newsletter - AJBID.oRG

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NEWSLETTER
IDB-IIC Retirees Association
AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2010 • No.145
INSIDE
From the Editor
Contributions Always Welcome
Keep That Feedback Coming!
From the Editor
By Alexandra Russell
1 New Name Contest
2 Our Board at Work
New Members
Tax Questions
3 Chile Chapter Luncheon
From Our Members:
3
4
5
6
7
Staying Well
Ode to Tomatoes
Down the Chubut River
Walking Group
The Joy of Volunteering
Correction in Financial Times
Feeding the Homeless
8 Catoctin Getaway
Letters to the Editor:
9 From Alvaro Beca
From David Mangurian
IDB News:
10 IDB-DC Solidarity Program
Haiti Drive
General News:
11 Bicentennials in Latin America
On Culture:
12 Teatro Colón Reopens
Obituaries:
13 Inés Olmo
Jorge Ferraris
Julio Alcaine
Michael Gomez
José Melgar
Carlos Montero
Photo: Mario Ramos
Association News:
Many thanks to all our readers who sent their feedback on the last
issue, which was overwhelmingly positive, and to those who sent
suggested new names—see how to vote below. And special thanks
to the members who responded to our call for stories, several of
which appear in this issue.
Alvaro Navarro reports on fishing in the Chubut River in the Patagonia region
of Argentina (page 5) and Nila Martínez-Sutter has a touching story about volunteering to help medical care providers in Honduras (page 6). We also have
Letters to the Editor: one from Alvaro Beca, president of the Association’s Chile
Chapter on a current issue; and one from David Mangurian of the Washington
area, with concrete suggestions for the Newsletter (see page 9).
Reader response to our suggested Association activities was very supportive
as well, with some members volunteering to help with a prospective housing
exchange and home visits to ailing members. We are working to organize those
services, and more volunteers are welcome.
In this issue, Camille Gaskin-Reyes launches
her column “Staying Well” with an article on
eating “consciously”—see what that’s all about
on page 3.
We welcome your feedback, ideas, articles and
especially updates on fellow retirees: please
keep it coming!
Got ideas for
the Newsletter?
Send them to:
[email protected]
or [email protected]
Association News
New Name Contest
Vote Online!
Thanks to several very creative (and prolific!) members, we have a slate of 36
suggestions for a new name for our Bimonthly Bulletin. Now it’s up to you the
readership to choose the one you like best. To vote, click on the link to our online vote [click here to visit link]. See the results in the next issue.
2
Newsletter - IDB-IIC Retirees Association
Our Board at Work
A sneak peek at our Association’s Board monthly
meeting on September 1st
shows the members in the
middle of an exchange with
Director Martín Stabile,
who was attending by videoconference. The minutes
of Board meetings are posted online in English and
Spanish on the Association
website (www.ajbid.org).
Making a point: [clockwise from lower right] Secretary Gabriela Sotela has her say, as President Saúl Hanono chairs the meeting, with Alvaro Ramírez looking on and Martín Stabile
participating from Uruguay.
The big screen: [from left] Deputy Secretary Magdalena Sanguinetti, Camille Gaskin-Reyes,
Henry Green (owner of the Panama hat), Arne Paulsen and Treasurer Ira Kaylin interact
with Martín Stabile on the video monitor.
New Members
The men in white are [from left] Henry Green, Arne Paulsen and Ira Kaylin.
The Association welcomes the following
new members:
Maria Elena Arana de López
Pilar D. Bilecky
Raúl Enrique Couchonnal
Winston A. Cox
Yadira Dennis
Bruce Ferguson
Peter Kalil
Jorge C. Lamas
Eduardo I. Marquez
Arnoldo R. Martinez
Rosario Saco
Blanca Santamaría R.
Jorge Uribe
Sergio Varas Olea
Take note: [from left] Deputy Treasurer Fausto Medina-López and Magdalena Sanguinetti
are serious about keeping track of the proceedings, while Camille Gaskin-Reyes shares her
views.
Photos by: S. Alexandra Russell
Tax Info
Questions about Tax Reimbursement
Procedures?
By Jim Taylor
Retirees who pay U.S. taxes are often
confused about how Management calculates their tax reimbursement. The
Association’s Tax Reimbursement Committee has initiated a conversation with
Bank Management about the possibility of preparing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
document that would help clarify tax reimbursement
procedures. If you have any questions or concerns that
you would like to see addressed, please send them to
[email protected].
3
Chile Chapter Luncheon By Alvaro Beca
The Chile Chapter of the Retirees Association held their spring luncheon on September 29 at Pinpilinpausha
restaurant in Santiago. The 23 attendees enjoyed a delicious meal and fine company.
María Luz Oñate, Alvaro Beca (Chapter President)
and Sergio Mansilla
Magda de Schmalzle and Beatriz de Urrutia
Silvia de Morales, M. Teresa de Figueroa, Julita and Alvaro Beca,
and Gloria and Francis Peacock
From Our Members
Staying Well!
Eating Consciously and Loving it
By Camille Gaskin-Reyes
Gladys Grace, César Williams, Manuel Mariño and
Ronald Gompertz
Carlos and Maruja Sepúlveda, Manuel Mariño and Julita Beca
According to Ayurveda or ancient Indian
medicine, good food is one of our best
medicines to stay healthy and fit. But how
we eat is just as important as what we eat.
The way we prepare or consume a meal is
as essential to its nourishing effects as its
actual composition of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins
and minerals.
In retirement, we are freed from the everyday working grind, so the act of eating with what I call full consciousness becomes a beautiful symphony in itself. Instead of eating meals hurriedly at our desks or on the
run, we now have the time to savor each morsel and
transform eating from a mere refueling exercise into a
wonderful, rejuvenating and even healing experience.
Try paying attention to these simple principles and
watch your quality of nourishment improve.
continued on page 4
4
continued from page 3
Listen to your appetite
Eat when you are really hungry, not out of boredom or
to satisfy emotional needs. Before eating, observe your
natural appetite. Are you really hungry? And stop eating before you are uncomfortably full.
Light your fire
We all have a digestive fire, called agni in Sanskrit,
which is the origin of the word "ignite". The best way
to stimulate the agni is to eat freshly prepared, savory
food in a pleasant environment. Minimize canned,
frozen and highly processed foods, as well as nutritionally empty drinks like sodas.
Be present
Pay attention to what you are eating. Focus on the sensations, sights, flavors and aromas of your food. This
in itself enhances your digestion. Just think of Pablo
Neruda's luscious "Ode to Tomatoes" to evoke the
fragrance of the produce, and as he described it, "its gift
of fiery color and cool completeness."
Avoid distractions
Watching TV, talking on the phone or working while
eating distracts from the sensory experience of a meal.
Instead, listen to soft, pleasant background music,
especially classical music, which will enhance it.
Go for color and taste
Choose or prepare foods with bright colors: those vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes are rich in vital
energy and pleasing to the eye. For most people, lightly
cooked vegetables are easier to digest than raw ones.
If you eat meat, use lean cuts. Try to make sure that
in addition to colors, you include a variety of tastes in
your meal, from sweet to sour to salty and pungent.
Enjoy!
In the next issue: herbs and wholeness
True happiness is in the little things: a little mansion, a little yacht, a little fortune…
Ode to Tomatoes
By Pablo Neruda
Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden
The street
filled with tomatoes
midday,
summer,
light is
halved
like
a
tomato,
its juice
runs
through the streets.
In December,
unabated,
the tomato
invades
the kitchen,
it enters at lunchtime,
takes
its ease
on countertops,
among glasses,
butter dishes,
blue saltcellars.
It sheds
its own light,
benign majesty.
Unfortunately, we must
murder it:
the knife
sinks
into living flesh,
red
viscera,
a cool
sun,
profound,
inexhausible,
populates the salads
of Chile,
happily, it is wed
to the clear onion,
and to celebrate the union
we
pour
oil,
essential
child of the olive,
onto its halved hemispheres,
pepper
adds
its fragrance,
salt, its magnetism;
it is the wedding
of the day,
parsley
hoists
its flag,
potatoes
bubble vigorously,
the aroma
of the roast
knocks
at the door,
it's time!
come on!
and, on
the table, at the midpoint
of summer,
the tomato,
star of earth,
recurrent
and fertile
star,
displays
its convolutions,
its canals,
its remarkable amplitude
and abundance,
no pit,
no husk,
no leaves or thorns,
the tomato offers
its gift
of fiery color
and cool completeness.
5
Down the Chubut River
By Alvaro Navarro
the classic fisherman’s vest with lots of pockets for “indispensable” accessories, boxes of fishing flies and of
course fishing rods and reels.
The trip took us some 60 miles down the clear waters of
the Chubut River. The stretch in question has a moderate flow that is not as mighty and rough as other rivers
in southern Argentina or in Chile. In some parts, it has
a bit of whitewater, in others it flows gently, varying in
depth from a few inches, in which cases we had to tow
the boats, to several feet. It’s a river that requires skill
to navigate, because the slightest misstep might make
the boat crash against a tree in one of the many bends
along the way.
The author embarks on a fishing trip in Patagonia with three
friends.
Never in my life would I have imagined that at the age
of almost 70 I would spend a week living like a Boy
Scout, traveling down a river by boat, camping at the
end of each day and sleeping in a tent. But that is precisely what I did when three friends and I embarked on
a trip down the Chubut River.
The expedition meant packing up the whole house
with us for a week. The list of items needed is practically endless: inflatable boats, tents, flashlights, tables,
chairs, sleeping bags, grilling supplies, pots, pans,
buckets, soap, sponges, plates, cups, glasses, forks,
knives, spoons, cheese, salami, beer, wine, soft drinks,
oil, tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, lettuce, lamb, rump steak, chicken, eggs, bacon, rice,
milk, drinking water, bread, coffee, black tea, mate tea,
sugar, tarps to cover everything during the trip to keep
the supplies from getting wet if it rained, rope to tie
everything down, etc., etc.
Sizeable trout like this fine specimen can be found in the Chubut
River, but are protected and must be returned to the water.
In addition to all of that, there was the paraphernalia
each traveler had to bring, including proper attire, taking into account that it gets cold in Patagonia at night,
special waterproof clothing and boots for fishing so
you can wade into the water without getting wet, and
So, given all this background, what was our daily routine like? The primary purpose of the trip was to fish,
so we had to get our poles ready and start casting our
lines from the shore, which in some areas was full of
vegetation, in some had steep embankments and in
others was lined with trees that provided shade from
the sun. The biggest trout like to shelter in such spots,
where they wait confidently for the river to bring them
their daily ration of food. There are also smaller trout
in mid-stream. Fishing under these conditions isn’t difficult, but requires concentration and precision.
Another feature of the stretch we took is that it does not
have any access points in between the two ends, creating ideal conditions for the development of fauna and
flora to feed the fish that live there. As a result, a large
number of trout grow to a good size, and a fisherman
of intermediate skill can hook some 10 of them a day.
At noon, we would find a spot along the shore to rest
and have lunch. After we ate, we would pack up everything (including the trash) and get back on the river.
We would paddle down until 7:00 pm., then find a protected area on the shore and set up camp with the tents,
a campfire and the grill. While we were making dinner
we would have a drink and appetizers and share some
good conversation. What did we eat? Well, grilled lamb
or pasta or rump steak, or chicken with vegetables,
always washed down with a nice red wine. At around
10:00 the night chill would send us to bed.
I had the chance to
share some beautiful
days in the pristine
nature of Patagonia
with great friends.
What else could you
ask for to enjoy a perfect vacation?
The ringed kingfisher is native to
Patagonia.
6
IDB Walkers Keep Fit
When I was still an active employee at
the IDB, I joined an informal group of
lunchtime walkers, many of whom were
members of the IDB Runners Club eager to do some alternative kind of exercise on the days that they did not run.
When we retired, we decided to keep up the tradition
of exercise and camaraderie and even expand it a bit,
since we had the leisure to do so. We now meet once
a week, generally on a Wednesday or Thursday, and
walk or hike for two to three hours, covering eight to
10 miles, depending on the terrain. The basic objective is exercise, but to the extent possible we try to
plan routes that pass through scenic surroundings,
points of historical or cultural interest, and end at an
interesting watering hole.
Participants take turns organizing the walks, with the
organizer planning the itinerary for that particular
week. We try to start and end our urban walks near
a Metro station or other public transportation point,
but on some occasions when we venture farther afield,
we carpool.
For example, we’ve walked along the Potomac River
Life After the IDB
The Joy of Volunteering
By Nila Martínez-Sutter
The most gratifying
thing I’ve done since I
retired is to volunteer
as a translator for Cure
International, an NGO
that provides healthcare services to the
needy. The primary
purpose of Cure International is to bring
hope and health care to sick children and their families in developing countries. It targets poor people who
can’t afford to go to a doctor, a hospital or a local clinic.
Photo by Steve Doherty
By Arne Paulson
The IDB Walkers visit to the FDR memorial near the Tidal Basin:
(from left) Arne Paulsen, Marie-Joëlle Haas, David Tither, Mike
O’Donnell, and Julie Feinsilver.
from Rosslyn to Alexandria, along the C&O Canal
and around Harper’s Ferry in West Virginia. Each
week’s walk is announced by email at the beginning
of the week, in order to take weather forecasts into
account.
There is no charge for any of the walks, but of course
participants are expected to pay for their portion of
the lunch and bar bill. We welcome new walkers: if
you are interested in joining us, please email me at
[email protected] or Stephen Doherty at dohstphen@
gmail.com.
All the patients get an examination, diagnosis and
medication to relieve pain and cure any illnesses they
may have. Cure International visits countries like Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, the United Arab
Emirates and Zambia.
My husband and I moved to Florida to be closer to
Honduras, where most of my family live. I do gardening, which I love, belong to a book club and volunteer as a substitute teacher in a parochial school in my
neighborhood. One day, a neighbor of mine, a lovely
American nurse who’s also retired, told me about Cure
International. She said she had been traveling to Honduras with them for 10 years.
Every year in June, Cure International organizes a
health brigade that travels to Honduras. The mission
lasts two weeks and goes to the smallest towns and
continued next page
7
villages in the country. All the team members meet at
the San Pedro Sula airport, and from there we drive to
the location scheduled for the year. This year was my
fourth trip. We went to San Luis in the department of
Santa Bárbara, in western Honduras, about a four-hour
drive from the airport.
The mission totals some 80 people, including doctors
(primary care physicians and specialists), nurses and
translators. We all donate our skills, talent, time, financial resources and above all, a lot of caring.
During our mission we provide smiles, words of encouragement, compassion and a lot of hugs, especially
for the sick children. One day, a girl about 12 years old
arrived at the clinic with a vaginal infection. She did
not want to talk to the gynecologist or be examined.
But I started to talk to her. Very gently, with kindness and hugs, I explained to her that if she wanted
to feel better she would have to talk to the doctor.
Financial Times
Our fellow member Héctor
Luisi read an article in the
August 25, 2010 edition of
the Financial Times, parts of
which he strongly disagreed
with. He wrote a letter to that
newspaper’s Editor, which
was published in the September 6, 2010 issue:
Eventually she agreed to be examined and we discovered that she was the victim of sexual abuse by her
stepfather. We reported this finding to her mother, who
had suspected as much and who promised to take measures. The girl left with a sad smile on her face, but glad
to have spoken with us.
During that mission, medical care was provided to over
2,000 children and adults, dental care to over 2,800
people, physical therapy to over 100 and eye exams to
almost 400. Some 6,500 prescriptions were given out,
of which 1,670 were to treat parasites, along with 1,570
three-month supplies of vitamins.
The work was quite hard, but completing the mission
was incredibly gratifying. I feel lucky and happy to have
been able to contribute something for those less fortunate than me.
For more information on Cure International, visit their
website at www.cureinternational.org.
Volunteering:
Feeding the Homeless
Story and photos by, S. Alexandra Russell
Alternative leftist models to Chávez
From Mr. Héctor Luisi
Sir, Alain Beattie (“Brazilian lessons for Greece
from the hair-shirt school,” August 25) asserts that the
sound policies of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula
da Silva are all “extremely useful exemplars in a region
where the alternative leftist model is the thuggish populism of Hugo Chávez.” Mr. Beattie is not quite correct; he omits other successful alternative leftist models
in the region, such as those of Chile under presidents
Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet, and of Uruguay
under presidents Tabaré Vázquez and José Mujica.
Héctor Luisi
Bethesda, MD; US
Volunteers serve hot vegetarian meals to the hungry.
I have been attending yoga classes with instructor
Víctor Landa for several years, initially at IDB headquarters and later in the church across the street. One
Sunday afternoon last year, I was walking by Franklin
Square in downtown Washington, just a few blocks
from the Bank, when I spotted Víctor in his distinctive
all-white garb.
continued on page 8
Newsletter | IDB-IIC Retirees Association
8
He and volunteers from the
Essene Church of Peace, an
interfaith, non-sectarian nonprofit organization he runs,
were setting up tables of food
for the many homeless people
in the neighborhood. “Going
to the yoga classes downtown, I used to see the homeless sitting on the benches in
Victor (Vyasa) Landa, the
the park next to the church,”
program organizer
says Víctor. “I spoke with some of them and found out
that there was a way we could help.”
Víctor’s School of Life encompasses many aspects of
spiritually-oriented, healthy living, besides the church
and Ashram (yoga studio): he also has a communitysupported agriculture (CSA) program and a mail-order
service for biodynamic food. Using food from those
Catoctin:
Mountain getaway near DC
Story and photos by S. Alexandra Russell
programs and donations, the group has been serving
home-cooked hot vegetarian meals at Franklin Square
to 80-100 people twice a month for the past three years.
Volunteers meet the second and fourth Sundays of
every month to prepare food starting at 9 a.m. then go
downtown at 12:15 p.m. to deliver it to Franklin Square.
Soon after I retired last year I started joining them as a
way of contributing to my community. “We believe that
when the food is prepared with love in an atmosphere
of prayer it is imbued with spiritual forces,” says Victor.
In my experience, those spiritual forces extend to those
who give as well.
“The best contribution people can give is their hearts,
hands and time,” says Victor, who also goes by his spiritual name Vyasa. Help is always welcome to prepare,
transport and serve the food, he says, in addition, of
course, to donations of food, supplies or money to support the program.
For more information, see www.schooloflife.org.
mattresses, are open from mid-April to the end of October. Each has its own outdoor picnic table and fire ring
with a grill. Communal bathrooms a short walk away
have hot showers.
There are 25 miles of hiking trails to explore, ranging from
easy to strenuous, many leading to scenic vistas, such as
the falls. Along the way, you may spot deer, chipmunks,
squirrels, woodpeckers and reportedly even the occasional black bear. On the Cunningham Falls side, there
is swimming or boating at the lake during the warmer
months.
My favorite getaway from the noise and pollution of
Washington is just an hour’s drive north of the city at
Catoctin Mountain Park. Located near the town of Thurmont, MD, a short drive from Frederick, MD, the park
is right across Rte 77 from Cunningham Falls State Park.
As soon as I arrive at Catoctin, a heavily wooded area in
the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, I can feel my
lungs airing out from the cool, clean mountain breeze. My
mind relaxes at the sight of the rolling mountains, clear
streams and canopies of tall trees. Far from any major
roads, all you hear is … nothing, but the peaceful quiet
of nature, punctuated by singing birds during the day and
chirping crickets at night.
Though the park is close enough for a day trip, I recommend staying over for at least a night in one of the cabins
at Camp Misty Mount on the Catoctin Mountain Park
side. The rustic cabins, equipped simply with beds and
The best-kept secret at Misty Mount is the swimming
pool surrounded by trees available during the summer
only to camp visitors. Mid-summer is also the time to
catch a fabulous light show by fireflies hovering over the
grasses at dusk. At any time of the year, though, you can
enjoy a campfire and the starry night sky. If you stay over
on a weeknight, you’re likely to have the whole park to
yourself.
Nearby orchards, such as Pryor’s at the entrance to
Catoctin
(http://www.pryorsorchard.com),
offer
locally grown seasonal produce that include several varieties of apples—be sure and try the Staymans.
Even in retirement, I find an escapade to nature
refreshes my body, mind and spirit. For more information, visit the Catoctin Mountain Park website at
www.nps.gov/cato.
9
To the Editor
1.
I like that the Bulletin is short enough that I can
read it in a few minutes. It is very well written and
concise, to the point. The translations into English are
excellent.
From the President of the Chile Chapter
of the Retirees Association
2.
I think the main thing most of us want from the
Bulletin is information about issues that affect us all,
especially health insurance and our pension fund. The
Bulletin has, I think, has always done a pretty good job
doing this.
The opinions expressed in the Letters to the Editor are those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the
Board of Directors of the IDB and IIC Retirees Association.
To the Editor,
It’s with great disappointment that an Aide Mémoire
has been received from the Bank’s Human Resources
Manager and the President of the Retirees Association
where they report that the Retirement Plan’s Administration Committee decided to turn down a voluntary
option that would have allowed some retirees to receive
all or part of their pensions in the currency of their
country of residence, adjusted by that country’s price
index. The decision was justified by indicating that the
option was only acceptable to a minority.
It should be remembered that towards the end of 2009
a survey was carried out among retirees living outside
the U.S. that, for design reasons, did not allow for country breakdowns. Had survey results for retirees living
in Chile been available, they would have reflected a majority acceptance, even though the proposed solution
was nowhere close to their desired objectives.
It’s regrettable that the Plan’s Administration Committee was unable to grasp the bias of the above-mentioned
survey, declining to investigate alternative solutions to
address the problem; many would like this situation to
be rectified. The instability in income resulting from
constant exchange-rate fluctuations remains unsustainable and it is no longer possible to keep on waiting for new studies, discussions, decisions, etc. Fluctuations between September 2009 and September 2010
were over 10%; in previous years, 35%.
It is equally regrettable that the Association has not
provided the support expected, but considers this case
about to be closed.
Sincerely,
Alvaro Beca
From David Mangurian
To the Editor,
I was glad to learn that the Retirees Bulletin will have
a professional editor. It will be interesting to see what
changes you make. Here are my suggestions for some
changes and what to keep doing:
3.
More articles about retirees. I attended Pomona College as an undergraduate. I get their lush fullcolor quarterly Bulletin with long articles on staff and
graduates. I have never ever read an article. What I do
turn to are the "Class notes" and obituaries, births and
marriages. Class notes are always short. You might
use this as a model for publishing more information
about individual retirees. Call them “Retirees Notes.”
Things like books or articles published, awards, particularly interesting trips, new post-IDB/IIC jobs or volunteer work. After you start this, you should start to
get submissions. Put the names in bold face so readers
can skim through the notes to read about people they
know. Small photos could be included.
4.
You might expand a few of the most interesting
notes with your reporting every month. But keep the
articles very short, shorter than the average Chasqui
stories. Running S-H-O-R-T articles about interesting
activities of retirees and “Retirees Notes” will help keep
everyone more in touch and might attract more retirees to join our Association.
5.
The obituaries are of interest to all of us. I think
they should remain about as long as they are now, not
shortened.
6.
Consider publishing fewer photos of the
monthly luncheon in Washington, DC, and use the
space for more articles.
7.
The only other suggestion I have would be a
two-month events calendar: cultural events and films
at the Bank, the monthly luncheon and topic, Retirees
Association Board meetings that are open to any members, and any DC-area events that would be of special
interest to us retirees (such as the AFI Latin American
Film Festival, museum exhibits of Latin American artists or cultures). Make the calendar concise and printable as a single page.
Best of luck,
David Mangurian
10
NEWS
IDB-DC Solidarity Program
The IDB Connection With the Community
By Sandra Scioville and Marta Estarellas
In response to the steady growth of the Hispanic and
Caribbean communities in the greater Washington D.C.
metropolitan area, the IDB-DC Solidarity Program was
established in 1998 to help them address their social, economic and educational challenges.
Under the program, the IDB has built strategic partnerships with more than 50 local community-based organizations to support initiatives designed to benefit those
communities, with an emphasis on education, health and
economic development. The program provides grants,
volunteers, surplus equipment and technical assistance to
partner organizations.
In its 13 years of activity, the program has awarded over
$3.8 million in grants, in such areas as childcare, youth,
senior citizens, health, education, immigration, employment, rehabilitation, violence prevention and business
development. To be eligible for a grant, a partner organization must be a 501 (c) (3), located in the District of Columbia and provide services to the Latino and Caribbean
communities. Organizations must be invited to the fund
cycle in order to submit a proposal. The proposals are reviewed by the IDB-DC Solidarity Program Grants Committee, which consists of eight members, one of whom is
the President of the Retirees Association.
Volunteer Opportunities
The program has a network of over 500 volunteers,
mainly IDB staff members, their families and IDB retirees, who participate in community service activities throughout the year. These include drives to collect clothing and other basic supplies for the homeless.
Retirees are always welcome to volunteer for these drives
or to send contributions to the IDB-DC Solidarity Program. The contributions are also used for campaigns
such as "Share the Magic," a toy and food drive for Latino
and Caribbean families during the holiday season.
To help its partner organizations recruit volunteers, the
program regularly organizes brown-bag lunches at IDB
headquarters, at which local organizations share information about their programs and services with IDB staff
members, their families and retirees. To receive an invitation to the informational lunches, send an email to
[email protected].
Under the program, the Bank donates its surplus equipment, such as computers, monitors, keyboards, office
furniture and equipment, office supplies and books and
magazines, to the program’s partner organizations to help
them outfit their classrooms and offices.
The IDB-DC Solidarity Program also collaborates with
other multilateral organizations in the area, the Washington, D.C. government, private sector corporations and
other stakeholders in order to support community development, civic engagement and local philanthropy.
For information on the IDB-DC Solidarity Program, please contact Marta Estarellas by telephone at
202-623-1559 or by email at [email protected], or visit our
website at www.iadb.org/solidarityprogram.
Haiti’s Color of Hope Campaign
By Sandra Scioville and Marta Estarellas
The earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010 not
only demolished its infrastructure, but it also took with
it much of what was part of the culture of Haiti: its art. Thousands of
paintings were lost in this devastation and almost all of the artists’
tools destroyed. Although the international community is helping
rebuild Haiti in priority areas like water and roads, areas
that are equally vital for the future of any nation are being
overlooked.
Understanding the urgent need to rebuild Haiti’s art and
to recover the much-needed tools for the artists, the Inter-American Development Bank launched the “Haiti’s
Colors of Hope” campaign on September 9-16, 2010 to
raise donations in cash and art supplies for Haitian artists
affected by the January 12 earthquake. The embassies of
Argentina, Guatemala, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela in
Washington, D.C. also supported this campaign.
During the week-long drive, the IDB sought contributions from its staff, their families and former employees,
as well as from persons in the Washington region interested in helping Haitian artists. The Utrecht arts supplies
store (1250 I Street, NW) offered a discount for donated
materials.
As part of the campaign, on Monday, September 13, a
group of locally based Latin American and Caribbean
artists led participants in a collective painting session,
headed by IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, to fill
blank canvasses symbolizing Haiti’s current plight and
its hopes for a better future. The event took place in the
Bank’s atrium, and the painted canvasses were displayed
in the atrium throughout the week-long campaign.
continued on page 13
11
On September 16, the last day of the of the campaign, the IDB cafeteria offered a Caribbean lunch with emphasis on
Haitian food, and a percentage of the money collected during the lunch was donated to the drive. The closing ceremony
featured a recital by Les Petits Chanteurs, an internationally acclaimed Haitian youth and children choir, in the atrium. After the concert, the choir received a donation of musical instruments from the Inter-American Culture and Development
Foundation.
The IDB-DC Solidarity Program would like to express its deep gratitude to those who contributed to this campaign. For
more information, please contact Marta Estarellas, Coordinator of the IDB-DC Solidarity Program, at [email protected] or
(202) 623-1559.
General News
Four Countries Celebrate Bicentennials in 2010
By Cinthya Cuba
This year Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico
celebrate 200 years of independence from Spain, on the
heels of Bolivia and Ecuador, which already commemorated their bicentennials last year. Over the next 15 years
several other Latin American countries will join them in
marking this milestone.
the Embassy of Argentina on May 25th and a concert by
the Pan American Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy
Center on the 26th. The embassy has also partnered with
the Smithsonian Institution for “Argentina at the Smithsonian,” a cultural program that runs through the end of
the year.
The celebrating countries owe their freedom from
colonial rule to the Liberators Miguel Hidalgo, Simón
Bolívar, José de San Martín and Bernardo O’Higgins, who
rose against Spanish rule in the Americas in the early 19th
century. The Liberators took advantage of the crisis that
Napoleon had left behind in Spain during the Peninsular
War, which resulted in the fall of governments, social turbulence and economic stagnation. This is why our wars of
independence took place around the same time.
The Mexican Cultural Institute partnered with the
Kennedy Center for a “Celebrate Mexico 2010”
program that included a Fiesta Mexicana on September
16th with music from Veracruz, mariachis, folk dances
and a reenactment of the Grito de Independencia (“Cry for
Independence”).
A Bicentennial Group was begun in 2007 for the purpose of coordinating the commemorations of nine Latin
American nations: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela,
which between 2009 and 2011 are celebrating 200 years
of independence, with the support of a very special 10th
nation, Spain. The Group has organized forums in several countries, designed to pay tribute to the countries’
rich political and cultural histories, beyond parties and
concerts.
The embassies and cultural centers of the countries celebrating their independence in 2010 have organized many
events in Washington, D.C. These included a Thanksgiving Mass at the church Saint Stephen Martyr organized by
Colombia held various dinners and receptions at its embassy and at the Organization of American States. And
Chile celebrated with various cultural events, an awards
ceremony and a Family Fair in Takoma Park.
The bicentennials tie in with many other cultural events
to be held throughout the United States in October for
Hispanic Heritage Month, when we commemorate the
uniquely Latin American culture that developed out of
the “meeting of two worlds.”
Links:
Argentine Embassy: www.embassyofargentina.us
Argentina at the Smithsonian: http://latino.si.edu/PDF/
SLC_Argentina2010_Program.pdf
Chilean Embassy: http://www.chile-usa.org/
Colombian Embassy: http://www.colombiaemb.org/
Mexican Embassy: http://portal.sre.gob.mx/usa/
12
On Culture
Buenos Aires’s Teatro Colón
Reopens
Along with Milan’s La Scala, New York’s Metropolitan
Opera, Vienna’s Staatsoper, and London’s Covent Garden, the Teatro Colón is justifiably considered one of
the five best opera houses in the world. It was inaugurated in 1908 and is acclaimed for its architectural
style, typical of the early 20th century, as well as for its
remarkable acoustics.
An impressive number of artists have performed at the
Teatro Colón: composers such as Richard Strauss, Arthur Honegger, Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, Camille Saint-Saëns, Manuel de Falla, Aaron Copland,
and of course Alberto Ginastera; and several generations of conductors too, from Arturo Toscanini, Erich
Kleiber and Fritz Busch, to Claudio Abbado, Riccardo
Muti and Daniel Baremboim, as well as Wilhelm Furtwangler, Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein.
On May 25, 2010, the bicentennial of Argentina’s May
Revolution, Buenos Aires’s Teatro Colón reopened its
doors. They had been closed for several years, during
which time the entire building underwent extensive
renovation and modernization.
But what surely gave the Teatro Colón back its luster
was a performance that took place at the end of August.
It was a concert version of Verdi’s Aida by the Orchestra
and Chorus of Milan’s La Scala, with renowned international soloists, conducted by the Argentine conductor Daniel Baremboim, who is without a doubt Latin
America’s most prestigious musician today.
Even the always demanding music critics of Argentina
and Uruguay have been unanimous in their praises.
Maestro Baremboim, a pianist and a conductor, was
the Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 15 years and is currently the Music Director of
Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden, as well as of the
West-Eastern Divan orchestra, an extraordinary ensemble of Israeli and Palestinian musicians. He has
conducted the world’s best symphony orchestras and at
the world’s greatest opera houses, including Bayreuth.
Amongst the thousands of singers who’ve sung there
are tenors Enrico Caruso, Lauritz Melchior, Wolfgang
Windgassen, Alfredo Kraus, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti; sopranos Lily Pons, Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Kirsten Flagstad, Victoria de los Angeles,
Joan Sutherland, Birgit Nilsson, Montserrat Caballé,
Kiri Te Kanawa and Renée Fleming; mezzos Fedora
Barbieri, Marilyn Horne, Teresa Berganza, Christa
Ludwig, Régine Crespin, Frederica von Stade, Waltraud
Meier and Cecilia Bartoli; baritones Titta Ruffo, Leonard Warren, Hans Hotter, Cornell MacNeil, Hermann
Prey, Sherrill Milnes, José van Dam and Dmitri Hvorostovsky; and basses Fedor Chaliapin, Borís Christoff,
Ferruccio Furlanetto and Samuel Ramey.
Outstanding dancers such as Anna Pavlova, Vaslav
Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, Alicia Alonso, Maia Plissetskaya, Margot Fonteyn, Mijail Barishnikov and the
great Argentine dancer Julio Bocca have performed at
the Teatro Colón.
The world’s major symphony orchestras have played at
the Teatro Colón. And there’s not enough space to list
all the major soloists.
The Teatro Colón’s reopening season includes six
operas, Puccini’s La Bohème, Mozart’s Don
Giovanni, Janacek’s Kátia Kabanová, Zemlinsky’s Eine
Florentinische Tragödie, Massenet’s Manon and Verdi’s
Falstaff; four ballets, Manon, Le Corsaire, La Bayadère
and Themes and Variations, choreographed by Kenneth
MacMillan, Anne Marie Holmes, Natalia Makarova
and George Balanchine, respectively; as well as 18 concerts by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra.
13
Obituaries
Inés Olmo, 1924-2010
Farewell to Doña Inés
By Enrique V. Iglesias
staff alike. In those memorable Saturday lunches of
Chilean empanadas and red wine, we dreamt how the
new Bank would be built. We were laying the foundations of the institution we now have, a great asset of
the Ibero-American community, while simultaneously
strengthening the soul of a great family.
Many years later, when a cruel illness afflicted her husband, she remained at his side, supporting him during
his long, painful struggle.
Yesterday’s staff, as well as today’s, should bow our
heads at the loss of a person to whom we are and will
always be indebted and to whose memory we should
pay heartfelt homage. If Felipe Herrera was the Bank’s
founding father, then surely Doña Inés was its mother.
Rest in peace, dear Inés.
Jorge Ferraris, 1929-2010
By Luis M. Rotaeche
A few days ago we learned the sad
news that Doña Inés Olmo, widow
of IDB founder and our first President Felipe Herrera, had passed
away. She was an honorary member of our Association.
Those of us who knew her and had the privilege of
enjoying her friendship could fully appreciate the spiritual pillars and personal values of this great lady; a great
lady married to a great gentleman.
I remember this kind friend during the fascinating
years of the Bank’s founding, when she accompanied
her husband on the long journeys that slowly established the Bank’s image and commitment to the region
and its economic and social development. During
those trips she provided him with comfort, counsel and
that smile, which Felipe loved so much. She was his
“Saint Inés,” as he affectionately and admiringly used
to call her.
At the same time, as she contributed to promoting the
Bank’s image in the outside world, she made a huge effort to nurture a family culture inside the Bank.
Her home was open to great leaders and all levels of
Jorge Ferraris died in Buenos Aires
at the age of 80, victim of a heart attack. During his many years at the
IDB he had a deep impact on the
Bank’s bearing.
He was born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina in 1929.
He received a law degree from the Universidad de
Buenos Aires. He was a journalist and a member of
congress, in which capacity he chaired the Finance
Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. He joined the
IDB in 1966 as a Loan Officer and later became Area
Chief, Division Chief, Senior Deputy Operations Manager and Manager of the Project Analysis Department.
He retired in 1989.
Upon returning to his country of origin he became a
researcher and a consultant in the fields of regional
markets, the environment and public administration.
He authored several publications on these issues.
In 2007 he authored Por qué estamos donde estamos, a
book which was an extensive examination of Argentine
development and institutionality and the interrelation
between them. He had recently become a political analyst and published a blog “Política y algo más,” where
he commented on Argentine current events with the
continued on page 14
14
depth of knowledge and passion that were so much
part of his character.
Those of us who knew him during his long and fruitful
life and who were lucky enough to have been his friends
know that in addition to being keenly intelligent, Jorge
Ferraris had impeccable conduct in all his activities, an
unparalleled sense of ethics in life and friendship, and
a curious ability to reconcile differences.
It will be difficult for his widow Celia, his life-long partner, and for his son Jorge C., to learn to live without
him.
Julio Edmundo Alcaine Coldwell, 1923-2010
Julio Alcaine was born in El Salvador. He passed away on August
29 in Arlington, Virginia. He had
a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering. He
had also studied Geodesy and Photogrammetry at the U.S. Coast and
Geodetic Survey and U.S. Army
Map Service, with which Alcaine
gained additional experience in infrastructure, project
analysis and supervision in Arizona and Honduras before joining the Bank in 1965 as Assistant to the Chief
of Inspection and Review Section in the Project Analysis Division.
In 1967, he was appointed Resident Engineer in Bolivia
and then in Chile, where he served until 1970. Alcaine
was later promoted to Chief of the Technical Reports
Coordination Section at Headquarters and later in his
career acted as Deputy Representative in the Country
Offices of Paraguay, Uruguay and Panama. He retired
from the Bank in 1984. His friends and former coworkers remember him for his character, kindness and dedication. Condolences may be conveyed to his widow,
Susana Alcaine, or his daughter, Julia Alcaine, at the
following address: 1300 Crystal Drive, Apartment 907S, Arlington, VA 22202, or by telephone at +1-703416-7265.
Michael A. Gomez, 1929 –2010
Michael Gomez, an American citizen born in New Orleans, Louisiana, passed away on August 28 in
Boca Raton, Florida. Gomez, who
held a PhD. in Economics from
Ohio State University, worked at
the Bank as Senior Economist and
was Chief of the Social Development Division at Headquarters from 1970 to 1987,
when he retired. He served as a consultant for the Bank
until 1995, working for the Office of Evaluation and
Oversight on the Project Completion Review Reports,
as well as on other economic analysis projects.
If you would like to send condolences please e-mail
the Retirees Association ([email protected]) and we
will forward any messages to the family once we obtain
their contact information.
José Melgar Márquez, 1913-2010
José Melgar Márquez, a citizen
of Peru, died in Santiago, Chile,
on September 21st. A self-taught
member of staff, he joined the
Bank in 1962. He served as Loan
Officer, Specialist I, and Statistical
Analyst in the Operations Department, and later as Editor in the Office of the External
Relations Advisor, in view of his experience in journalism and publishing. Melgar retired from the Bank in
1978. Condolences can be sent to his widow, Adriana
Melgar, at the following address: Luis Thayer Ojeda 63,
Apartamento 31, Providencia, Santiago, Chile; or by
telephoning her at +(562) 335-0849.
Carlos M. Montero, 1928-2010
Carlos Montero, a citizen of Argentina, died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 24. Montero obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from
the School of Economic Sciences
of the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He was Chief of Internal Audit of the textile company Sudamtex, S.A. in Buenos
Aires. He joined the Bank in 1963 as an Accountant
continued on next page 15
15
Remembering our colleagues:
If you were close to a retiree who recently passed,
please send us your fondest memories of the person in
an email to [email protected].
Publications Committee
Coordinator
Magdalena Sanguinetti
IDB • IIC RETIREES ASSOCIATION
in the Office of the Treasurer. He then served as Finance and Operations Officer in Chile, Representative
in Peru, Representative in Uruguay and Representative
in Chile. Montero was a great field officer. He liked to
travel by car around the countries to which he was assigned, with classical music blaring in the background.
He visited scores of cities and villages trying to identify
projects that would have a true development impact.
During his time in Peru he learned to paint mirrors
with polychrome drawings that are very beautiful. His
motto, taken from Martín Fierro, was "it's not a matter of being the first to arrive; it's knowing how to get
there." Condolences may be sent to his widow, Verónica López de Montero, at the following address: Avenida
del Libertador 1780/11-B, 1425 Buenos Aires, Argentina; o by phone at +(54-11) 4802-5707.
Photo: S. Alexandra Russell
IDB-IIC Retirees
Association
1300 New York Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20577
Phone: 202.623.3035
Fax: 202.623.3083
e-mail: [email protected]
View of the trees at Catoctin Mountain Park. See page 8 for story.
www.ajbid.org
Members
Graciela Echaide
Cecilia Gallegos
Camille Gaskin-Reyes
Héctor Luisi
Bimonthly Newsletter
Editor
S. Alexandra Russell
Contributors
Alvaro Beca
Cinthya Cuba
Marta Estarellas
Camille Gaskin-Reyes
Enrique Iglesias
Héctor Luisi
David Mangurian
Nila Martínez-Sutter
Alvaro Navarro
Arne Paulsen
Luis Rotaeche
Sandra Scioville
Jim Taylor
Translators
María Amparo Cabezas
María Eugenia Kyburz
Mari Paez
Héctor Luisi
Assistants
Dorian Cruz-Cantero
Cinthya Cuba
Graphic Designer
Cielo Productions

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