Some people are bigger than life, and Matute was one of them. He was about 70 years old when I was living at Las Lomas in Talamanca.
He had an incredible zest for life, and loved to yarn a tale. He spoke with a twinkle in his eye, but also about very serious issues about government programs and social issues.
I remember walking into town with him, which is a two hour trek, and I have my rubber boots and sinking into the mud to my knees, and he is wearing tennis shoes and hopping along without getting his shoes dirty. It seemed impossible.
P55 from my diary –
Matute had me laughing in Laureles yesterday. El me dijo un chile que no se si es verdad o no. El se fue para 96 a coger el bus para Limon, pero no lo alzanzo. Un amigo en carro, lo llevo hasta BriBri. El estaba fuere del comino a punto de orinar cuando paso el bus. El dejo su trabajo y lo monto. Despues de un rato, el pidio al tiquetero si el puede dejar un ratico a orinar. El le dijo que no. Entonces Matute saco su mazorca y empezo a orinar en el bus. Ahora paran el bus si hay alguien necesita orinar.
Matute was from Honduras. It was common in Talamanca to have people from other countries because this was an area for homesteading, where people could work land for 10 years and then claim title, so people came to the area to make a new life for themselves.
Matute had another family in Honduras, so he went back and forth between families. This was shocking to me at the time, but this is not uncommon in the area.