Crisis situations require humans to make radical decisions. About a year and a half ago, I was about to lose my house with savings only covering the expenses of house rent, not including food, transportation and other personal items that were needed for the next month. In that context, I decided to borrow $ 150 from two friends to start selling vegetarian and vegan turnovers at the University of Puerto Rico. I have called this project “Cómesela a la Negra” and it is the first initiative in Puerto Rico that creates baked turnovers with coverings of different flavors- parsley, coconut, almonds, oregano, coffee, among others-, made by hand and from scratch, with fresh fruit and vegetables. Before all of this, I was an honor student in Psychology at the UPR and a research assistant at several laboratories, traveling and presenting my work on multiple occasions. However, after the death of my grandmother, who was a great influence and the root that was holding me, I stopped my academic studies and decided to start everything from scratch as a way to relieve the absence of that special person in my life. During my healing process, the creation of my small business of vegetarian and vegan turnovers, I discovered a Puerto Rico that I did not know. It was a country full of workers with a vast knowledge on sustainable economy, sustainable agriculture and eco-responsible nourishment. Farmers who are engaged in trying to revive our economy with eco-sustainable agriculture need traders willing to invest in them so that many people can use their raw material production to provide responsible food to other Puerto Ricans. That’s my future, to expand my small workshop/production of vegetarian and vegan turnovers in a factory that draws primarily from fruits, vegetables and tubers that other Puerto Ricans grow on the island. ____________________________________
Las situaciones de crisis obligan a los seres humanos a tomar decisiones radicales. Hace año y medio estaba a punto de perder mi casa con ahorros que solamente cubrían los gastos de la próxima renta, sin contar la comida, la transportación y el resto de los artículos personales que utilizaría en el mes siguiente. En ese contexto, decidí pedir prestado $150 a dos amigos para comenzar a vender empanadas en la Universidad de Puerto Rico. A ese proyecto le hemos llamado “Cómesela a la Negra” y es la primera iniciativa en Puerto Rico de empanadas horneadas con masas de distintos sabores- de perejil, coco, almendras, orégano, entre otras-, confeccionadas a mano, con frutas y vegetales frescos. Antes de esta situación, era estudiante de honor de Psicología en la UPR. Fui asistente de investigación en varios laboratorios y viajé para presentar mi trabajo en múltiples ocasiones. Luego de la muerte de mi abuela, quien era el centro, la columna que me sostenía, detuve mis estudios académicos y decidí empezar todo desde cero como una forma de aliviarme de la ausencia de ese ser tan especial en mi vida.