Dispatch Number 36 -Alejandro

Alejandro was an interesting dichotomy of bravado and insecurities. Those insecurities and fears were projected onto Jeff and myself. I wrote it off as nervous energy which Alex had a lot of. He was a bounty of dichotomies telling Jeff and I to be more aware and less touristic looking then himself running in the streets in his pajamas to see what the Honduran government meant by curfew while leaving the hotel room door wide open with no one to tend to our things.

In the morning I gathered my things and announced that I was keeping my belongings in my truck since I did not trust the hotel clientele or Alex based on his behavior the night before. The journalism student from Mexico City silently nodded in reply.

In country for less than a day, he was showing signs that concerned me. Concern I did not want in a country that had a curfew with early indications of Marshall law. The police had the right to enforce the curfew and detain people (opposition) for 24 hours. Detentions are nasty affairs in Latin America and many mysteriously die while being held. The tools of suppression. We had to be cool and stay together, yet Alex who demanded this togetherness would routinely break it by walking the streets alone in the night. It was clear Alex wanted to be part of a riot and one to report. He suffered from the need to prove himself.

Alex at a tender 21 years possessed no ears and was full of self-righteousness. I could identify with him for I had similar traits when I was in my early 20s. Alex was prone to harsh criticism of both Jeff and myself for all sorts of stuff.

Alex left us after a couple days in a rush to get to the capital Tegucigalpa to meet with the international reporter from the newspaper he apprenticed at. It was a very nice opportunity for him to be assigned to shadow this reporter and be at the heart of the protests and unrest. This news came as a relief to Jeff and myself since our experience with Alex was tiresome.

At 21 years I could understand his arrogance, condescension and contradictions. However, after several days of Alex ping ponging every which way with spastic energy it drained me. Alex was high maintenance and took substantial energy to be with. It was a constant struggle when I was not in search of one. It would be hard to imagine Alex not "wearing" on anyone he spent time with.

I am glad I met Alex months earlier when I was in Mexico because he is the reason I chose to enter Honduras at this politically delicate and historical time. It was his bravado that helped me find mine. After nearly a month in Honduras observing the coup, talking with people and gathering their opinions and seeing for myself how effective the national media was at managing propaganda, that I was very pleased with my choice to visit Honduras. We still talk and I believe he has a brilliant, but deeply biased mind. It is possible time will temper him the way I believe it tempered me.

David
Altagracia, Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua