Omar and I talk about a lot of things, especially politics. We share the same values even if we hail from very different backgrounds. Omar had a rough life. At age twelve he was working in a factory 30km from home where he would sleep on a cardboard box at night. And you thought you had it tough when your freshly unwrapped Christmas toy came without batteries..!
Omar is curious and well read. He still goes back to Venezuela every year where most of his family still lives. He settled here 6 years ago because is daughter wanted to go to McGill. Working hard, he did good for himself and his family here. He is a strong supporter of Chavez and talks about how much he's done for his people. All I knew about Hugo Chavez was through the eyes of the North American media. A ruthless dictator, a despot who would stop at nothing to hold on to power, crushing opponents left and right.
Turns out that, even if not perfect (no politician is) he's done so much for the poor in his country that he provoked the ire of the middle and the ruling upper classes while sustaining a devout following from the majority. I had come to respect the guy because he firmly stood up against the U.S. and G.W. Bush, my favorite all time moron.
As much as I tried, I had trouble finding a balanced view of President Chavez, even in the Latin America Herald Tribune which had a sidebar that read '' Sarah Palin in 2012...Vote here'' which pretty much shows where they stand. I did however find this link to a book about Chavez if you want to read it... http://www.ru.org/book-reviews/coup-against-chavez-what-really-happened.html
Omar is always the joker. I think this is why we get along so well. We had this ongoing little story where the first job he landed in Quebec was in a mariachi band, playing in a ''Cabane à sucre''. Akin to Ozzie Osborne playing the Place des Arts if you will. Major culture clash..! We both dislike mariachi bands. He, because of their lack of musical sophistication I assume. I, because of a necessary grocery shopping spree after a night of heavy drinking. My local supermarket was having an ''Old El Paso'' promotion with an extremely loud mariachi band, which had the effect of turning my splitting headache into a cross bearing of biblical proportions. I hastily left the supermarket with a trimmed down version of my list.... Two cans of clam chowder and a broccoli.
So, as I so often do to amuse myself and friends, I decided it was time for Omar to get Photoshoped into his imaginary persona. First, I needed a candid shot which a friend took for me on his Iphone.
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| Omar |
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| Mariachis |
