Reporters are invited to cover the event, although it is not open to the public.


                                  MEDIA ADVISORY


             VENEZUELAN AMBASSADOR TO SPEAK AT CASA BOLIVAR DEDICATION

                                  

        The Venezuelan ambassador to the United States, Pedro Luis Echevarria, 
will be on hand Friday, Nov. 7, at 5:30 p.m. for the dedication of the 
University of Virginia's new Spanish language-and-culture dormitory, Casa 
Bolivar.

        The ambassador will unveil a plaque that commemorates the enrollment 
of Simon Bolivar's nephew, Fernando Bolivar, at U.Va. in 1827 because of both 
Bolivars' admiration for Thomas Jefferson.  Born in 1810 in Caracas, 
Venezuela, Fernando Bolivar came to the United States in 1822, while his 
famous uncle was fighting to free South America from Spanish control.

         Simon Bolivar, "the Liberator," defeated the Spanish in 1819, 
helping much of South America -- including the countries of Ecuador, Peru, 
Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia -- secure independence from Spain.

        Portraits of Fernando and Simon Bolivar, gifts to the University from 
the Venezuelan government in the 1940s, hang in Casa Bolivar.

        Casa Bolivar is located at 1408 Jefferson Park Ave., next to the 
French House.


                                     ###

                                                           November 4, 1997


      For more information, call Charlotte Crystal at (804) 924-6858.   
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