Aura Matta watched from 5,000 miles away as a magnitude 7.4 earthquake tore through western Colombia on Monday, Aug. 10, killing at least 281 people and leaving hundreds missing. Her family's farm sits in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region. Her café sits at 1425A NW Flanders St. in Portland's Pearl District. She decided to connect the two.
Since Aug. 11, Matta Café has been donating 10% of its proceeds to the Red Cross to support earthquake relief in Colombia. The fundraiser runs through Aug. 18, with the café open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Matta, who moved to Portland from Colombia three years ago, told KGW that her family members experienced minor damage but were not injured. Still, the days after the quake were harrowing as communications collapsed across the affected region.
"They lost electricity, they lost water, they lost gas, they lost signal, so it was a lot of anxiety to try and figure out who was fine, what happened in those cities," Matta said.
The coffee Matta serves comes from beans grown on her family's 59-acre farm, purchased about 20 years ago by her father, Manuel Matta, a coffee agronomist. Before opening the café in 2024, Aura worked at Procolombia, a Colombian government export agency, then began selling her family's beans at Portland farmers markets.
The earthquake
The quake, centered near San José del Palmar in the Chocó department, has been described as the strongest to hit Colombia in a century, Al Jazeera reported. As of Friday, Aug. 14, Colombian authorities reported 281 dead, 379 missing and nearly 4,000 injured. More than 45,000 homes were damaged and 9,200 destroyed.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched a $30 million emergency appeal on Aug. 12 to assist roughly 24,000 people over the next two years. The United States pledged $15.5 million in emergency aid and deployed search-and-rescue teams.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office just three days before the earthquake, declared a national emergency and three days of mourning.
How to help
Portland residents who want to support relief efforts through Matta's fundraiser can visit the café at 1425A NW Flanders St. between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. through Aug. 18. The space doubles as Secret Grove, a cocktail bar and live music venue, in the evenings.
Matta said she is already thinking about what survivors will face once the initial rescue phase ends, asking what housing and long-term support will look like for families who lost everything.
