Soportar El Verde Y El Maduro
Yesterday morning after my surf, I walked by Carlos relaxing under a palm tree. He turned 80 a few months ago. He works for tips managing the beach parking lot, offering car safekeeping, cold pipas, and friendly greetings.
They’ve been doing work on the road to the beach for the last couple of months, and the lot has been empty. Carlos and his son-in-law Pedro have still been showing up, carrying the cooler of coconuts to their usual spot in the shade. There’s a slight malaise in Carlos’ demeanor, though it’s clear he continues to choose joy.
Every day, Carlos wears a different t-shirt, featuring a family photo. The shirts make up a collection of gifts he’s received from his loved ones over the years on birthdays and Christmas.
“Quien tenemos hoy?” I asked, “who do we have today?”
“La doña y el hijo,” “the missus and son.”
“Y cuanto tiempo lleva con la esposa, Carlos?” “How long have you and your wife been together?”
“52 años!” he replied proudly.
My eyed widened.
“Felicidades,” I congratulated him, “y como se hace,”...”how do you do it?”
He didn’t hesitate — “soportar el verde y el maduro,” he responded with a chuckle, “enduring the green and the ripe.”
I saw a banana tree not far behind him.
As he began to explain how the green times are the difficult ones, where we hold on and remember our love, the son pictured in his t-shirt walked up. He’s the foreman on the road construction that’s blocking the parking lot. Before greeting his father, he turned towards me with a kind smile and extended his hand, “Hola, buenos días.”
“Buenos días,” I replied.
Then he turned towards Carlos. Without saying a word, he just gave his dad a big hug. Carlos closed his eyes and hugged him back.
While they embraced in front of me, I reflected on the use of the verb “soportar.” While it technically means something like “endure”, it’s comes from the Latin, supportāre, which has a more physical connotation, like “carry.”
I decided to translate the expression as holding the young parts alongside the mature ones.
There’s a simplicity of it all that’s so clear for me down here. A father out of work so his son can instead, celebrating nature and family, remembering the good when it’s tough, embracing the beautiful when it’s present. What more do we need?