Chronicles of an Immigrant – Venturing into a New Valley

Juan Carlos Jaramillo, better known as Juan by his friends, Carlos by his clients and nicknamed Jarabe by his childhood buddies and family, is from Buga, a city in western Colombia’s Valle del Cauca department. Its capital is Cali, the self-proclaimed salsa capital of the world.
(A department in Colombia is equivalent to a state in America, and Salsa is the most popular style of dance music representing multiple Latin genres. The roots of salsa originated in Eastern Cuba from the Cuban Son and AfroCuban rumba.)
Valle Del Cauca translates to The Cauca’s Valley, and its name refers historically to the multiple communities concentrated near the Cauca River Valley during the period of colonization. The Valley has the most varied agriculture in Colombia as well as the largest plantations of sugar cane, making it one of the most important departments in the country. The production of sugarcane is a measure of departmental economy.

Guadalajara de Buga, named by the locals Buga, is a colonial city with well-preserved buildings dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Buga constitutes the most visited religious center in all of Colombia, famous for a monument that took 19 years to build during difficult times of wars – a Catholic Sanctuary in the Americas called “Basilica Nuestro Senor de los Milagros – “basilica of our lord of miracles.” The word “Basilica” refers to a “House where the King lives.”

Juan remembers growing up Latino Corner CHRONICLES OF AN IMMIGRANT Venturing into a new valley 22 September 2018 in Buga and taking part in some of the valley’s cultural activities that included the international sugarcane fair in Cali, the Buga song festival and the agricultural fairs in Palmira and Tuluá. He collected many special memories and particularly enjoys recalling the reasons everyone in Buga suddenly started calling him Jarabe – Syrup. This unusual nickname had nothing to do with the word definition, in both Spanish and English, but rather the fact that the children who attended school in Colombia most often are addressed by their last name. Since Juan’s classmates found it too tiring to say Jaramillo, they decided to shortened it to just Jara, using also a common expression to tell him to pay attention Jara ve or Jara look! As there is no major difference between the pronunciation of the letters “v” and “b” in the Spanish language spoken in Colombia, he became Jarabe.

According to a well-known legend, Bugueños, people from Buga are Bobos – fools. This legend relates that among Buga’s inhabitants there were two classes – some rich and educated, born in the cradle of gold of European ancestry with recognized and respected surnames and others who were lacking almost everything. The former did not allow their children to marry the second and began to celebrate weddings between cousins. The poorest copied the behavior resulting in children born with deficiencies relegated to backyards tied to a Papayo, a big tree.

Thankfully, Juan was not a fool and did not like to waste any educational opportunity. He was extremely curious, and his parents, Carlos and Nancy, noticed at an early age, he had incredible math skills. He was motivated to pursue a career that could take him would put him on a different path. At 18, 23 September 2018 Juan moved to Bogota, Colombia, to study engineering. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in business administration. With degrees in hand, he landed a job in a large sugar factory. In 2003, Juan lost his job in the factory, forcing him to explore new endeavors. A good friend, established in Roanoke, encouraged Juan to move to the valley. Six months after moving to Roanoke, Juan’s father died, leaving a gaping hole in his heart. However, he persevered. Finding work in Virginia was not easy. He took whatever work would come his way – random jobs – anything to make money as he began a new life in a different country.

He made money mowing the yards and caring for the plants of neighbors. He was able to save enough money to buy his own equipment and supplies, and by 2005, he opened Greenscapes VA, Lawn Care & Landscaping.

Ten years passed before Juan was able to visit his home in Colombia. His life journey has been “an adventure in progress,” he says. He has learned to treasure the moments spent with those you love and to live life to the fullest. He was extremely thankful for having the chance to see his beloved grandparents who raised him, Gerardo and Mivia Osorio once more.

Juan now enjoys an incomparable state of freedom traveling across America by bike. He has taken long road trips to South America that also have given him the opportunity to meet other travelers, sharing the same culture.

We, immigrants live on a constant adventure, we leave behind our familiar environments due to multiple factors (i.e. economic, cultural, political and social) and are willing to endure countless hardships as our entire way of living is modified in so many ways including language and lifestyle changes.

I would like to dedicate this article to all my friends from Colombia, especially Juan Carlos Jaramillo and other entrepreneurs
who support the growth and dynamism in our region. Also, to other immigrants who with a humble heart have had to go through a vocational change without losing the essence of who they are, simply because a career path does not necessarily define us and because without humbleness, there is no learning possible.