general difficulty of moving.

Compared to a few years earlier, he now sat for longer.

Pedro knew very well how he shouldn't interrupt that sacred silence. It would have been his father who asked and started the conversation.

So he did.

Ramon Pablo turned to his son with confidence.

“Tell me Pedro. How is business going? I've heard that those restaurants and the “ Mirador ” work wonders. How will the crops be this year?”

Don Ramon Pablo was so experienced that he was able to discern a success and gave due weight to the recognition of merit, only to then return to the key question in two words.

Pedro began to describe the productivity of the various crops and different areas. He couldn't tease his father about agricultural matters.

He was waiting for the right moment to confront the elderly patriarch.

“I have come across some information about the United States, our main market for rum and almost everything else.”

Pedro exposed the data and the possible consequences.

If they had passed a law banning the consumption and trade of alcohol, how would the market have reacted?

Would that have been the consequence of that probable decision? The collapse of rum consumption?

The sugar cane plantations had to be converted, but there was not enough time.

Agriculture follows different rhythms from industry and political decisions. For the first few years there would be a huge crisis and the family's income would drastically drop.

Ramon Pablo listened in silence to the exposition of his son Pedro.

At the end of the speech, he had Tuco, the butler, bring him a special bottle straight from the old Coronado's personally owned cellar.

“My son, look at this bottle of rum dated 1869. It is the first production of the Coronado family in the newly formed Aurora Republic.”

Ramon Pablo prided himself on that continuity.

“We have always existed and always will exist. Better worry about the next election here in Aurora. Does the Conservative Party candidate have a chance of winning?”

Pedro seemed annoyed that his father didn't understand the terms of the matter. In any case, he answered the question:

“Yes dad. Madeiro is a good candidate, he has a hold on the lower end of the population who shouldn't give too much weight to the appeals of the Popular Front."

In fact, the Progress Party had changed its name to the Popular Front, accepting the requests of the first communist movements.

The danger that that party could win the elections had increased in recent months. The upper middle class sensed a very ferocious threat in the face of that eventuality and coalesced as never before.

The disputes between the different families were set aside in the face of common danger.

Pedro particularly liked Madeiro. His modern visions, his desire to change some republican practices by adapting them to the contingent situation, were appreciated by the exponent in office of the Coronado.

Furthermore, Madeiro had made the construction of an airport a priority objective. In this, Pedro saw a great opportunity for his business.

However, they were threatened by that information coming from the United States. He had to somehow force his father's hand to get his opinion on the matter.

It wasn't enough to brandish a bottle from fifty years ago to be sure of remaining on the market for the next fifty years.

“How do you see the American question?”

It had to be direct. Only in this way could he achieve a result.

“Ask yourself this Pedro. Can laws change people? You who have traveled so much on our continent, have you perhaps seen some people do without alcoholic beverages?”

Pedro did not remember anything like that.

Whether it was beer, wine, rum, pisco, tequila, brandy, whiskey or various cocktails, each region maintained its own alcoholic tradition which often resulted in social problems such as alcoholism.

He was well aware that this was the first cause of listlessness at work and in fact there were strict rules in force within the Coronado companies regarding the consumption of alcohol, totally forbidden during the actual hours of service.

With a joke, his father had opened a new scenario for him.

Perhaps the law would also have been passed, but could that legislation change the natural propensity of millions of people to consume alcohol?

Above all, the wealthy classes, those most willing to put their hands on their wallets, would have paid disproportionate sums to savor that inebriation.

And weren't the rich the real market for Coronado rum?

Surely. The products distilled from the fields of that family were of such a high quality that they were placed in the high range with prices certainly not affordable for everyone.

According to this view, the sugar cane fields would become new gold mines. And it was necessary to reconvert the extensions dedicated to cocoa and bananas to increase the production of this good.

Pedro left satisfied and began studying the possible strategy to adopt.

That information had to be handled with the utmost confidentiality on pain of losing the initial advantage.

He knew full well that he couldn't have managed the whole thing himself. A lesson from his father had been not to be too demanding.

“Take yours, but leave others theirs.”

In case that law was passed and Americans continued to consume alcohol, the bottles of rum had to somehow get into that country.

Customs in ports would have blocked any bottle and the same could be thought of air transport. The best solution would have been land transport, with trucks to hide the load.

So there was a whole chain of people to contact.

From the Coronado factories in and around Horacia, the bottles would safely reach the ports of Colombia.

There Don Evaristo Pernambuco would have crammed the goods on his ships to Mexico and Canada, the two countries bordering the United States.

At that point, someone else would have to take care of the land transportation, illegally bypassing US Customs and eventually handling the retail business.

When Don Evaristo returned to Horacia after a month, he found his interlocutor much more prepared.

This time it was Pedro who put the proposals on the plate. From Don Evaristo he only wanted to receive the most up-to-date information.

“How about we sign an exclusive on the transport of Coronado products in exchange for detailed details on a weekly basis and a standard figure per ton that we establish immediately?”

Don Evaristo was visibly satisfied. Not having to find customers from time to time, but managing them with ongoing relationships and loyalty was the best for his business.

On the other hand, Pedro wanted to insure himself against any eventuality.

If that law had not been passed, then everything would have remained as it is now. If instead there had been a turning point, the Coronado family would have been the first in all of South America to take advantage of that new situation.

“Don Evaristo, you have to put me in touch with the American clients. With who is interested in managing this trade on US soil.”

Pedro's request was extremely demanding, but after that mutual understanding it seemed a duty.

“It will take some time Don Pedro. In return, these customers will want guarantees.”

Pedro ran his hand through his hair.

“Guarantees? Isn't it enough that we hold the President of the Republic in hand? Madeiro will win the next election in a month's time."

“Long live to Madeiro! Long live the Conservative Party!”

Don Evaristo was truly a first-class merchant and salesman who knew how to win the hearts of customers.

In early June, Madeiro was elected President of the Republic with 63 percent of the vote. No one expected such a landslide victory.

The rallies held during the last few weeks had had the desired effects.

The entire Conservative Party gathered at the " Mirador " for the traditional electoral victory party.

That evening, Carlos Rafael performed a solo, jazz version of the national anthem of the Republic of Aurora.

Madeiro himself took the stage to compliment that young man and they improvised a duet. The new president had always nurtured a passion for music.

The defeat of the Popular Front was bitter and rekindled the internal conflict between the socialist wing and the new communists.

"As long as they fight like this among themselves, the victory will be ours."

Confided the new President of Parliament.

Ramon Pablo left his retreat at Villa Coronado to go to the party. Sometimes he felt the need to still be the center of attention.

For Manuelito, the party was an opportunity to have fun and to be introduced by his father to all of Horacia's bigwigs as the future leader of the Coronado family. Also he could see Carlos Rafael's performances and how that young man approached the girls.

Women appreciated his mannerisms and always smiled when Carlos Rafael approached them.

Manuelito had noticed that this didn't happen when his father or grandfather spoke. They were respected for their social position and success, while Carlos Rafael had something seductive about him.

He could have been the most penniless man on the face of this planet, but a woman would not have denied him a smile or a kiss in front of his way of being and doing.

In the first month of the new Madeiro government, the upper middle class saw first-hand the benefits of having supported that candidate.

A tax reform program was launched which included tax cuts for the wealthiest; that money would be invested in new jobs or, at least, that was President Madeiro's political slogan.

Ramon Pablo had learned of his son's moves regarding the agreements made with Don Evaristo and wanted to speak to him in person.

“Pedro, tell me about your plan.”

It was the moment Pedro had been waiting for months. He explained his plan and his considerations to his father.

Ramon Pablo, despite the predictions, seemed to share those arguments. Only at the end, he abruptly stated:

“To do what you have in mind, you have to have your back here in Aurora. We need to set up a meeting with the Alvarez.”

Pedro hadn't considered that possibility, but he immediately understood the general correctness of the reasoning.

The occasion for that clarification was given by the celebration of the fifth birthday of Ruben, the younger son of Augusto Alvarez and Maria Perfecta Coronado.

The whole family would have been gathered at Villa Coronado, taking advantage of the large park behind the house.

Pedro would handle the conversation and propose the agreement to his brother-in-law Augusto, sealing it in front of his sister Maria Perfecta and under the watchful eye of the two patriarchs, Don Pepe and Don Ramon Pablo.

Of all the children, only Manuelito was allowed to watch that discussion, even though he had no right to speak. Given his future, Manuelito just had to listen.

Mirador band was also invited and Carlos Rafael was able to perform his fantastic repertoire.

Manuelito had allowed himself a lot of time in the company of that boy. It was so amusing that, with difficulty, he persuaded himself to attend the family reunion.

His father, Don Pedro Miguel Coronado, took center stage. Next to them were his mother Elena and his aunt Maria Perfecta, beside them their grandfather Don Ramon Pablo and their uncle Augusto with Don Pepe Alvarez nearby.

Pedro presented his ideas, totally concealing the information coming from the United States.

“Dear sister and dear brother-in-law, highly esteemed Don Pepe Alvarez, our two families are the most important in our entire Republic. We have plantations of coffee, cocoa, bananas and sugar cane, scattered between the hills and the plain. Instead of engaging in a trade war, we can share resources. We can share the markets and be happy all together.”

Pedro offered the Coronado family exclusive rights in the rum, sugar and banana markets, leaving the Alvarez with the exclusive rights to coffee and cocoa as well as granting them the related mechanization processes free of charge.

Each would have kept their lands and their production, except to transfer the trade to the other family in exchange for a sum established a priori.

Everyone thought it was a good deal.

They solemnly signed and toasted the health of the family and the future.

With that move, Pedro had secured the exclusivity on almost all of the Aurora Republic's rum production. Now he could really think of setting up an economic empire.

There were only two pieces missing to his puzzle.

The construction of an airport to get those goods overseas as well and contact with those who had to sell the rum in the United States.

For the first question, he had to go to Madeiro. In this case, he knew very well that Ramon Pablo still played an important role in the occult direction.

In early August he had an informal meeting with the new President who briefly outlined his program.

As a result of the tax cut, work could not begin for 1919.

“This answer is not acceptable Mr. President. He knows very well that, since our Republic does not have an outlet to the sea, we are linked to our neighbors to transport our goods and to import what is necessary. Airways are a top national security requirement. Find a way to resolve this matter as soon as possible.”

Pedro had been direct and abrupt, as befitted someone who commanded the most important family in the Republic.

After a month, Madeiro settled the matter. He just needed a pro-government press campaign to carry out his plan.

“I will issue special government bonds that citizens will be able to buy to finance the construction of the airport. Each of them will become a shareholder of the future airport and will be able to benefit from the proceeds due to customs duties.”

“What imagination these politicians have! We must always learn from them,” Pedro said to himself.

Now all that remained was to contact the American distributors.

Don Evaristo Pernambuco made sure that the meeting took place in Horacia, during the month of October.

There would have been emissaries from some prominent businessmen in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. In the first two cities the Canadian border would have been used as a viaticum to convey the cargo of illegal rum, in the second two cities the gateway would have been Mexico.

Pedro found himself faced with an unexpected event not contemplated so far.

None of the Coronado family knew English. How do you communicate directly with those customers?

He couldn't trust anyone outside his family, especially with such sensitive information.

He arrived at the " Mirador " very worried. Was it possible that that trifle could upset his plans? He immediately thought that Manuelito should learn English. He would immediately go looking for a worthy teacher.

Carlos Rafael approached Pedro.

“Don Pedro, I hear you are looking for someone who knows English for a delicate matter. I speak it fluently.”

Pedro looked up. What did that boy want? How had he come to know such confidential information?

“How did you learn that?”

“Thanks to that” and pointed to the saxophone.

"If you want to be a musician, many songs are in that language," concluded the boy.

Could he trust that young man?

After all, he was just a musician playing the saxophone in his club.

“Can you be faithful to a person and to a family?”

Carlos Rafael didn't understand the question, but he nodded.

“Are you grateful to me?”

“Yes sure, you hired me.”

“What is the most important thing to you?”

Carlos Rafael did not hesitate to answer:

“My right hand. Only thanks to this I can play so well.”

“Great, come with me in the back.”

Carlos Rafael followed Don Pedro who summoned his right-hand man at the rum factory, the omnipresent and massive Eusebio Santiago.

Eusebio Santiago was known to do all sorts of tasks for Don Pedro. Usually, it kept any problems between the peasants and the workers at bay. No one had ever asked him about his methods.

Once in the back, Pedro talked to Eusebio Santiago in a secluded corner while Carlos Rafael waited. The assistant showed up with a lighter.

“Extend your right hand,” Pedro said.

Carlos Rafael did it.

“Now you will only take it off when I tell you to.”

The boy stiffened. Eusebio Santiago took out his lighter and brought it to Carlos Rafael's right hand. There was already a smell of burning and Carlos Rafael seemed to be in extreme pain, but he didn't withdraw his hand until Don Pedro's order.

The latter had confirmation that Carlos Rafael was someone to trust. He couldn't play for at least two weeks.

“Go see my doctor. Until the hand heals, you will serve my father and me and you will be paid triple what you get here at the club.”

Carlos Rafael thanked and went to be treated.

Now the meeting with the future American partners could be organized. Carlos Rafael would play the role of translator, keeping that confidential information for himself.

Pedro communicated to Don Evaristo the go-ahead to organize the meeting in Horacia.

A letter arrived setting the appointment for October 17th.

The Americans would arrive on a Friday so as to use the weekend to see Horacia and the environs of the capital.

Carlos Rafael took service with the Coronado. Pedro justified his absence with an accidental fall, causing huge disappointment among the audience.

“American affairs are more important than a few nights at the “ Mirador ”. He will always be able to make up for it later and he will keep himself waiting, like all artists who aspire to be stars".

So Pedro had commented talking to his father.

Don Ramon Pablo began to study that boy. To see how he behaved and what he thought.

He was very young, but not stupid for that.

After a week, he understood how he executed each order to perfection, without delaying or questioning her requests.

He could have taken the place of Tuco, his butler.

The elderly patriarch gave him the task of making some payments and collecting sums from old acquaintances of the family.

He marveled at the speed and absolute readiness of that boy.

He didn't cheat even a cent of a peso and didn't ask for anything outside his wages. He did not ask indiscreet questions, reporting the impressions and words of all his interlocutors.

Manuelito had been disappointed not to see him play anymore. When he learned that his grandfather was on duty, he had one more reason to visit Villa Coronado.

In front of Ramon Pablo, both the boy and Carlos Rafael did not give too many confidences. When Elder Coronado withdrew, then they could talk about music and the saxophone.

“Did you really fall?”

Manuelito asked.

“Yes, in a stupid way, from the stairs of my house. But in ten days I will be able to start playing again. Your father was very generous and had me treated by his doctor, Dr. Gonzalo.”

Ramon Pablo spoke highly of Carlos Rafael to his son.

“You should consider taking it with you to the rum factory.”

Pedro jumped at that advice and said to Carlos Rafael:

“Come with me to see the factory this afternoon.”

Now Pedro also scrutinized him and noticed in him the same qualities described by his father.

He seemed interested in what went on inside the factory, from harvesting the sugar cane to processing and fermentation to selling the finished product.

“When you translate for Americans, remember all of this. The whole life of the Coronado oozes from these walls. Tomorrow we visit the cocoa production and then we will go to see the coffee plantations.”

Before the arrival of the American emissaries, Carlos Rafael had a rough idea of the Coronado empire.

Eight people arrived that Friday, two from each city chosen. Pedro couldn't understand why those businessmen always moved in pairs.

He was used to dealing face to face, as with Don Evaristo Pernambuco. He didn't feel at ease in front of that assembly.

At the central station in Horacia, a delegation was sent to wait and welcome them. Among those people was Carlos Rafael.

It was the boy who spoke directly to all of them and illustrated the program for that day.

He had good pomposity and managed to be persuasive.

In the main meeting room of the rum factory, four people were present for the Coronado family: Don Ramon Pablo, Don Pedro, Eusebio Santiago and Carlos Rafael. Despite her future as leader of the Coronado family, Manuelito had been excluded from that meeting as she was too young to attend that event.