“I don’t think anyone in the world needs to be ashamed of their origins. It’s one thing to come to America and understand that America is a great place,” he said, speaking at the Salt Lake City Public Library. “But never forget your roots. I think the beauty of this country is just that \u2014 the mix of cultures.”<\/p>\n
Amid heightened scrutiny, \u2014 suspicion even \u2014 of immigrants in the country as President Donald Trump aggressively pursues detention and deportation of those in the country illegally, his message might make some Americans uneasy. But Guevara \u2014 who fled Venezuela in 2016, worried about persecution by leaders of the socialist regime there, given his political and human rights work \u2014 is passionate on the topic.<\/p>\n
Latino immigrant kids sometimes feel ashamed of their roots, he said, recalling one Venezuelan boy now living in Utah, who was bothered by the teasing he received from classmates who accused him of belonging to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. Guevara wants to counter that, inspire pride among Latinos in Latin America, and spread a positive message through his books about the culture of the region.<\/p>\n
Read more:<\/p>\n
Some immigrant kids in the United States, he went on, have few memories of their native countries, which is another point of concern that drives him. “No one can love what they don’t know,” said Guevara, now living in Lehi.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, having been forced out of Venezuela due to political conditions, he wants to assuage the bitter sentiments those sorts of circumstances can stir in others who also feel pushed from the country, whether for political or economic reasons.<\/p>\n
“Not everyone comes seeking political asylum, but everyone who comes is forced by the same situation \u2014 a dictatorial regime. If it doesn’t suffocate you politically, it suffocates you economically,” he said.<\/p>\n
In Venezuela, Guevara worked with international groups like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Bank. Those connections drew suspicion from the government of President Hugo Ch\u00e1vez, a socialist, and led to accusations of treason, forcing him out of the country. Many of his colleagues have also fled; some who stayed in Venezuela are in jail because of their political work, while more are dead, he said.<\/p>\n
Three books recently published by the Capit\u00e1n Zarig\u00fceya Publishing Fund, a nonprofit venture in Utah, are meant to encourage Latino children to connect with their Latino roots. The books focus on the children’s games of Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. (Photo: Capit\u00e1n Zarig\u00fceya Publishing Fund)<\/p>\n
“I don’t want the kids here in the United States to feel what I went through \u2014 to feel persecuted, exiled and kicked out of your own country,” he said. In “Un sue\u00f1o tricolor,” the horse forced out of Venezuela ultimately returns to his community, triumphantly forcing out the evil gold prospectors with the help of friends and regaining his place there.<\/p>\n
‘You never forget your roots’<\/p>\n
On coming to the United States, where Guevara sought political asylum and now has formal U.S. residency, he worked as a ramp operator at Salt Lake City International Airport. Now he works as a consultant on immigration matters, with the Capit\u00e1n Zarig\u00fceya initiative \u2014 funded by donations from businesses, including West Valley City-based Core Health and Wellness \u2014 a side project.<\/p>\n