COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS: CEUTA'S TEMPEST IN A COFFEE CUP

Aura, a new coffee house opened in Ceuta in March.  Mohamed (pictured) is the proud new owner.

Earlier this month, the seven-square-mile Spanish city of Ceuta (below)  has been in the international news following an extraordinary two-day surge in which an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 migrants crossed its border from Morocco. 

FYI: Ceuta occupies a strategic position on the North African coast, bordered by Morocco and the Strait of Gibraltar. Portugal captured the city in 1415. It came under Spanish rule in 1580, and Portugal formally recognized Spanish sovereignty in 1668. Morocco continues to dispute Spain’s possession of Ceuta. 

The latest crisis overwhelmed the small city. Shops closed, food became scarce and Spanish troops and additional police were sent to reinforce local authorities. By the weekend, most of those who had crossed had returned to Morocco. The human cost was appalling. Spanish authorities reported that at least 70 people died, some by drowning and others during the crush near the border barriers. 

Whoever encouraged the mass crossing—whether traffickers, political operatives or reckless voices spreading false information online—must bear responsibility for helping turn desperation into catastrophe. Ceuta is now slowly returning to normal. 

Residents are venturing outside again, businesses are reopening and customers are returning to the cafés that ordinarily help give this unusual Spanish outpost its character. 

In quieter times, Ceuta is a tourist city whose coffee houses reflect its mixture of Spanish, Mediterranean and North African influences. 

Among other Cueta coffee centric receiving favorable attention are: 

--Bollo, at Calle General Serrano Orive, 5, combines a neighborhood bakery with brunch dishes and homemade cheesecakes in a relaxed, dog-friendly setting. 

###

--Cafetería Monalisa, at Avenida Cañonero Dato, 21, offers coffee, fresh juices and Arabic sweets accompanied by views across the harbor. 

###

--Café Solano 1999, at Calle Teniente Coronel Gautier, 6, is known as a welcoming neighborhood café serving tea, coffee and traditional Spanish breakfast toast. 

###

FRIAR FRIDAY / O HOLY NIGHT! POPE HATS TURN WHITE SOX PARK INTO BASEBALL’S FUNNER CATHEDRAL

Text and Illustration by the Editors of PillartoPost.org 

Leave it to Chicagoans to discover that the first American pope is a White Sox fan—and immediately turn the revelation into a ballpark promotion. 

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost and raised in suburban Dolton, Illinois, has never been coy about his allegiance. He attended Game One of the 2005 World Series and has been photographed at the Vatican wearing a Sox cap. Once the baseball world confirmed that His Holiness preferred the South Side to the Cubs, 

Chicago’s marketing minds went to work. The result was “Pope Hat Night” at Rate Field on August 11: nearly 40,000 black-and-white mitres bearing the White Sox logo. What began as a special-ticket giveaway for 2,500 customers sold so quickly that organizers added 500 hats. 

Those disappeared, too. The team finally surrendered to popular demand and ordered enough for practically everybody in the building. Announced attendance reached 38,113, producing the splendid sight of an entire major-league crowd dressed like an unusually rowdy College of Cardinals. The national media could not resist. MLB.com proclaimed, 

“O holy night!” ESPN reported on fans lining up early, while Reuters distributed the spectacle internationally. The Associated Press soon placed the hats among baseball’s most imaginative modern promotions. 

The Athletic captured the essential Chicago incongruity: people in religious headgear drinking beer and eating hot dogs while celebrating the Vatican’s most prominent Sox supporter. 

The Sox handled the joke with a degree of restraint. Officials reportedly considered—and rejected—a papal bobblehead. Instead, they added “Leo Knows” signs, borrowing from the old “Bo Knows” campaign. Players who hit home runs wore the mitres in the dugout. 

Special guest for O Holy Night at White Sox Park was Dominican Sister Mary Jo Sobieck, who tossed out the first pitch.  Father Tom Hurley and Pat McGann, comedian and White Sox fan, led a blessing after the fifth inning. The team also raised money for the Midwest Augustinians, which was Prevost’s order in Chicago, which gave the evening a legitimate connection to the man being honored.

The commemorative hats were reportedly selling online for about $70 before the game had ended. That was more than some tickets had cost. 

Only one element refused to cooperate: the baseball gods. 

The White Sox built a 4–0 lead, hit three home runs and appeared headed for a storybook victory. Then the bullpen surrendered the advantage, and Cincinnati won 5–4 in ten innings. So much for divine intervention and proving the baseball Gods still rule the game. 

Fans filled every seat for O Holy Night promotion

Still, Chicago had its fun, the ballpark sold out and the White Sox received the sort of cheerful national publicity that no conventional bobblehead could have delivered. The evening proved that baseball promotions work best when they spring from something genuinely local—a hometown pope, a long-suffering team and thousands of fans delighted to look ridiculous together. The Cubs may have the larger congregation. But the White Sox have the Augustinian pontiff. 

SOURCES: * MLB.com * The Athletic * Reuters * Associated Press