If I am not Venezuelan, then neither is Hugo Chavez

(This is a continuation of “Correction: Venezuela’s Chavez Fuels a Class War”. For the full string please refer to that article and the posted responses.)

At least five generations of the Jaramillo family have been born and bred in the farmlands of Tucupido, right down the road from Barbacoa, the village where Hugo Chavez was born.

My grandfather, “Abuelo Pancho”, was a farmer (in those days farming was done with a burro and rastro) who worked very hard to provide for his wife and six sons. A statue of him, which commemorates his gift of land and his founding of the community, is in the middle of “Cuji Negro”, and that small community of peasants still lies just outside of Tucupido.

My father and his brothers all spent time in prison during the dictatorship of Marcos Perez Jimenez. -They were members of various political groups that were attempting to overthrow the dictator. One uncle was severely tortured.

As a child, I remember getting up at 5 am to milk cows with Abuelo Pancho at “La Travesia”, the hundred or so acres that have belonged to our family for more than four generations. I remember the taste of the arepitas dulce with queso rayado that we would buy on the way home. Once home, I would speak English only with my Anglo mother. The townsfolk called her “La Gringa” because she was the New Yorker who my father had met and married while he was studying medicine in Spain, and who gave up life in Manhattan to go live in Tucupido. -No joke, back then a Venezuelan peasant, if he worked hard enough, could put his son through medical school in Spain. And a New Yorker would be crazy enough to give up Manhattan for Tucupido!

Like my grandfather and father, I too have worked hard. I waited tables to pay for college, and I translated for “the feds” at 26 Federal Plaza to pay for law school. Along the way I have become as American as apple pie, so long as you add some leche condensada to the filling.

I am ammused at your disbelief of my "Venezuelan-ness". What makes me unique is that I am able to discuss what Tom Friedman writes AND what El Conde del Guacharo says. I still wear arpargatas as often as I can -the authentic ones with the suela de cuero. And when I go home, I come back with queso de mano hidden in cans of Leche la Campiña and with a couple of bottles of Caballito Frenao’.

I still stick up for the truth whether in English or Spanish, so al pan pan y al vino vino.

For the record:

1. My first comment was delayed for two days before it was posted as a response to Professor Pareja’s article, and this is why I decided to post it at front and center. I am doing the same again so that all of you are sure to read it.

2. I think Bush is a fool, and I am very concerned about the paths that both of my countries have taken.

3. What I attempted to convey was that teaching Windows over Linux makes more sense if one is faced with the task of quickly preparing a group of people with limited skills for work in a global economy. Your comments fail to convince me otherwise.

4. Here are two sources that contradict your bold (and ignorant) comment.

– http://www.forbes.com/business/feed...
– http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2005090...

The articles begin with this quote from Roger Noriega: "The government of Venezuela has agreed to send us gasoline; of course we are going to pay for it, so we appreciate the opportunity to pay for gasoline."

– http://www.forbes.com/business/feed...
– http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2005090...

5. All statements I make are true and verifiable, and I would be happy to prove them to you.

I have earned my place to be here and my right to an opinion free from unfounded criticism. The least you could do is consider a sensible, young (-in fact, too young for sons in Iraq) man who has seen more people in more US states, foreign countries, and continents than most heads of states have seen. I know how the world lives.