美国国家公共电台 NPR For Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, A Second Life On The Small Screen

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: 

The late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is coming back to life on Spanish-language television. A new series which will be aired in the U.S. this spring recounts how Chavez rose from obscurity to lead a socialist¹ revolution and then how he set the stage for Venezuela's current political and economic crisis. Reporter John Otis has more.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Spanish).

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE²: At a Bogota studio, a TV crew shoots a scene for "El Comandante." It's a Spanish-language telenovela about Chavez, the firebrand leftist who ruled Venezuela for 14 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Spanish).

ANDRES PARRA: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: That Chavez-sounding voice belongs to Colombian actor Andres Parra. To prepare for the role, he listened to 400 hours of Chavez's speeches and worked with a voice coach. His bulky frame, curly haired wig³ and prosthetic chin make him a dead ringer for the Venezuelan strongman. Here's Parra mimicking⁴ Chavez's insults of former President George W. Bush.

PARRA: And then he says (speaking Spanish). The last - the last - you are the last, (laughter) Mr. Donkey, (laughter) Mr. Danger.

OTIS: In an earlier TV series, Parra played drug lord Pablo Escobar. But he finds Chavez even more fascinating.

PARRA: He made this speech. It was nine hours, 46 minutes speech - without peeing or drinking or anything.

OTIS: And that's when he was dying from cancer.

PARRA: Yeah. He was sick. It was a way, like, to show people - I'm here. I came back, and I'm strong.

OTIS: In "El Comandante," Parra first depicts⁵ the young, idealistic Chavez escaping poverty by joining the army and being elected president with the backing of Venezuela's poor. Then Chavez morphs into a power-hungry authoritarian⁶. The series suggests his rule laid the groundwork for today's food shortages, hyperinflation and political polarization in Venezuela. Looking back on the Chavez years has proved highly emotional for Henry Rivero, the director of "El Comandante" who grew up in Venezuela.

HENRY RIVERO: It's been very hard for me. I cried a lot most of the times because, you know, you understand how tough were the situations that we went through during all those years.

OTIS: The 60 episodes are being filmed in Colombia due to the hardships of working in neighboring Venezuela. What's more, that country's socialist government has branded the project a hatchet⁷ job.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DIOSDADO CABELLO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: In a recent speech, pro-government lawmaker Diosdado Cabello said, "they are going to emphasize the bad and make the world think that Hugo Chavez was a barbarian⁸."

Meanwhile, Venezuelans who despise Chavez have come down hard on the actors. So says Vicente Pena, a Venezuelan who plays a military attache in "El Comandante."

VICENTE PENA: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: "They say I should be ashamed of myself for acting⁹ in this series."

But his fellow actor Parra says that for him, playing Hugo Chavez is the role of a lifetime.

PARRA: It shows you so much things about the human tragedy of how we change. You see ambition. But at the same time, you see compassion¹⁰. Everything - he has everything. For an actor, that's delicious.

OTIS: "El Comandante" premieres in Latin America this month and in the U.S. on the Telemundo network this spring. For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Bogota, Colombia.

1 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

4 mimicking   

v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似

参考例句：

• She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。
• The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句

5 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

6 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

7 hatchet   

n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀

参考例句：

• I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
• Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。

8 barbarian   

n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的

参考例句：

• There is a barbarian tribe living in this forest.有一个原始部落居住在这个林区。
• The walled city was attacked by barbarian hordes.那座有城墙的城市遭到野蛮部落的袭击。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。