What was it like being a female reporter in Latin America?
A lot of times it would play to your advantage. Never underestimate flattery with middle-age men. There was one point in Honduras where I wanted to go out with the Contras. I knew and they knew it was going to be a difficult trip. Finally, they decided they weren’t going to take me out because I was too small. I lost a lot of weight in El Salvador because I wasn’t that happy with the food and I was working a lot. But I wasn’t anorexic or anything. I had been out with the Left, I had been out with the military, so it’s not as if I hadn’t done those trips before. That was the only time where I could see it as a huge disadvantage. Q: Have you ever had a bad experience in Latin America interviewing someone because of your ethnicity or gender? A: No, but again, they are not thinking “Lydia Chavez is sitting there.” They are thinking “The New York Times or the LA Times is sitting there.” That’s who they are playing to. Sometimes you get men who are just annoying. But mostly people just want
