Benjamín Rausseo
Benjamín Rausseo |
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Benjamín Rausseo (born 1961), also known as Er Conde del Guácharo (translation: "The Count of Guacharo"), is a Venezuelan artist and career humorist. He is currently a candidate for the 2006 Venezuelan presidential elections.
Biographical Information
Benjamín Rausseo was born into poverty in the rural community of Musipán in the state of Monagas. His infancy saw many hardships as his father, a miner, left home and Rausseo became responsible for his five younger brothers. He ceased attending school at the age of eleven to go into the labor force.
He became a shoeshiner and sold food at a pit stop on the main highway near his home. He was orphaned at fourteen and moved his brothers with him to Caracas. In the nation's capital he finished his schooling at a parochial Roman Catholic diocese and became a taxi driver and waiter. He began taking acting classes at night.
He pursued university studies as an actor and, in 1981, presented as his graduation thesis a comedic monologue "er Conde del Guácharo." The "Conde" or Count became a TV personality and made Rausseo one of Venezuela's most successful stand-up comedians. Beyond comedy he was also a dare-devil and stunt performer in the television variety show Sabado Sensacional.
Rausseo is currently a law student one semester from graduating with a JD from the Universidad Santa María de Caracas. He has joked that he always wanted to become a lawyer because he "wanted to know how it felt to be such a cold-hearted bastard". Rausseo speaks Portuguese and English.
Presidential Aspirations
In July 2006, he publicly announced on the Globovision television network that he is running for president under his newly-formed "Piedra Party". His campaign slogan is "Vota Piedra" literally means: vote stone and is a play on words. In Spanish the verb 'votar' (to vote) sounds like the verb 'botar' (to throw) giving his slogan "Vota Piedra" a double meaning: Throw Stones. "Botar Piedra" also is used by most Venezuelans to reflect an angry state of being. "Estoy botando piedra!" - I'm really angry!. Here the play on words relates directly to the feeling of a lot of Venezuelans with regards to President Chávez and his government.
Rausseo's political dialogue has stunned analysts and media pundits in that he has a detailed platform, a polished stump speech, and a sophisticated political vocabulary. He believes he can challenge the Chavez candidacy in that Rausseo has broad popular appeal and instant name recognition. He frequently underlines his humble origins and his understanding of poverty.
Rausseo speaks frequently of the need to repair relationships within Latin America that have suffered under the strain of the foreign policy of Hugo Chávez which Rausseo has described as "aggressive" and "unproductive."
Rausseo owns a theme park in Margarita Island called Musipán, which makes fun of places like Disney World or Jurassic Park.