Hemingway and the “gang” say: “Farewell To The Arms…
Project "Alcatraz": A Comprehensive Initiative for Gang Rehabilitation and Reintegration by Santa Teresa.…
“If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain what he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.”
―Johann Wolfgang von GoetheJust Exceptional...
“Words can scarcely capture the resplendent magnificence of this exquisite beverage. Its virtues transcend the limits of expression, rendering it a true paragon of its kind. Unquestionably, it ranks among the most exceptional elixirs ever crafted, enrapturing discerning palates with flavors and nuances beyond compare. Its profound essence lingers long after the final sip, leaving an indelible impression that beckons one to return again and again. A gem of unrivaled brilliance, it stands as a testament to the artistry and mastery that define the world of fine spirits.”
Courtesy of Santa Teresa
It is the cruellest reality imaginable...
Criminal activity has emerged as a significant global threat in recent years. Contemporary statistics are alarming: homicide claims nearly half a million lives annually worldwide (UNODC, 2023). This figure surpasses the combined number of deaths attributable to armed conflicts and terrorist attacks during the same period (WHO, 2022), underscoring the scale of the crisis.
An effective response requires an examination of the complex interconnections between Latin American gang structures, the widespread availability of firearms in Europe, and the broader dynamics of organized crime. In Latin America, criminal organizations have been decisive in sustaining high levels of violence (Dudley, 2021). These groups frequently operate under distorted notions of loyalty and social order, engaging in violent territorial disputes to secure control over highly profitable illicit economies. Their influence extends beyond localized contexts, permeating social, political, and economic structures, and thereby perpetuating entrenched cycles of violence (UNODC, 2023).
In the European context, the relative accessibility of firearms exacerbates the risks associated with organized crime. The proliferation of guns not only emboldens criminal actors but also facilitates the escalation of armed robberies, gang-related conflicts, and even terrorist incidents (Europol, 2022). Recognizing the urgency of the issue, the United Nations adopted Sustainable Development Goal 16, which calls for a substantial reduction in violence and related deaths by 2030 (United Nations, 2015). Yet, given current trends, the likelihood of achieving this target within the designated timeframe appears increasingly uncertain (Global Peace Index, 2024).
Addressing these challenges necessitates a multidimensional strategy. Such a strategy should prioritize social interventions that mitigate the structural drivers of crime, including poverty, inequality, and marginalization (World Bank, 2021). It should also promote access to education and vocational training, expand economic opportunities, and enhance mechanisms of international cooperation aimed at dismantling transnational criminal networks (OECD, 2022). Only through a comprehensive approach that integrates social, economic, and institutional dimensions can sustainable progress in reducing global criminal violence be achieved.
A déjà vu of goodness…
I. The Arrival
On a chilly autumn evening, fog lay over Montmartre like a half-forgotten dream. The cobblestones were slick with mist, and the chestnut trees along Rue de l’Abreuvoir shivered in the wind. Lamps glowed faintly, scattering halos that seemed too fragile to resist the coming night. The city was restless and silent at once, as if each passerby carried within them a secret.
It was then that the Spirit of Good Hope appeared. He did not walk so much as drift, though to the few who might have noticed him, his steps seemed heavy with memory. His presence carried no sound, only the suggestion that something was about to happen, something already inscribed in the folds of time.
He stopped before a small café, its windows blurred with condensation, its interior glowing like the heart of a lantern. Music and laughter leaked into the street, subdued yet insistent. He had been here before — or perhaps only dreamed of it. A sensation of repetition overtook him: not monotony, but the familiar recurrence of a truth that returns again and again, each time sharper. He pushed open the door.
II. The Ritual
Warmth enveloped him. The air was thick with the scent of roasted beans, the sweetness of rum, and the faint bitterness of tobacco. Voices overlapped in gentle chaos, each conversation a thread in the tapestry of the café.
The Spirit smiled and approached the counter. With a voice touched by anticipation, he said:
— Un café au lait avec du rhum Santa Teresa, s’il vous plaît.
It was his ritual, his charm against the cold, his acknowledgement that seasons repeat but never entirely the same. The barista nodded, as if the order had been written long before this evening, as if the Spirit’s presence had been expected.
He turned to face the room, and it was then that the improbable unfolded.
III. The Apparition
In a corner, half-shrouded by smoke, sat a man whose presence seemed to anchor the entire café. His gray beard caught the dim light; his broad frame exuded both fatigue and defiance. Ernest Hemingway had returned. Not as a monument carved in the stone of literature, nor as the tragic figure whose end was inscribed in Ketchum, Idaho, but as a living being, weathered, heavy with ghosts, still carrying the weight of his wars.
Around him clustered young men — boys, really, though their bodies had been inscribed with the violence of survival. Tattoos spiraled across their skin like maps of wounds. Their eyes carried the suspicion of those who had stared too often into the barrel of a gun. They were gang members, sons of asphalt and night, hardened by alleys and betrayals.
No one in the café seemed surprised to see them there together. Time itself appeared suspended, folding the decades so that Hemingway and the youth of another century could breathe the same smoke.
IV. The Dialogue of Guns
Their conversation rose slowly, like embers stirred in a dying fire. Hemingway’s voice was gravel, the sound of rivers of whiskey and nights without sleep. He spoke of guns, and the room grew still.
The youths listened, shifting uneasily in their chairs. They knew guns well: the cold steel tucked under jackets, the weight that gave them control for a moment, the false assurance of invulnerability. Guns had been their companions, their protection against a city that hunted them. Yet every weapon was also a curse, marking them with guilt. Each bullet left a shadow they could not erase.
One of them, his hands tattooed with fading ink, whispered: “They make you feel strong, but they make you weak inside.”
Hemingway nodded. He, too, had once believed in the nobility of holding a rifle, in the mythology of war as a test of courage. Spain, Italy, France — he had carried guns across fields where men bled into mud. But illusions rot quickly. What remains are the scars, not only of flesh but of conscience.
“The dead do not leave you,” he murmured, his eyes fixed on a point no one else could see. “They sleep beside you. They sharpen their knives in your dreams.”
The gang fell silent. They had felt it too — the weight of the absent, the gaze of those erased by crossfire, the names no longer spoken yet present in every silence.
V. The Spirit’s Witness
From his table, the Spirit of Good Hope observed. He did not intervene; his role was not to speak but to witness, to gather the threads of this improbable gathering. He saw how two worlds — the trench and the alley, the battlefield and the banlieue — touched each other in this smoky room. The language of violence was universal. Its grammar was scarred, its punctuation grief-stricken.
For the first time, the youths looked at Hemingway not as a distant figure but as a mirror. His beard, his wrinkles, his silence — they were theirs in another time, another geography. Hemingway saw in them not delinquents but brothers in loss.
VI. Toward Liberation
The night advanced, and with it, a fragile possibility. What began as a conversation became a confession, and confession gave birth to something like resolve. The men, young and old, began to imagine a path beyond steel.
They gave it a name: The Alcatraz Project.
The irony was deliberate—Alcatraz — the island-prison, the fortress of hopelessness. But here, it would be inverted, transformed into a symbol of liberation. The prison would become a door. The bars would become the ladder out.
It wasn't naïve. They knew how hard it would be to renounce arms in a world that constantly demanded them. But the act of naming it, of conceiving it, was already a revolt.
VII. The Departure
The lamps burned lower. The barista wiped the counter. Chairs were stacked on tables. The café returned to ordinariness, as if nothing extraordinary had transpired.
But the Spirit knew. Something had been born here tonight — fragile, invisible, yet undeniable. A vow had been spoken, not with speeches but with silence and shared gaze.
He finished his café au lait with rum. The warmth lingered in his chest as he stepped into the Paris night. Fog clung to the street. The city carried on, unaware of what had just occurred in its heart.
The Spirit of Good Hope walked on, knowing that from this night forward, the world carried a new possibility: the audacity of bidding farewell to arms.
Botlle Waxing / Image courtesy of Santa Teresa Editing by Germán & CoInspired by the noble soul of Saint Teresa of Avila…
The spirituality and teachings of Saint Teresa of Avila, a nun known for her devotion to praying for the vulnerable, have profoundly influenced the Wollmer family, owners of Hacienda Santa Teresa in Venezuela's Aragua Valley, a key sugar-producing region. Inspired by her beliefs, the family adopted principles akin to corporate social responsibility long before it became widely recognized.
Hacienda Santa Teresa is home to "Santa Teresa," Venezuela's oldest rum brand, with roots going back to 1796. Initially focused on growing coffee, cocoa, and sugarcane, the estate began producing rum in 1830 and has endured many challenges, including wars, revolutions, dictatorships, and even the pandemic. While the company produces various rums, only one, the "Santa Teresa 1796 Solera Rum," is exported. This special rum was launched in 1996 to honor the estate’s bicentennial and is distributed internationally by Bacardi Ltd.
By embracing Saint Teresa's values, the Wollmer family has built a brand that symbolizes tradition, resilience, and respect for the community and environment. Hacienda Santa Teresa’s legacy as a producer of outstanding rum reflects their dedication to their craft and their deep commitment to the principles inspired by Saint Teresa.
The brand is also known for its strong community involvement, particularly through the acclaimed Project “Alcatraz.” In 2003, after a gang attacked a security guard on the hacienda, the perpetrators were given an unusual choice:
“Either surrender to the authorities or engage in labour at the Hacienda to restate their transgression…
Project "Alcatraz"…
In response to the ever-growing challenge of gang-related activities, the offer to establish Project "Alcatraz" was accepted, marking the beginning of a remarkable endeavor. Since its inception, Project "Alcatraz" has evolved into a comprehensive initiative dedicated to the recruitment and rehabilitation of individuals involved in criminal gangs.
Drawing upon a multi-faceted approach, this program employs a range of strategies to foster the reintegration of these individuals into society. One core aspect of Project "Alcatraz" is vocational training, equipping participants with essential skills and expertise necessary for employment and self-sustainability. Moreover, value formation plays a key role in instilling a sense of moral compass and social responsibility.
Recognizing the importance of addressing underlying psychological issues, Project "Alcatraz" also provides psychological counseling to its participants. By addressing the root causes of their involvement with criminal gangs, this counseling plays a pivotal role in guiding them towards positive and productive paths.
Formal education is another vital component of the program. Through academic pursuits, participants have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and develop a solid foundation for future success. By fostering intellectual growth, Project "Alcatraz" helps break the cycle of criminal activity and opens doors to new possibilities.
An unexpected aspect of the rehabilitation process embraced by Project "Alcatraz" is the involvement of its participants in the sport of rugby. Beyond its physical benefits, rugby serves as a powerful tool for instilling discipline, teamwork, and self-esteem. This sport offers a unique opportunity for personal development and camaraderie, contributing to the overall success of the program.
Since its establishment, Project "Alcatraz" has witnessed the participation of numerous young people aiming to leave behind a life of crime. Through its far-reaching initiatives, the program has successfully reintegrated many individuals into society, providing them with a chance for a fresh start. The unwavering commitment and dedication of the Project "Alcatraz" team have paved the way for transformation and hope in the lives of those previously trapped in a cycle of gang-related activities.
Looking forward, as Project "Alcatraz" continues to grow and evolve, it serves as a beacon of progress and renewal in the realm of gang rehabilitation. With its holistic approach and undeniable impact, this initiative stands as a testament to the power of compassion, perseverance, and the belief in the potential for redemption in every individual.
Image: Germán & Co