Hugo Chávez: Portrait of A Man With Many Faces

He worked the crowd like a master politician, shaking hands, gazing into women's eyes, glad-handing the American visitors who'd just heard him fulminate against his enemies du jour. He'd been venomous, long-winded, dismissive -- just like the caricature the United States knows so well. And yet here was President Hugo Chávez working a crowd of foreign journalists as if we were his old friends. Something about me caught his attention. He looked me up and down, taking full measure of this tall, dark-skinned American before him. He squared his shoulders. Then, a sheepish grin spread across his face as if he weren't sure he could get away with the greeting he wanted to give me. But he did it anyway, saying 'Black power' and extending his hand for a shake. It took me aback. Not at all what I expected from the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 'Black power,' I said, almost reflexively. I grinned back at the amused president and chuckled softly at this strange and unexpected encounter.