Something to hold onto

LUIS FELIPE ALVARADO

(1887-1946)

My Great Grandfather.

He was born in a small town called Suaita, Santander Department in Colombia. The population in Suaita was about 2,691, located 200 km north of Bogota. 

The origin of his name comes from Spain. Specifically from Pedro de Alvarado (1486-1541), a Spanish conqueror with Hernan Cortez. He was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernan Cortes. He is considered the conquistador of most of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras). His descendants probably moved to Colombia.

Luis Felipe Alvarado married to Juana Rodriguez and had three daughters and two sons. In Suaita, he had a small farm where he cultivated sugar canes. Later he moved with his family to Bogota, where he rented a large two story house with ten rooms and dining room and kitchen. He transformed this house into a factory of handmade rugs. He invented and built by hand all the machinery and equipment to make the rugs. At that time there were no electric drills or saws. Slowly he created a large manufacturing plant with about thirty employees. It later became the largest factory for handmade rugs in Colombia, which he called “La Bella Industria”. In 1940, he invested in a ranch where he raised and bred cows (about 250). In 1944 he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. In 1945 he sold the ranch. 

He died at the age of 59 in 1946.

Besides being a self-made Carpenter, my Great Grandfather had a hobby.

He loved poetry.

3 years before his death he wrote this poem:

Se Fue La Juventud

Se fue la juventud el árbol seco

Dejo caer sus pétalos floridos

Sobre su tronco carcomido y hueco

forman las aves majestuosos nidos

Allí cantan su amor y sus anhelos

cuando aparece el sol en el oriente

Allí le dan calor a sus polluelos

y levantan a Dios su limpia frente

Pero, ay! del árbol desolado y triste

cuando el ave fugaz levanta el vuelo

cuando en los nidos el amor no existe

cuando ruedan sus hojas por el suelo

El árbol y mi vida son iguales

volaron ya mis aves y mis amores

de mi ilusión los ricos vendavales

han arrancado sin piedad mis flores

Like my Great Grandfather, I am ambitious, caring, and passionate. We both crave success for our future and know that hard work is needed to succeed in life. However, in life one must know how to express oneself, and both my Great Grandfather and I did/do this very well. He, with his writing, and I, with my music. I did not know much detail about my past until now, and suddenly everything made sense. 

My family is made up of hardworking ambitious and passionate people. That is why we are the way we are. It is in our blood to do more than what is expected of us, to feel the satisfaction from our work. We are driven to be the best that we can be. 

I only hope that I can be as great of a person 

and accomplish as much as he did, in this world.