With this blog, I want to honor all the parents of AgroAmerica, especially the founder, my father, Fernando Bolaños Menéndez.

This month, when Father’s Day is celebrated, remembering mine is knowing what it means to be a true father, a bold entrepreneur and an extraordinary being.

At only 13 years old, my dad knew what it meant to lose a father. When he turned 15, together with my grandmother, he took charge of raising his 5 little brothers, selling milk. Although I remember that he did his first business, according to my father, when he was still a child, after winning a pig at the town fair.

My grandmother was a very hard-working and strict woman and had to play the role of mom and dad. This story is repeated in many homes and these women deserve double recognition.

My father lived on a farm in Santa Ana, El Salvador and later in Asunción Mita, Guatemala. He got up every day at 3:00 a.m. to milk cows. His day ended at 6:30 p.m. when the bell of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption rang, announcing the recitation of the rosary. Then he helped with other chores and went to bed at 10:00 p.m.

According to my father, from a youthful age he was very active and participated in the affairs of the church and the community. I do not forget the words of Father Rocco, priest of the town’s parish: “Fernando was 18 years old, and he was a young worker, honest and religious. Whenever I needed something, I went with him because he was a man with exceptional values.”

My father was a country man, charismatic, loyal to his family and a bold businessperson. He was not afraid to start new businesses. After dedicating himself to cattle, he decided that his path was agriculture, and he was attached to the land forever. He began to plant cotton on the South Coast of Guatemala. Later he became an independent cane producer, and for several reasons, he found it necessary to change course and begin from nothing again.

He started planting banana. He had to sell the farm, but he bought another one. This was so natural to him. This time, he not only planted bananas again, but he began to cultivate vegetable oils; he ventured into pineapple cultivation and introduced exotic fruits, until he became one of the main producers and exporters in the region.

“Nothing stopped him, not the horrible heat, not the long hours of work, not the discomfort, he faced everything. If he had problems, he never showed weakness, he always fulfilled his work and family commitments,” commented Dr. Carlos Andrade, who collaborated with my father.

My father’s life was full of difficulties, which he overcame, first alone and then accompanied by my mother and later by his children. He learned from each experience, and from the most difficult ones, he emerged stronger and more successful.

For my dad, workers were more than employees, they were friends. He always had time to support them when they needed it.

I remember that he told his workers that dealing with people was important: “they are all human beings who deserve our respect; apart from a living wage, they have the right to fair and humane treatment.”

After the death of my father, 12 years ago, I analyzed what were the reasons that made him an exemplary father and a bold entrepreneur. My conclusion was: Love for God, family first, service to others, arduous work, perseverance, generosity, gratitude, struggle, and effort.

The inherited values ​​reached his grandchildren and with these words he said goodbye to them: “Study, work hard, persevere, and help others.”