Ode to ‘The Professor for the Poor’ – Venezuela’s Afro Caribbean Hero
Chronicles Of A Chronic Caribbean Chronicler By Earl Bousquet
I WAS quite taken aback — in pure Shock and Awe, like all who knew him — when I heard my friend AristobuloIstruiz, Venezuela’s most popular Afro Venezuelan leader, had died from a massive heart attack on April 27, aged 74.
I’d first met ‘The Professor’ (as he was known throughout his life) with a group of Caribbean journalists at a giant oil PDVSA depot in Venezuela in 2016.
Our itinerary for the day included ‘a discussion’ with ‘the Governor of Anzoategui State’ — and when we saw who emerged from the state car with the heavy security detail, I could have seen and felt the common expression of silent but very welcome surprise that he looked just like us.