The work presents an unprecedented profile of Juan José Rendn – known in power circles simply as JJ – a man whose childhood was marked by challenges that for many already foreshadowed the dimensions he would reach in his field of work.
Throughout the pages, Lavaud reveals how a boy who, given his myopia, learned to develop his other senses even more and who – upon being the object of bullying – became a titan of the art of strategy, the most difficult electoral campaigns and the resolution of crises and conflicts at the international level.
During the writing process, the Miami-based author had access to documents, photographs, personal notes, and more. Also, she witnessed strategic meetings at critical moments of electoral campaigns in which the son of Juan José Rendn Delgado and Zoraida Delgado was involved.
DIARIO LAS AMRICAS spoke with María Elena Lavaud to address what her literary experience was like in this, her fourth book, and about other related topics.
Being your fourth book, what has this text taught you to mature as a writer?
It’s funny, with each book I have written I have explored a new genre that has allowed me to grow and mature, be versatile, be free. First I made an autofiction novel, You wear red, inspired by what I experienced as a journalist when covering Hugo Chvez’s coup attempt in Venezuela in 1992; Then, I made a book of travel chronicles, Havana without heelsto tell Venezuelans how ordinary Cubans live after decades of dictatorship; tears tattoo came later, which is a fictional novel inspired by a real case of gender violence.
Recently, in my new role as a book editor and mentor to new authors, I published Get on the trainwhich is my method of coaching literary enhanced by Artificial Intelligence, and finally the personal story of JJ Rendn, with whom I ventured into the biographical genre and it has been fascinating. First, because he has given me endless knowledge about the field of consulting, strategy, and crisis and conflict management; then, because it has been a gigantic challenge to develop entertaining prose, with rhythm, having to assemble years of interviews with the protagonist of the story and with more than 100 people who gave me testimony about him.
How long did it take to compile the more than 100 testimonies and which one was the most impactful?
All the testimonies are very important and impactful. However, I would say that perhaps what surprises the reader most is the testimony of JJ himself because it is the first time that he dares to share in such detail aspects of his personal life, his friends, his childhood traumas, his pains. , their mistakes, their loves, their successes and their achievements; his demanding work, his personal challenges and the way he permanently prepares himself to fulfill the mission that he has chosen as his reason for being, and which involves a deep love for Venezuela, for the defense of democracy and Human Rights at all costs. .
In total, the work of collecting testimonies and the long rounds of interviews with him, plus all the processing and writing of the manuscript, took me around seven years. I had to stop at a certain point because things were happening in his career that in my opinion were important to include; So, I decided to wait about a year to interview him again and, with that, add new testimonies as well.
What interests you about JJ Rendn to materialize it in a book?
At first I was interested in meeting that Venezuelan who was reaping unprecedented electoral triumphs in Mexico, Colombia and other countries. A strategist who had been able to reverse the negative trend of a campaign and make that candidate win with just 45 days left before the election; a Venezuelan qualified by the ABC newspaper of Spain as one of the 10 best strategists in the world and at the same time the most attacked and persecuted, but also the most wanted.
I wanted to know him, listen to him and draw my own conclusion. I knew that behind a person who is capable of generating that type of impact, so controversial and even enigmatic, there had to be a great story, and I wanted to be the one to tell it, because I knew it could be useful. This is a man who, just by talking to him, leaves you with a lot of knowledge and life lessons.
What is the learning that JJ leaves you by researching his life?
Precisely, one of the first things is to value the capacity to be resilient that we all have to recover and overcome any adverse situation. This is something he practices constantly. Then, perseverance, anticipating scenarios when tracing the path you must follow to achieve a goal; always giving more than what is expected in any project, organization and dedication; strategic thinking and reading; above all things, reading.
How do you describe the JJ prior to writing the book and the JJ after writing?
For me, before the book process, he was an enigmatic, distant, even mysterious character; someone whom I admired for his achievements, but who at the same time triggered many questions and generated many doubts in me. After almost 10 years of knowing him, I can say that every question I have asked him he has answered without conditions, not only for the book, but in relation to any other topic or circumstance.
The book allowed me to discover a very special human being, a man with a privileged mind, who knows how to impose himself when he sees fit, who can be politically incorrect if he considers it necessary, who is brutally frontal and speaks without sugarcoating. Not everyone can resist that. For me, the post-writing JJ, as you call him, is a close person, a friend, who I continue to admire and who continues to surprise me.
Being a political journalist, what other character would you like to address in a book?
Certainly I did political analysis and opinion on Venezuelan television for almost 20 years, and although it is not something premeditated, with my books, in some way I continue to revolve around that field. However, when considering doing a series titled Which is?, I want to open the spectrum and include characters of JJ’s stature in any field or country; I am encouraged to share the story of people who, with their work and influence, determine the lives of millions who have been forged through effort, personal improvement, and preparation; who can, by their example, provide knowledge, experience or useful references for others.
If I had to limit the series to politics, I would tell you that I would love to write the story of Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, or Giorgia Meloni, president of the Council of Ministers in Italy; Melania Trump, the wife of former President Donald Trump or María Corina Machado herself, leader of today’s democratic Venezuela.
Literature is…?
The most powerful weapon that exists for the development of the mind, of knowledge; It is freedom. Somewhere I read that a book is the only instrument that allows you to travel wherever you want without moving from place to place.
Any questions you would like to add and answer?
I am very happy with him feedback that I have received from the book so far. There is a common denominator and that is that, despite being a 488-page book, people tell me that they can’t stop reading and that for a writer is the greatest achievement that can be imagined.
This is a book that provides knowledge, life experiences, visions about the great issues of the moment, such as science and technology, the issue of migration throughout the world, politics of course, but also the philosophy of life, spirituality and religion. It is a book that leaves a lot. It is available in Amazon and soon in bookstores in Caracas, Miami, Mexico City and Bogotá.
