The Old Mamoncillo of Los Guardianes Bears Fruit Again

On Finca Los Guardianes, there is a mamoncillo tree that has spent many years as a silent witness to the life of the farm. This week, Angélica Cecilia Mármol Venegas noticed that its branches were bending again under the weight of the clusters: green fruits, tightly packed, shining like freshly polished marbles. It was the sign that the harvest of *Melicoccus bijugatus* had begun. For the birds of Fundación Loros, the mamoncillo is more than just food — it is entertainment. They have to work for it: handle it, crack it open, extract that sweet orange pulp hiding beneath the hard shell. Angélica knows this well, which is why she calls the start of the harvest a grand occasion. For now the fruits remain on the tree, loosening at their own pace, but soon they will make their way to the aviaries. There is something special about that ancient tree, which has long since become part of the landscape of Los Guardianes — a tree that has watched seasons, hands, and birds come and go, and that every year, without fail, keeps its promise.