My Coffee Date with Hugo Chavez

My past blogs have been a showcase of my effort (probably failed) to be funny. This one however, is going to keep it real (like the title!) and chronicle a once in a lifetime experience I just had.

Here in St. Kitts, there is a summit of Caribbean and Latin American countries regarding the price of oil in the country. The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, was the highest profile guest at these meetings. I had tried to work a situation where I would be able to attend the summit, but there were problems with the registration and I was unable to go. However, the experience that occurred tonight trumps anything that could have come from sitting through the summit.

My boss, Mr. DeSuza, was taking myself and the other intern, Lishai, around the island to visit local hangout spots. Before we hit the strip, he decided to show us the luxurious Marriott hotel just for kicks. As we parked and walked towards its entrance, we saw a large motorcade complete with black sedans and police escorts moving towards the front entrance. Mr. DeSuza thought this may be our chance to catch a glimpse of Hugo, and we quickened our pace towards the front door. We get there just in time to see the President wave to the cameras, and walk inside. We follow.

Inside, he begins to tend to his presidential duties, talking to cameras and taking pictures with guests of the hotel. He is enclosed by his body guards, conveniently dressed in the military uniforms complete with “I-will-beat-you-down-if-you-come-one-step-closer” looks plastered on their faces.

As he began to walk away, I decided to risk getting the shit kicked out of me, and approached him for a handshake. The rest is a little foggy as it was a mix of trying to decipher what he was saying through his translator and getting distracted thinking about, thinking about what was happening. But the following is the best recollection of what happened.

I shook his hand, and pulled Mr. DeSuza and Lishai into the mix. Chavez began asking us about ourselves. He was interested in what school we attended, and our reasons for being in St. Kitts. The fact the Basic Needs Trust Fund focused so much on developing capacity and promoting solutions to poverty through bottom-up (power of the people) approaches, immediately caught the socialists intrigue. He then began to talk to us about the importance of socialism for this very reason, citing Plato and Victor Hugo (Les Miserables). His aides then brought a couple cups of Venezuelan coffee, at which point Chavez handed us the coffee. We had just been served coffee by Hugo Chavez.

He spoke of his admiration of Barack Obama and his mandate of change. He spoke of the close bond that he feels towards Obama even though he is the president of a long held rival to Venezuela. He also mentioned that he shook Obama’s hand (and I shook Chavez’s hand), which by extension means I pretty much shook Barack’s hand...nice. Chavez then reinforced that the only means to seeing this change is through education and the exchange of ideas across cultural and political boundaries. Our conversation ended with me inviting him to stay at my house when he is in Toronto next. He giggled (and blushed I think), and thanked me for the offer on the condition that we go to a Blue Jays game. I have a date with the President of Venezuela.

As Chavez left, the three of us still didn’t quite believe what had just happened. This sentiment was obviously felt by others around us. Most politicians and influential business leaders probably would sacrifice their careers to get an opportunity to have a 30 minute conversation with the President. A local radio station then approached us to interview us on what happened. I am now off to search the internet for any pictures that may have been snapped because I am sure there a few who won't believe my story.

Peace!