I am part of a business group formed by a financial institution, an insurance company, a commercial factoring company, and a well-known company that manufactures cleaning products formerly owned by Procter & Gamble in Venezuela. The employees of these companies were summoned to an event on Saturday 16/07/2022 at Hacienda Santa Teresa in which we as a group would learn about our achievements and at the same time the integration and commercial policies of the group, highlighting above all teamwork.
The first thing we did when we arrived at the hacienda was to have two delicious cheese and chicken arepas for breakfast, and a refreshing glass of papelón with lemon (a refreshing drink made from sugar cane) accompanied by a cup of coffee with milk:
Afterwards, we went to the Hacienda's auditorium, where the President of the group gave a speech in which he told us about his beginnings and how he obtained support as a team from personalities who believed in his ideas and projects.
In his speech he paraphrases John. C. Maxwell, American writer, trainer and lecturer mainly focused on leadership, who tells us in his book: The 17 unquestionable laws of teamwork:
"The truth is that at the heart of every great achievement is a team. The question is not whether teams are important, but whether we recognize that they are and strive to become the best team members.
Among the speakers who helped spread this message of unity and collaboration was our senior director:
It is not possible to achieve something of value without the support of others, there are many people who took risks and succeeded, but when analyzing these achievements we will see that these people were always part of a team. When you ask someone for help, they should be more than willing to help because they realize that they have something that the other person needs. That makes you feel important.
Hacienda Santa Teresa has more than 200 years of tradition in distilling and aging one of the best rums in the world, located in the valleys of Aragua, in El Consejo. It is a place with large green areas and many spaces to enjoy.
It is famous, in addition to its rum production, for establishing a social program that has managed to rehabilitate young people belonging to criminal gangs in the area, several of them being part of the hacienda's staff and even recognized figures in the practice of rugby in the country.
This social reinsertion project is called Alcatraz and was explained to us by its ambassador and captain of the rugby team.
In 2003, the company created the Alcatraz Project, a program for the social reintegration of young people through values such as work and rugby. It was created in response to the actions of three young men who robbed a security inspector at the farm. They were arrested by the authorities and offered two alternatives: return the stolen goods and work for three months on the premises without receiving anything in return to compensate for the damages, or go to jail accused of their crime. They decided on the first option, but asked that their fellow gang members (whose name was Alcatraz), also be accepted.
Once this inspiring story was told, he taught us how to prepare a delicious cocktail called Cruz de Aragua and with the flagship rum of the Santa Teresa brand: 1796, which was kept in 1989 in order to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the brand's founding. Bicentenario rum has been aged for ninety years, and each bottle is numbered and signed by the owner of the company. Only about 500 cases are produced annually to be distributed everywhere. We were offered to taste the indicated drink and were told the recipe.
These are the ingredients: One and a half ounces of Santa Teresa 1796 Rum
Half Ounce Rosemary Syrup, Half Ounce Pineapple juice, Half an ounce of lemon juice, a touch of ground black pepper, fresh Rosemary.
The photo shows the private cellar where many celebrities have a barrel with their name on it and a personalized rum is produced for them.
Once the talk was over, after tasting this exquisite drink, we were able to visit part of the Hacienda's facilities.
We were invited to a Rugby clinic.
Then it was time for lunch, which consisted of a salad with lettuce, peanuts, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, radishes and balsamic oil. The main course consisted of peppered pork loin accompanied by sweet potato puree and a mixed salad of carrots, broccoli and zucchini. Dessert was a lemon pie.
After lunch we were offered a drink called Gran Mojito which has the following ingredients: Gran Reserva rum, mint leaves, lime juice, gum syrup and soda.
The bar was open, so I had three shots of mojito!
We continued to enjoy the facilities after having these drinks.
The visit to this beautiful place was of a corporate nature, so we were not able to visit many places inside the hacienda, however it was a nice and fun time, where the participants learned about the evolution of the business group to which we belong and about what it means to work as a team and obtain benefits that satisfy us professionally and personally.
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All pictures are my property and were taken with my Iphone 4 cell phone.