Hugo Puig González, owner of Bar K5, located in Guanabo, Havana, said he was surprised by the incredible response the New Year's Eve dinner offered to 180 low-income people.
“So far people's response has been incredible. The impact has been so positive that I am sure that next time, next year, on the 31st or 24th [of December], there will be hundreds of self-employed workers, hundreds of restaurants, hundreds of cafes... that all Anyone who has something is going to share it, each one at their own level. But this is not something that I believe, I am sure, because they have told me so," said the businessman. interviewed by Radio Television Martí.
Despite the virality of this dinner, Puig González says that it is part of a constant commitment to the community, and that his mother and her business help the elderly with food.
“This made them feel like important people that day, people who treated them like what they are. In recent years, well, it is not a mystery, nor is it a secret, or anything like that, that the economic situation has deteriorated greatly, and the first ones that it hits are these old people, those children and those families. ”, he specifies.
Likewise, he explained that in addition to the 180 diners on the 31st, food was also sent through a family member to people who have disabilities and could not reach K5.
The businessman said that the idea for the dinner came from a conversation with his wife.
“I was driving the car with my wife and I told her, Lore, we are going to take our leg of pork, since there are only three of us anyway, and what we have left we are going to make food for the old people, we are going to make a delicious food, like ours,” he said.
“And when I am sure that I can do it, I put the ad on the Internet saying: please help me, I want to find a way to get these people to come eat here on the 31st, at 5 in the afternoon, a well made food. That news went viral and took on such a dimension that on the 30th, in the morning, I said, this is not going to be enough,” he added.
The owner of Bar K5 is not in favor of calling the initiative “charity”, and prefers to say that it is aid.
Three pork legs were used for dinner, which his workers left untasted.
“They were left without food. They ate cassava, they ate congri, salad, but there was no meat. The meat was all given on plates to the old people, or in little boxes. This excites me. And when I told them, but you... are going to go without eating, they told me: 'no, no, here the ones who had to eat today were the old people,'" he says.
“The cook, the chef, the main one, the one who was there since the morning, the one who prepared everything, had a smile. He goes up and down, with a smile on his mouth. He says: 'I have never felt better in my life,'” he concludes.
Thanks to the generosity of the owner and workers of Bar K5 in Guanabo, Havana, 180 low-income elderly and children were able to enjoy a New Year's Eve dinner last Sunday, December 31.
The images of the altruistic gesture were released by the business owner, who said it was an unforgettable event.
“Yesterday, December 31, 180 very low-income old people and children, and the staff of Bar K5 had a New Year's Eve dinner that we will not forget, the first ones enjoying the food, we enjoying serving it to them even more and offering them a moment of happiness,” he commented on Facebook
This Cuban businessman said that his intention was for diners to “enjoy the real experience of a New Year's Eve dinner, that is, sitting at a table and eating a good meal on a plate, with music and in company.”
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