Venezuelan government exhumes Bolivar's grave (AKA CSI: Caracas)

http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-50192220100716

"My God, my God ... my Christ, our Christ ... I confess we have cried, we have sworn. I tell them: this glorious skeleton must be Bolivar because you can feel his presence. My God."

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Here you have it on video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FyX6ecN95k

A translation will be given if it is wanted. I can't talk much, the president is describing the procedure made on TV.

It's not that simple, Max. It's hard to say how big is the cult of Bolivar within believable parameters: the current government especially has faught to show themselves as straight ideological descendents of Bolivar renaming the country Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and all the main streets of all the cities of Venezuela (and I think Colombia as well) are named after Bolivar, the currency is named after Bolivar, all the cities have at least a Bolivar statue. It's insane. Heck, Bolivar is even worshipped by local Santeros, who try to appease his spirit (it is rumored that one of the motives of the exhumation was using some of Bolivar's bones to do hexing, but you know how people talk madness).

But listening the president speaking in this video, is, well very sick. It's almost like sect-talk. Especially if this guy is meant to be running the country.

Translation (the whole video is narrated by Chávez)

Here they're entering, it's the initial team. All of this is inside the Pantheon. All was made inside the Pantheon, there's the casket, those are officers from the presidential guard, led by the vicepresident and the Minister of Internal Affairs, the General Attorney, scientists from Spain, from Venezuela. Who have... months working out this project, here they are putting the device to open up the casket.

Soldiers start to do military formations

Everything was done with venerable respect! Endless respect! He's the father of the nation! He's father Bolivar... betrayed... insulted... expelled from the homeland, he died crying, he died alone. One of his last remarks was "What can a poor man do against the world?", well, you're not alone now, father. We're here, your sons and daugthers.

That's the vicepresident opening the casket, a moment of a lot of excitement, lots of excitement.

They open the casket, the national anthem starts

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And then he goes on some technical stuff.

Sorry, Max. It was not my intention to offend you Washington is a good comparision, but really misses to catch the whole madness about it.

It all boils down to our relationship to these countries; I guess Colombia is not happy, but there's a biggest issue with them, they allegue to have unquestionable proofs that guerrilla leaders are hiding here. We don't have good relations with them.

Ecuador and president Correa will follow whatever Chávez do since it's a big ally to them in many ways, last week Correa and Chávez came to the pantheon to commemorate the Independence of Venezuela. So, I assume that the government is cool with it. Same with Bolivia.

Peru really doesn't care much about us, they're neutral. They accept to give asylum to corrupt Venezuelan politicians but trade with us and their president never speak ill of Chávez. Also, as far as I am aware, Peruvians care more about Antonio José de Sucre than Simón Bolívar, but that is just one Peruvian's POV.

Oh, good! I was worried perhaps I got too sensitive about it, it's one of those things that is hard to look with objective eyes.

Someone which I feel really bad not getting his recognition in history as he should is Francisco de Miranda. He's the only Venezuelan to have his name written in the French Arch of Triumph, was friends of William Pitt and Thomas Jefferson and it's rumored he was also lover of Catherine The Great, yet most of what Venezuelans themselves know about him is that he's that dude from that famous painting where he rots in a Spanish jail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Miranda

It's simply fascinating, truly an adventurer of his time.

Fascinating! , it's a small world after all! Especially because there wasn't a billion people yet back then.