The Other Mother Teresa

The first time we went to La Madre Teresa we were taken there by our Honduran friend, Cid, and our English friend, Chris. I’m not sure if I have introduced Chris yet, so please allow me to do so. Chris is a former teacher at HEM school who has lived in Honduras for about 2 years. Originally from Britain, Chris is loads of fun and a great person to know as we are figuring out our place here in Santa Rosa. He often just stops by, entertains us for an hour or two, and then goes on his merry way. A fabulous partner in crime for the night scene of Santa Rosa, he’s always up for a good time.

Chris and Cid hijacking my camera.

When Cid and Chris first told us about La Madre, we were quite intrigued, especially when they told Abby and me that there was no way in hell that we should ever go there alone. Well, after being there, I’m sure we’d be okay. We’d be attacked by Honduran men, nothing new, and wouldn’t have anywhere to go to the bathroom…but other than that, La Madre Teresa would have our back. That said, I really would never go there by myself, just with Abby, or without a guy—or three. La Madre is this shady little out of the way bar that you can only get to by taxi and after passing old wear houses and factories, down this completely deserted dirt road. Come to think of it, I have only gone there at night so I really do not even know what surrounds this tiny little shack. I think that is probably a good thing.

Abby and me all smiles, out saying goodbye to John.

A one room bar with about 6 tables and a few bar stools, painted a vibrant green color with baby cockroaches being a common sight, crawling the floors and some of the tables. As much as I hate cockroaches (and I HATE cockroaches) these just add to the atmosphere that is nowhere but La Madre. Serving your typical beers to your typical drunks, this little Honduran bar is not much different than an out of the way dive bar in the States. It has its regular customers who gawk at the out of place Americans, it’s seen-better-days-but-still-has-a-sense-of-humor owner and bartendress (la madre), and of course, a signature drink. La preparada.

A mix of gurro (Honduran’s version of moon shine), something, something, something else, lemonade, and sugar. I’m never one to pay much attention…I just know if it’s good or not. This my friends, is GOOD. And STRONG. There is certainly no way I need more than one of these babies in one night.

This picture was taken to show the fabulous juxtaposition of Jesus and the borderline pornographic calendar girl.

A little shot of La Madre herself in her element.

In Santa Rosa, you have your Americanized Applebee’s type bar, your working-class karaoke bar, your higher class Hotel bar, and then you have La Madre. I wouldn’t go there every day, but an adventure to La Madre has, thus far, never left me disappointed. I’ll be sure to learn how to make a preparada before I leave Honduras and then, of course, teach you all in the ways of La Madre.