The Pomarosa That Feeds Those Still Learning to Fly

There is a tree in the reserve that never stops working. Nilson found it loaded to the brim: bright red pomarosa fruits — or perita, as the locals call them — pressed tight within a dense canopy that barely lets the sky show through. The trunk, sturdy and grey-barked, holds up a crown so generous it seems to know nothing of scarcity. The tree does not go unnoticed. Squirrels are regulars here, and wild loros also gather among its branches. But there is something more: the fruits that fall or are collected from this tree make their way to the Fundación's feeding stations, as food for the loros still in rehabilitation — those who don't yet quite know what to do with the freedom that is coming for them. It was Nilson who made the formal introduction, a red fruit in hand, the way someone presents something they have every right to be proud of. And he was right.