Who we are

That sentence stayed with me. It opened my eyes to how invisible the work of Colombian women usually is: women who scrape a living together, who raise children against all odds, and who use the kitchen and the morning coffee as their first language of love. That day a promise of justice and gratitude was born, and today it comes to life in the most sacred place I know: my mother’s house, la Ruquita. She, the hardest-working and most transformative woman I know, made the brave decision to change the course of her life and rent the hotel to me, María C., so that I could give shape to this dream called Amaría a María. From her we inherited the soul of our hospitality: she taught us that this will always be our house and our home, and that when you walk through the door you should feel it is yours too.

So the tribute reached beyond the home and out into the countryside. We also wanted to honour the coffee growers and chapoleras of our land, the rural women who pick every red cherry with care and delicacy. To bring them all together we chose the name that embraces our country: María. That is where Amaría a María comes from: a play on words that simply means to love María, to value her story and to dignify her devotion.

Today, high up in Calambeo (Ibagué), we have turned that purpose into a boutique hotel and a cup of specialty coffee. More than experts, we are deeply passionate about coffee. For us it is a sacred moment: while my mother and I have our afternoon coffee here, ready to sit and talk for hours, my sister Sandra, who has lived on the other side of the world for years, is only just waking up and having hers. That cup is what shortens the distance, lets us share our lives and makes us feel much closer. Every cup we serve and every corner we share is our way of saying thank you to the women’s hands that quietly hold up the world.