A handful of Latin American ambassadors were gleaming last week when they heard the news that Peru's hostage crisis was over. Toasting cerveza with his buddies at the Novotel Hotel, Peru's ambassador to Moscow, Domingo Da-Fieno, said he was "very happy" about the news that 71 of the 72 hostages had been freed alive from the Japanese ambassador's residence, where they had been held by terrorists for more than four months. "Something had to happen," Da-Fieno said. "It couldn't go on like it was."
Some of the ambassadors joining the impromptu celebration were Jorge Arias of Costa Rica, Alfonso Fahsen of Guatemala, Anibal Cabral of Uruguay and Gabriel Sosa of Panama.
The real reason the invited guests had gathered, however, was to toast Venezuela and not Peru. Around 100 guests from Latin American embassies and Russian tourism companies came for the private opening of an exposition promoting Venezuelan tourism.
"It's time the Russians saw something of Venezuela other than the soap operas," said Venezuelan Rodolfo Fuenmayor of the Conventor tourism company. In Moscow for a month trying to drum up business, Fuenmayor said most of his clients so far are New Russians looking to relax on the Venezuelan island Margarita of television fame.
Strangely enough, the Venezuelan ambassador, Jose Figarella, wasn't around for the fun. Upon hearing of his colleague's unexpected absence, the Mexican ambassador, Abelardo Trevino, left almost as soon as he arrived, much to the bemusement of the guests who, Latino-style, kept the party going hours after it was supposed to end.
Such soirees are a new trend among Latin American countries trying to tap the booming Russian tourism market. Mexico threw a successful month-long expo last year, and Cuba followed this month.
Some of the ambassadors joining the impromptu celebration were Jorge Arias of Costa Rica, Alfonso Fahsen of Guatemala, Anibal Cabral of Uruguay and Gabriel Sosa of Panama.
The real reason the invited guests had gathered, however, was to toast Venezuela and not Peru. Around 100 guests from Latin American embassies and Russian tourism companies came for the private opening of an exposition promoting Venezuelan tourism.
"It's time the Russians saw something of Venezuela other than the soap operas," said Venezuelan Rodolfo Fuenmayor of the Conventor tourism company. In Moscow for a month trying to drum up business, Fuenmayor said most of his clients so far are New Russians looking to relax on the Venezuelan island Margarita of television fame.
Strangely enough, the Venezuelan ambassador, Jose Figarella, wasn't around for the fun. Upon hearing of his colleague's unexpected absence, the Mexican ambassador, Abelardo Trevino, left almost as soon as he arrived, much to the bemusement of the guests who, Latino-style, kept the party going hours after it was supposed to end.
Such soirees are a new trend among Latin American countries trying to tap the booming Russian tourism market. Mexico threw a successful month-long expo last year, and Cuba followed this month.