A dangerous red flower is driving record numbers of migrants to flee Guatemala

[TexasTowelie]

SAN ANTONIO, Guatemala – Surrounded by green fields of potatoes, oats and corn on his small farm, Carlos Lopez recalled the decent money he was earning before last year, cultivating a different crop he referred to simply as “the plant."

The plants, ones with the bright red flowers, “are worth a lot more than these other crops,” Lopez said, wearing a blue baseball hat, sitting on a plastic chair behind his two-room, mud-splattered house.

“Amapola,” said Lopez, speaking the Spanish word for poppy.

For years, Mexican drug cartels persuaded poor indigenous farmers in the western highlands of Guatemala to replace their crops with poppies. The plants produce a milky fluid used to make heroin, although farmers were often told the plant was used to produce “medicine.”

The Guatemalan government, under pressure from the United States, then came in and eradicated the poppy fields. With no other high-value crop to replace the poppies, and no program available to help replace farmers' income, the crackdown shoved indigenous farmers such as Lopez and his family back into poverty.

Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/in-depth/news/nation/2019/09/23/immigration-issues-migrants-mexico-central-america-caravans-smuggling/2026039001/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Whoa, my mother sang a song about that song to me when I was a child, it was popular

when she was growing up, I think.

So strange:

Lyrics:

A boy found a dream upon a distant shore
A maid with a way of whisp'ring "si senor."
Each night while guitars would softly play,
The tune seemed to dance 'round the words that he'd say:

Amapola, my pretty little poppy
You're like that lovely flow'r so sweet and heavenly,
Since I found you, my heart is wrapped around you
And loving you, it seems to beat a Rhapsody.

Amapola, the pretty little poppy
Must copy it's endearing charm from you.
Amapola, Amapola, how I long to hear you say "I love you."

The boy left his love upon a distant shore
And sailed from the one his arms were longing for.
He vowed he'd return one sunny day,
Once more to repeat what his heart had to say

https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/10329323/Helen+O'Connell/Amapola+(Pretty+Little+Poppy)

Who knew?

[TexasTowelie]

2. See, we learn things on DU almost every day.

I guess that song will have new context for you any type you think about it in the future.

[Judi Lynn]

4. No kidding whatsoever. I did a double take seeing your article. What a shock. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

3. The early part of the 20th century had quite a few references to it

notably the original book "The Wizard of Oz" (and prominently featured in the 1939 film too) -

Smithsonian - The power of the poppy: Exploring opium through "The Wizard of Oz"

[Judi Lynn]

5. Great items in your post. Wow. Never had heard opium was an ingredient in Laudanum. Thanks! n/t

[blm]

6. Wow. First I've heard of this.

And I thoughtI I’d come across just about every song out there. My dad loved Helen O’Connell.

[The Genealogist]

7. When I saw "amapola" mentioned in the article above, I immediately thought of this song

I can't tell you where I first found it, but it was on my IPod for years.

[secondwind]

8. My mother used to sing that song in Spanish!

This brought back sweet memories. I’m almost 73. I used to love hearing this song!!

[markbark]

9. Too much of a science fiction geek I guess

I must confess my first thought was "Triffids!"