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The idea was born 10 years ago, but for various reasons it could not be realized, until a long-awaited dream made them look for an opportunity to open Cafe LSA. The acronym that closes the name defines his enterprise: Argentine Sign Language. First, it was decided to make it possible, and then to take part in the national competition of entrepreneurs, the prize of which will help them. They did not win, and despite all the desire they put into it, the economic reality that the country is going through does not allow them to open the door. They do not give up and implement ways to advance this desire.
“This stems from the need to eliminate communication and cultural barriers that the deaf community faces on a daily basis, on the one hand; and on the other hand, because of unemployment and lack of work, which affects many deaf people and their families,” he says. Uha Farfanone of the managers of the enterprise.
For this reason, he asserts, the main motivation was “the desire to be able to act as deaf people, and also to face the reality that our community is going through.”
The idea he is considering with his partner Mariano is to open and open it soon April 13 In memory of the announcement of Argentina’s National Sign Language Day. To do this, they ask for help through donations through the Cafecito platform and through courses.
“The workshop we opened has already helped us and we were able to install LED lights and replace the halogen tubes that were there before. It’s also a way to take a break and do other things, and bring them together over coffee,” he says.
People born blind say they don’t know what darkness is, because it is perceived by those who can see. The same thing happens to those who have never heard a sound. Silence is not a concept, but they know that it helps others understand what they are talking about.
“I grew up with my hearing sisters and my deaf sister, Stella Maris, a few years older than me, in a small town called La Merced. As I grew up, after graduating from high school, I went into architecture, a career I had to leave after three years due to lack of accessibility (there were no sign language interpreters at the time). In other words, at 18 I left everything to enter a community where I knew I belonged, and I learned Argentine Sign Language. I have been there for more than 25 years,” he sums up his life.
“I was able to implement a lot of projects when I joined there, and I met Marian, with whom I developed a beautiful friendship almost from the time I joined. He is now the godfather of one of my daughters. We were also founders together Association of the Deaf of the Province of Salta (ASorSa) and we are involved in many artistic and cultural projects such as folkloric ballet for the deaf Dreams without borders, which we integrated many years ago. And again, life catches us behind what we do, Coffee is an idea we conceived about 10 years ago, but only this year we can materialize it,” he says.
Mariano lost his wife to cancer (she was also deaf), and together they had five children who now accompany him in this competition.
“There will be about 20-30 deaf-owned businesses worldwide. Therefore, ours will serve to create a more human and less stereotypical image of deaf people, as having LSA means that we have more than language, a visual culture. That’s what we’re trying to do with this cafe, in addition to an entrepreneurial ecosystem with other deaf people, because we’re trying to show a whole world that represents us: “We don’t live in disability, it’s a medical perspective that we want to banish in order to move to another, more social perspective.” Hugo talks about a cafe located at 392 Alberdi, Salta.
There will be people on the premises making mugs (which can be personalized), such as books by deaf authors. “I have friends who write, and my sister, who is also deaf, is a poet and writer. We have a national association of deaf artists called ASorVi (you can find them on Instagram), there they unite all the deaf artists of the country. A group of them is even now making a mural to reflect our worldview,” he describes.
In this gastronomic space, the aim is, at the same time, to break the stereotypes related to the lack of hearing, emphasizing the fundamental role of Argentine Sign Language as a language by nature. “We plan to create a library so that those who like to read can learn about deaf people, their culture and, why not, the Argentine sign language and the sign languages of other countries,” he adds.
“Cafe LSA “aspires to be the answer to the urgent need for human connection, a place where differences become wealth and where every cup of coffee can tell a story of improvement and diversity,” he emphasizes.
Elaborating on the recent history, he adds: “Since last April, we have been participating in an entrepreneurial program called NEW federal, which involved more than 300 projects at the provincial level, and we surpassed instances and presentations, including project defense. This meant we were able to establish ourselves and move up the ranks until we reached the federal final of nine businesses, which meant we continued to compete at national level.’
Regarding this competition, he says that “at first I was a little skeptical about the possibility of registering. Both Mariano, who we opened the store with, and my wife, urged me to do it, and I did it at the closing bell deadline. I submitted a project idea and within a few days I was told that it had been selected. And there I put everything together little by little, embodying the idea into a concrete project. Then we started with mandatory negotiations, but In the beginning I didn’t have access because everything was talking, so I wrote a complaint and they tried to activate the subtitles, the only thing I accomplished at these meetings was to get somewhat garbled material and some PDFs that were available. After this experience, since they have never had deaf entrepreneurs in the competition, everything went smoothly, the subtitles were activated correctly and I was able to process the information correctly,” he summarizes the details of the competition.
Expectations grew as the competition progressed: “The idea of winning a prize that matches our category gained more and more power as we progressed through each stage. The victory was supposed to help us pay for our enterprise and start it,” he recalls this thought.
Unfortunately, they did not win. “Despite this, the enthusiasm remained unchanged, the desire as well. Therefore, we decided to create a crowdfunding campaign through the Cafecito website (http://cafecito.app/cafelsa), and we also ask for cooperation through bank transfer. The purpose of monetary contributions is to allow us to cover part of the costs associated with the preparation of the premises (do the necessary repairs and adaptations), and most importantly, to equip it with the minimum necessary equipment that will allow us to officially open it as soon as possible. , says.
The idea is to nurture other deaf entrepreneurs. “In the beginning, the two of us will serve people, of course, in LSA, because that will be the language in which they can talk to us and make orders. Obviously with manuals and instructions to do it. This will make the customer go home happy learning to speak another language with deaf people, which is the added value it brings to our business,” he emphasizes.
In this sense, he assures that it raises a lot of expectations for deaf people who want to work in a cafe. “We have to scale to be able to do that. If we do, we will be able to integrate them into our team of waiters, baristas and cashiers. In other words, we are creating a workforce of deaf people who have been pushed out of the labor market.”
Speaking of the job market, he states, “We recognize that by creating jobs for deaf people, we are making a direct contribution to the employment and economic empowerment of our deaf community, giving dignity to their families and improving their quality of life.”
In addition, they will see other deaf entrepreneurs who will offer their products and services (merchandising, baking, etc.), thus promoting their autonomy and social projection within an entrepreneurial ecosystem linked to each other with their own products and services related to the central enterprise, buffet..
“To achieve this, we need to continue to spread Cafe LSA to get people to cooperate: if we reach five thousand people and each one contributes $1,000, then with the collection we can start by purchasing some of the equipment, which I believe, due to the economic situation, has already increased in value since we started with company. With what we have collected, we have already bought the most necessary and equipped the room with tables and chairs, dishes and other accessories, but to begin with, there is not enough coffee machine,” he clarifies.
As for education, he notes that they will spread “everything that concerns us as deaf people.” “LSA, neuroscience, psychology, etc., so those who teach deaf children or those who want to study as an interpreter can find educational materials. In short, we connect people and cultures. When it’s your turn, the idea is for trainees to learn how to order at LSA and walk away with that experience because it’s a place to celebrate LSA and deaf culture“, ends.
