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Vieques- May 2005
Living and Working in Vieques..
Occasionally people remark that they have read a column Ive written; very occasionally. Each time I begin a new column, I ask myself, Who is this for?
Its a bit of a joke, since I know that not many people ever read it. But this month, as I asked myself that tortuous question, I realized with some surprise that the column is for me Im writing for myself. No other sensible way to look at this
Originally, I thought people would want to know what it is like to live and work inVieques, but actually it was I who wanted to know. Having lived here for over 18 years now, I am still fascinated by the daily events of our lives on this small island.
Unless you live or have lived in a small town, Vieques makes no sense. Vieques is first a small town, with small town woes and small town thrills. Since it thrives in the Caribbean, and since North Americans are a minority, there are at least two other layers of separation. Add to that the older median age of the North American community and the fact that it is an island and that Spanish is the main language and you have the six degrees of separation made famous by the play. The play attempts to show the circular relationship between individuals who seem to be strangers, but are separated by no more than six degrees of separation, or six friends of friends of friends.
The Vieques six degrees of separation is much the same. Chef Michael Glatz, the owner of our world acclaimed gourmet food store, closed this week. It closed Just as quickly as you read this last sentence. Michael came here to be the chef at the Inn on the Blue Horizon several years ago. In the beginning, when James practically ordered all of us to call him Chef Michael, many of us snickered, Who knew? But we came around fast when it turned out that Chef Michael was the goods. Through the years at the Inn, and then at his first small shop in Esperenza and finally at the Bravo! Hotel, we developed an affection and respect for this first Chef in Vieques. It was enough just to lean over the counter and ask him for a recipe, or consult on the menu for a dinner party or on wine, or special ingredients. We had to stop complaining about the impoverished fruits and vegetables, about the meat, about the dearth of spices; in short we now had it all. Due to the extraordinary taste and genuine good will of this lovely Chef, Vieques had moved from undeveloped Small Island to Sophisticated Vacation Destination and our Chef was no small part of this.
They closed him down for some legal reason, it has to be a stupid legal reason, why on earth would They close down such an affirming operation on this small island.Eight Viequense jobs were lost, two have to move away so two apartment owners lost revenue, the tax department lost the tax revenue from the employees and the employer's matching taxes and the Municipality lost it's Patente tax which was about $3500 per year. Smart move on the part of the Health Department! Everybody loses!
So our Chef will leave, taking his knowledge and good taste with him, and taking as well a piece of Vieques. It was not really food that bound his friends and customers to our Chef. It was the essence of Michael. I know he will be back, because he must come back.
I feel certain that one day soon, you will be somewhere and someone will mention Vieques and the conversation will inevitably come around to Chef Michael. If that happens to you, let me know.
Sheila
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