Chapel at Sabaneta
How a French Saint made me appreciate my Venezuelan roots and exposure to the Christian Brothers in my youth. The connection between La Salle - La Colina, in Caracas, Venezuela, and La Salle - Pasadena. Leopoldo Jose and went to La Salle – La Colina, where we were joined by Leopoldo Antonio Romero, another cousin. So the academic year of 1958-59 was my introduction to the lasallian educational system as a 7th grader which is why I was exposed to the Christian Brothers for five years – one in Caracas, and an additional four in Pasadena Notwithstanding the challenges of not knowing the language, the Brothers in Caracas did everything to make me feel included. Yes my Spanish improved as I learned to conjugate verbs, and received decent grades in class. And as occurred at La Salle – Pasadena, the day began with a prayer that included mentioning “Blessed Solomon, pray for us.” I had no idea who he was until the arrival of La Salle’s Christmas card almost 60 years later. My year in Caracas had a profound impact on my life. Not only was I introduced to a very extended family of numerous cousins, uncles and aunts, but I was absorbed into the culture and food, not to mention joining my extended family at political rallies for the first democratic elections after the fall of the dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez. This was very exciting experience because it was like a nonstop carnival for weeks at a time, with folks throwing colored confetti (representing their party’s colors) as they caravanned around the city In May 1959, when I was scheduled to return to Pasadena, I told my parents I wanted to stay in Caracas, because Pasadena “was too boring.” Yes, I was smitten with Caracas. Reluctantly I came home and entered the 8th grade at St. Phillips on Hill Street where in the fall of 1959, the big question was where would one go to high school. Likewise the same year my cousin Paco Fernandez came up from Venezuela and joined me for 8th grade at St. Philips.
My parents gave me two options for high school – St. Francis, or La Salle. Without even visiting the campuses of either school I told my parents given my experience at La Salle-La Colina my choice was easy. It would be La Salle – Pasadena. By:Salle Duke –Banks ’64 Without dwelling on my four years at La Pasadena, after attending UCLA and obtaining a BA Degree in International Relations specializing in Latin America (which was heavily influenced by my year as a pre-adolescent in Venezuela), I thought of going back to Caracas, but I just kept putting it on the back burner. In the mid ‘70’s after landing my first job in Ft Worth, Texas making real money, I planned my first vacation by returning to Caracas and getting reacquainted with my cousins. This including Leopoldo Jose with whom I had gone to La Salle – La Colina in our youth. He was recently married, and just completed his studies to be a pediatrician. I also saw the new house that my uncles had moved to after loosing their original home by eminent domain to the government so they could build a highway that was needed to service the expanding population of the city. However, room was found in the new house for the family altar to our Lady of Coromoto. My cousins insisted that I should come to Venezuela to work. So after a few years, I quit my job as the Assistant Budget Director for the City of Ft. Worth, and went to Venezuela on a wing and a prayer. What was supposed to be a one year experience turned into a five year adventure, where I met my wife Elvira, and where our daughter Cecilia was born (she became a third generation of an American born abroad following in the footsteps of her grandfather and father). In the mid 1980’s we left Venezuela because
The Fall 2016 issue of Lancer Magazine contained an article about the martyrdom and eventual canonization of Brother Solomon Le Clercq. In this issue we discover that there is a close La Salle connection with the actual miracle that lead to his sainthood and our alum, Duke Banks ’64.
spring/summer 2017
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