June 18, 2006
Honduras -- The Making of a President
Far from any other travel experience I've ever embarked upon, working in Honduras for eight months in 2005 for presidential hopeful Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, or Mel as everyone calls him, was as life-altering journey for many reasons. Mainly becasue I played an integral role in "deposing a sovereign government" as my colleague Jeremy Rosner likes to put it.
Since I was working fulltime, however, I took surprisingly FEW photographs during the campaign.
Portraits of a President
Working along side any presidential candidate must be an overwhelming experience; working with Mel Zelaya was like living in the outer arm of a Class Five hurricane. The man kept insane hours, called staff meetings at midnight, arrived hours late to everything, and took over 45 minutes sometimes to reach the stage before any public speaking event, because he wanted to shake EVERYONE'S hand. His personal attention to every detail was both the secret to his success and the achilles heel that almost cost him the election. Here are a few portraits of the man that now runs a small Central American nation of 6 million called Honduras.
Mel was reknown for his horsemanship, and insisted on riding a white horse in every parade across the entire country. His white hat and bushy mustache became iconic symbols of his gallant nature throughout the campaign.
I was lucky enough to join Mel on a number of campaign stops in various corners of the country. Even on small planes and helicopters, Mel was working.
Unlike the sterile, over-produced press operations of American campaigns, press conferences in Honduras are high-energy, chaotic events. Any attempt to impose order was viewed as a suppression of journalists' rights to put a cell phone (for radio stations without direct feeds) in front of the candidate's face while he is live on national television, among other creative practices they employed.
The inauguration was a high energy affair. Canons, low-flying jets, 21 gun salutes, and a newly sworn-in President who couldn't read the speech his consultants worked on for a week due to a glare, and instead ad-libbed for 45 minutes on just about everything.
* This was one of the last photos my trusty digital camera took before the lens literally fell out. May you rest in pieces, my beloved Olympus C-3030!
Campaign manager Hugo Noe Pino served as my greatest colleague, mentor, and confidant while in Honduras. He is one of the most forthright and ethical men I've ever met. He would make one hell of a president.
One of Honduras' worst environmental issues is unchecked deforestation. I saw this line of logging trucks over two miles long in my first week in country. While my candidate was a former mill owner himself, our opponent had known links to the insipid illegal logging industry. We exposed his ties to corruption and illegal loggers as part of our campaign to inform the public about the true nature of a very crooked and unethical man.
In his inauguration speech, one of President Zelaya's key promises was to reform the logging industry and embark upon an aggressive nation-wide tree planting program.
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The Bay Islands
After the election, I took the opportunity to get to know the crown jewels of Honduras -- the Bay Islands of Roatan and Utila. While I took tons of photos, the camera was on it's last legs and none of them really convey the magic and serenity I encountered in Honduras' white sand and crystaline blue waters.
It seemed like this guy on Roatan had been and was going to be waiting a long time for the john...
When my friend and I witnessed the drunk driver of this truck back into the surf the night before, we were not at all surprised to see him get stuck. We were surprised, however, to find the truck still in the surf the next day.
**Images from my motorcyle journey this spring through Spain, Portugal, and the French Pyrenees coming soon...