Community Leadership: Edwin Patterson
Speaking with Edwin Patterson: The Activist, Congressman, and Business Owner
Writing + Photos: Liv Hooson
I meet Edwin at Tamara Restaurant where he serves up traditional Caribbean food in the heart of Old Harbor.
The iconic eatery is set on the main road just a few meters from the water’s edge. The bustling, dusty road that runs through town is ever-changing. New buildings and businesses popping up each season. But Tamara remains true to its roots. It is the oldest restaurant in town and offers a mini-museum inside filled with vintage farming tools, carved Indigenous masks, instruments, and photos of Edwin, famous activists, and inspiring quotes that paint a picture of his philosophy.
Tamara was originally opened in 1981 by Edwin himself at just 17 years old. He sold agua de sapo (homemade ginger ale) and his mother’s Jamaican cakes every afternoon when they finished farming cacao.
“Oh, you were just a kid!” I say.
“No, I wasn’t a kid. The system calls me a kid. You know Marcus Mosiah Garvey was here at the beginning of the Pan-African movement when he was 20. Before that, he was working in Jamaica, from 16 years old. He wasn’t a kid,” says Edwin. “They want to tell you who you are and what you can do. Come on rass.”
This is Edwin.
A man who doesn’t mince his words, speaks deliberately with each breath and calls out injustices without hesitation.
Despite the ever-changing energy and development in town, a few landmarks remain. Tamara Restaurant, the Patterson Estate that was built by his family 7 generations ago, and the Cultural Center.
When I use the word ‘development,’ he stops me.
“Explain to me how it works in your mind. If you love something, why you kill it?” He asks with a belly laugh. He further explains that the growth that is happening here is not done with a conscious mind, instead it is about destruction.
“Tis he who fights and run away, live to fight another day.”
HISTORY
“This country was built by Africans, Indigenous, and Spanish. In 1300 there were African people from Mali and Zambia that mixed with the Indigenous. My family came to Costa Rica at the end of the 18th century from Ghana,” says Edwin.
“I would have been Zulu from South Africa. They were known as the best warriors in Africa, moving so swiftly that no one could see them. They were even used to catch other Africans and enslave them. When I pass by, no one ever sees me, so I feel I have this warrior spirit.
We grew up in a home, not a house, where we had the privilege to put away stupidities and to see life how it was supposed to be. My father taught us to help people. He purchased a big portion of land behind Diamantes and sold it to locals to build their properties–just 500 colones for 400 square meters. My grandmother worked for a banana plantation. We had a bakery. And then many of us became cacao farmers.
“We had every single thing we needed,” he says with a snap of his fingers.
“I am a farmer and a freedom fighter and I don’t need to get a vote from you to keep doing my work.”
“We used to produce chocolate and export it from the port of Limon to Germany and England. When the government found out it was coming from Black people, they cut thr prices. Imagine this! 1 pound of chocolate only cost 5 cents. Despite our successful businesses, they called us savages who lived in the wetlands.
The US opened up their border around the same time and offered jobs to our people because they speak English. Many went to take care of elder and people’s pets. People also left in the pursuit of money, as we had limited access to things like clothing and construction materials.”
As the town has become busier and populated by more outsiders in recent years, Edwin has witnessed many negative changes.
“Over the last 30 years, we have been introduced to crime, drugs, traffic jams, garbage, and wastewater. In earlier days, immigrants were more conscious and Edwin still believes in people and is devoted to helping his community of Old Harbour.
FREEDOM FIGHTER
Outside of running his restaurant (there is not a day it isn’t full), Edwin spends time in the streets and in city halls to initiate the projects he is most passionate about.
He was behind the wastewater system that is being implemented in town. Out of 11 places in the world, the company building the system selected Puerto Viejo, which is an immense opportunity as Edwin believes there is still time to preserve and protect the resources here. He helped initiate getting firefighters in town despite resistance from politicians and is the president of Fuerza Caribe Sur, an organization dedicated to strengthening the community.
Last year, he was a part of developing the Forum on People of African Descent in the United Nations.
“We had 340 delegates from 70 different countries. When everybody introduced themselves, they used their slave name. So, you know when the rasta man get up and says, “My name is Kueku Zulu. I am an African living in Costa Rica. I don’t descend from Africa.
First, we have to identify ourselves and who we are, not who they say we are. It’s 2023, and we are still fighting for recognition.
“I am an African living in Costa Rica. I don’t descend from Africa.”
FORMER CONGRESSMAN
Edwin never imagined he would be a political figure, but he knew that to influence the system, it was best to do it from the inside. Encouraged by a friend, he showed up in San Jose on the day they were voting for members of
Congress. He wore his traditional African wardrobe, a dashiki and kofia, to speak his truth.
“I am a farmer and a freedom fighter and I have been doing all of these things on the ground in my community,” he said, “and I don’t need to get a vote from you to keep doing them,” he said.
Edwin got 38 out of 42 votes. For 4 years he held this position until returning back to Old Harbor to continue his work on the ground.
Marcus Mosiah Garvey
1887-1940
Jamaican political activist who immigrated to the US and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
The mission was to uplift Black pride, create racial unity of African Americans, and to redeem Africa from white rule.
His teachings of black self empowerment and idealogies are credited as being the sources behind the founding of Rastafari—an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica.
Q&A
Q. Who are the activists that motivate you?
Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, but first Marcus Garvey. Garvey inspired the people here, including my grandfather. After creating the Black Star Line, a shipping line to facilitate the transportation of goods throughout the African global economy, Garvey showed his interest in the community of Limon. He built the Black Star Line Building “Liberty Hall” — an organization that has changed over time, but the mission remains. We are working with the mayor to build a traditional mud house to represent our African roots.
Q. Tell me about your beliefs and spirituality.
African people are the most religious people. Dinknesh was the first fossil of a human found and it was a woman in Ethiopia (some consider her to be the first lady of humanity).
Their god is a man, my god is a woman. Every single war in the world is for land and religion—why is your god allowing so much destruction in nature and to people? I want nothing to do with this. The only way a human being can come to earth is through a woman’s womb, so we need to put women first.
Q. What are the most important issues you are fighting for in Puerto right now?
To re-educate our people and give them a chance to think, to go back to family. In my vigilante life, I am sure that Limon doesn’t belong to Costa Rica. We have no reason to be here. Our people still believe that Limon needs Costa Rica. We don’t need anything.
The highest mountain is in Limon, the biggest river, the biggest port. We don’t have drought, we don’t have a rainy season, we have enough water for the next 40 years, we have connections to the Caribbean Atlantic Ocean, and we have oil, natural gas, coal, and gold. What we need from Costa Rica?
If Limon ever becomes independent (something he has advocated for), I want to be the Minister of Security. I have many ideas for this place.
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Edwin shows me across the street to the Patterson Estate set in between high-end jewelry stores, bright bikini shops, and local sodas. His home is immaculate, freshly painted with green, black, and red (a reference to the Pan-African flag). There is a large billboard that reads the names of the founding families of Old Harbour, along with hand-painted signs with words of wisdom.
One day, he wants to transform part of the property into a museum to honor the African influence here, to gather with the community, and a place to prepare the next generation of Patterson’s. ψ
