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Dear June: I'm writing to congratulate you on the fall issue of the
ReVista. I finally had the time during this magnificent Christmas
break to read it thoroughly and found many interesting thoughts on
Venezuela past, present and future.

I feel the next couple of years will be a rollercoaster ride for our people, worth analyzing. Regarding ReVista´s issue on Venezuela, I liked how you approach the effect this past years has made in "the people living in cardboard boxes." Coronil´s Magical State piece was especially insightful, as he explored how my country is ruled by stereotypes product of an
economic and social crisis fueled by government spending due to
expanding oil revenues. As I heard once Ricardo Hausmann say, to
understand Venezuela we seem to need more social psychiatrists than
economists.

In a way it's a similar question expressed by Colette Capriles in the
fall issue when she claim ¿what is going on in a country that appears
to be "drowning in a sea of oil and whisky"? As I´ve been working this
last year in my country's oldest Rum Company, it's has been easier to
convince Germans and Italians of buying Venezuelan premium rum, than
our own people. During this period, I´ve concluded trying to sell our
own homemade rum products to my countrymen it´s more a socio-cultural
thing ingrained in deep beliefs, than a simple marketer dilemma. I put
at your disposal our work in the Company Ron Santa Teresa. We have a
social program aimed to reform delinquents, called Alcatraz Project.
This initiative has been a Harvard case for entrepreneurs wanting to
do explore the road of Corporate Social Responsibility. You can find
more of this initiative at http://www.proyectoalcatraz.org/home_eng.php.

Reading the different articles in ReVista, one way of thinking tells
us the country appears to be extremely complex and difficult to grasp.
On the other hand is quite simple and most things are explained as an
oil country with a "black gold rush". I made a presentation about this
with DRCLAS director Merilee Grindle during my time at KSG.

I also enjoyed the piece on the Urban Think Thank as it showed and
interesting way of solving complex social problems through great design.
I´ve seen the Metro Cable idea working in Caracas and though it´s a
creative way of adapting to the facts of reality, I emotionally
struggle with this project as it seems to be the government´s
acceptance that shantytowns will be there forever. As you eloquently
put it in the Editor´s review, those cardboard boxes in the hillsides
are a symbol of a world without tomorrow. For me, a way or real
progress in building a better tomorrow for Venezuela has to address
the fact those cardboard boxes are no way developing a healthy,
dignified and productive society.
Luis Palacios, Venezuela
Mason Fellow 2006
Kennedy School of Government

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Dear June,

I've just begun to read through the Winter 2009 issue, The Sixties, of ReVista Magazine.  June, this is extremely well done!  The articles by returned Peace Corps volunteers who are now on the Harvard faculty are each different and so wonderful in their own way;  much the same as our Peace Corps experiences were for each of us.  Your parallel tracks of the idealism associated with the US Peace Corps with that of the Cuban Revolution is a particularly creative weaving of the events of that time.  The issue is so well organized that I look forward to reading it from cover to cover!

Of particular note is your terrific Editor's Letter and how beautifully it recalls the emotions of the era.  When I read of your friend's comment about the sixties being a time of "exploding paradigms", I choked up with emotion. So, so true!

Muchas gracias, June for this truly amazing issue of ReVista!

Leland D. Cott
Adjunct Professor of Urban Design
Harvard Graduate School of Design

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Readers’ Picks: Your Favorite Films!

Do you have a favorite film relating to Latin America, Latinos, Spain or Portugal? Or have you seen a movie that made a difference in the way you view Latin America, even if it has nothing to do with the area? (Battle of Algiers, Bananas and even Slumdog Millionaire might be examples). Did seeing a film make you travel to Latin America? Is there a movie that changed your life?

The film can be from any period, old, new or in-between. Please include movie title, director, date and country of origin, and tell us why this film is your favorite or how it changed your life or point of view. Maximum length is 250 words; three paragraphs is ideal, and should include one sentence about yourself.

Most interesting answers will be published in the Fall 2009 issue on Film in Latin America, and runners-up will be featured in a special section on the website http://www.drclas.harvard.edu/publications.

Please send submissions to June Carolyn Erlick, jerlick@fas.harvard.edu before June 1.

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New Website feature!

You can now leave comments at the bottom of each ReVista article online, allowing you to dialogue with the ReVista editor and individual authors .  Use this space to share ideas, ask questions, raise doubts, and express your reaction to each article in ReVista.  Comments are visible publicly, creating a space to debate and consider the content in every issue. We invite you to join the conversation! See: http://www.drclas.harvard.edu/revistaweb/1960s

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Fe Errata
Marysa Navarro’s name was inadvertently misspelled in the ID in her article in the Winter issue. Her name does not have two s’s!