A gay Border’s Café in the Nicaraguan jungle?
El Castillo, an old Spanish fort above the Rio San Juan, Nicaragua
We took a boat up the Rio San Juan to El Castillo, which is both an old Spanish fort and an appealing small town with many of its houses built out over the river. The first thing we saw when we disembarked was a sign that said “Borders Coffee” with an arrow pointing up a wooden staircase to an open-air space with tables and chairs and rows of potted plants.
The café belongs to Jamil, featured in the last Lonely Planet Nicaragua under the heading, “El Castillo’s Shame.” Jamil is openly gay, and he has been harassed by the townspeople, the police, and the army, but has stood his ground and now has a thriving business with an enviable location and the only espresso machine in town.
Born in El Castillo, Jamil went away to school in San Jose, Costa Rica, but came home because this is where his family is. “Nicaraguans says,” Jamil told me, “that all Ticos are faggots (‘maricones’). But it’s just that they’re more open about it.”
Borders Coffee in El Castillo, Nicaragua
Jamil is very well-spoken, self-possessed, and I can only imagine the reserves of strength he has had to draw on being the only out gay man in a small remote riverside town in a part of the world not known for its enlightened views towards gays.
Jamil, at his Border's Cafe in El Castillo, Nicaragua
Another long-term resident of the area put a slightly different spin on Jamil’s saga. “It sounds like his biggest crime was that he was a good businessman,” this person speculated. “He was probably affecting other people’s businesses, so they used the excuse of his sexuality to harass him.”
Whatever the explanation, I enjoyed talking to Jamil and hope that he and his cafe continue to thrive.
All photos by David W. Smith.
Tags: el castillo, Rio San Juan
Nicaragua, Things to Do | Erin Van Rheenen | 
December 9, 2009 5:59 pm
6 Comments
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By Catherine, December 18, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
Wow, inspiring. Way to go, Jamil, and I wish you all the best. Have fun with it.
By Brian van der Plugh, December 27, 2009 @ 8:07 pm
Jamil es mi esposa! I just listened to my messages from the last couple of days, as it has been rather hectic here. I was very moved by your attempts to reach me on Christmas day. I wish that I had answered one of those calls, as I imagined you, depleted phone card in hand, standing at a busy street corner pay phone. You may have been far more comfortable than that, but still, this is the way that I envision your call. In any event, I wish that you had been here, or that I had been there. It was a wild evening here, and I think all went very well. A fun evening, yet you were conspicuously absent. I did set a table place for you, and had a life sized cardboard cut out of your face and torso propped up in that chair. Bob kept reaching over to slap you on the back every time someone at the table made an especially humorous point, pitching your likeness forward onto your plate. I repeatedly set you upright anew, wiped the potatoes and stuffing from your chin and chest, and gave you a reassuring pat upon your cardboard head. It was almost as if you were here, though your witty repartee was slack if not entirely lacking.
You were constantly in my thoughts, and I hope that you and David had a delightful Christmas, and that New Years arrives in spectacular fashion!
We miss you a bushel and a peck.
Brian
By Vicki Skinner (aka the Sarong Goddess), March 14, 2010 @ 10:09 pm
THANX for staying in INTEGRITY with yourself Jamil – even through the b.s.!! I JUST posted this link to a few Gay Latin America message boards to help spread the word!!
Do you know of any gay-owned businesses in http://SanJuanDelSurNI.com (you can share discrete info if someone doesn’t want to be out) as I go there every 3 months for my Costa Rica visa run.
How do you get to this area where Jamil is? I’m INTRIGUED!!!! It’s looks SPECIAL! Any cheap places to stay ON the water or at least near if one needs a QUIET getaway??
By Erin Van Rheenen, March 15, 2010 @ 1:41 pm
hey Vicki,
Thanks for your comment. To get to El Castillo, you take a boat from San Carlos. I stayed at the Hotel Victoria, 12 rooms, reasonably priced (around $40) pretty much on the water. Run by two very friendly sisters, and with a good open-air restaurant. Try them at (505) 2583 0188 or hotelvictoria01@yahoo.es and tell them I sent you!
Erin Van Rheenen
Living Abroad in Costa Rica
By Carlyn, July 13, 2010 @ 12:46 am
Great coffee site – indeed there
is nothing that can replace a
fresh brewed Costa Rica coffee cup!