30 de septiembre 2024
AA
Daily, Nicaraguan treats, rosquillas, baked goods, and cakes come out from the ovens of the only Nicaraguan bakery and confectionery in Zaragoza, Spain. "La Felicidad" bakery is a family business founded nine years ago by Olga María Reyes Silva from Chinandega, who now has three branches in that northeastern Spanish city.
"Most of my customers are Nicaraguans, although Colombians, Dominicans, and Spaniards from Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, and all over also come. They tell me that Nicaraguans are lucky to have a bakery like this," says Olga Reyes.
The Nicaraguan arrived in Spain in 2005. She began working by cleaning houses and caring for the elderly. Everywhere she worked, she "won people over," and her employers allowed her to bake cakes and pastries, which her friends would order from her.
"My first job was taking care of a lady named Felicidad (which means 'Happiness'). I called her grandma; she practically adopted me and was very good to me. She let me bake my cakes at her house," the baker recalls.
"During the time I was with her," she continues, "she cared deeply for me, and I for her. I promised her that if I ever had a bakery, I would name it after her, and now I’ve kept that promise."
Olga Reyes had up to four jobs in Spain, sending money back to Nicaragua. This forced her to put aside her passion for baking, but she still found ways to occasionally make her cakes. She would gift cakes to her bosses for their birthdays.
A Spanish couple encouraged her to start her business
The Nicaraguan worked for ten years for an elderly couple, caring for them and managing their household. She also baked Nicaraguan pastries and desserts for them.
According to Olga Reyes, the Spanish couple insisted that she had a "gift" and that she was "wasting it."
"Every time I gave them a cake, they were amazed and told me: 'No, Olga, you can't just be cleaning. This isn’t what you're meant to do; you need to start your own business.' I would tell them: 'I can't, I don’t have savings,'" she recalls.
However, the spark was ignited in the Chinandegan and she became interested in starting her own business, but she didn’t have the money. "In 2015, my boss told me: 'Find a place, tell me how much you need, and I'll lend it to you interest-free.' He didn't have to say it twice, and I did it," she recalls.
Her former boss lent her about 16,000 euros, which she used to pay the rent for the shop, buy an oven, a display case, a refrigerator, and a table.
"The beginning was tough. I had four jobs and would arrive at the bakery at 9 PM. I made the dough, prepared the goods, and worked on whatever I could. I finished at 3 AM, and at 6 AM, I started my shift at my other job," she says.
“The first day we only made 30 euros, we opened early and we left at night. Then the sales grew, and now I make about 400 euros a day and on weekends a little more,” she details.
A Family Business
Initially, only Olga, her husband, and one of her sons worked at the business, to whom she taught the craft of baking and pastry making.
Her years of effort had a clear mission: to create a source of employment for her and her children. "I feel really good because life here can be hard, and sometimes you meet people who treat workers poorly. I didn’t want that for my kids. I’m happy because they’re with me," she emphasizes.
"The life of an entrepreneur is tough because sometimes you have to work 24 hours a day to cover all the expenses that come your way. You have to work really hard, but the good thing is, I love my job," the baker affirms.
"I didn't come to Spain with the idea of opening a business"
Olga Reyes has dedicated her entire life to making cakes and pastries. In Nicaragua, she supplied several stores in the Chinandega market. Her workshop has always been the same—the kitchen in her home.
Most of the recipes for Nicaraguan sweets and pastries come from a family recipe book; however, Olga, from Chinandega, traveled to Mexico to take an intensive three-month pastry course.
"The course cost $150, and I didn’t have the money to pay for it, so my mother-in-law, who had a shop, paid for me. I told her I wouldn’t attend the whole course, just one month. That’s more than enough for me," recalls Olga Reyes.
Today, "La Felicidad" bakery has three branches in Zaragoza, and the Nicaraguan's plans include opening more. She also has a website where orders can be placed from anywhere in Spain.
Upon entering the shop, there is a long aisle of Nicaraguan products, from snacks and desserts to pinolillo.
"In the bakery, we offer rice seeds, cazueleja seeds, manjar, picos, special picos, toasted picos, rice empanadas, cheese empanadas, pineapple empanadas, hot dog buns, cheese bread, pineapple bread, and polvorones," she lists.
In addition to bringing traditional sweets to Nicaraguans in Zaragoza, "La Felicidad" is also a space where national traditions are kept alive, as they celebrate La Purísima in the shop every year.
This article was published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by our staff. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.
