day 1 - orientation and community radio

our morning began with breakfast and an orientation to venezuela's social customs and political situation by our guide, leo. leo is highly entertaining and has an excellent grasp of u.s. pop culture and slang. one of the things that he said that stood out to me was "i never trust a person in uniform, police, military, whatever. i use them for one thing only, just like i use mcdonalds. i use mcdonalds for their bathroom, and i use uniformed persons to ask directions. other than that, i avoid both at all costs. police will often approach you and ask for your passport, and then say that they need 'money for coffee' to get your passport back. they are seeking a bribe, do not trust them, ever." similar to police in most countries for sure, and the same in parts of the u.s. depending on your class, skin color or other attribute.

our first stop today was at a community radio station, called radio libre. they are an alternative station, neither funded by the government nor the corporate media. it was bustling with activity and people of all ages when we got there. there was some orientation to media for school children. the founder was an impassioned activist who is able to be both supportive of the social changes going on at a community level in venezuela, but at the same time willing to be critical of the government when needed. will write more about our visit on the next post. someone from portland had also been here, as this pic shows...