Irene Gonzales Soza

Irene is an exemplary woman and coffee farmer who now runs Finca Talquezalar after her husband Alfonso Rodriguez passed away in 2020. The farm was named by her father-in-law to honor his village. The farm has been productive for over 40 years. Talquezalar in the Nahuatl language means sweet grass, a type of grass that thrives in a tropical climate.

Before taking over, she used to say to Alfonso “why don’t we sell the farm? It is only generates losses. He invested a lot of resources, time, faith, and effort to continue his family legacy. Over time her feeling about the farm has changed and now, she cannot even think about the idea of selling the land.

For thirteen years, she worked alongside her husband, and as the new farm manager, she proudly continues to produce some of the finest coffees from the region, with her daughters Tamara and Paola. For Irene, her motivation to work with specialty coffee comes from choosing to drink a good coffee produced by them, to build a legacy for her daughters, and to create jobs and better incomes for farmworkers and nearby communities.