Furor follows L.A. Phil's Gustavo Dudamel

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Wherever he goes, Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel is hailed as a symbol of El Sistema, Venezuela's model music education program. But Tuesday Dudamel arrived in L.A. as the subject of criticism for not speaking out against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's policies.

Just off the plane from Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, and sitting in his office at Walt Disney Concert Hall with an espresso and poring over a Wagner opera score, Dudamel gave his first interview about his situation at home.

Anti-government demonstrations on Feb. 12 erupted into violence and three people were killed in Caracas while Dudamel was reported to have been celebrating National Youth Day at a presidential parade with Maduro in Maracay, about 80 miles from the Venezuelan capital.

"That's crazy," Dudamel said, disputing news report that he was with the president or in Maracay.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-dudamel-venezuela-20140219,0,6887027.story

[Judi Lynn]

1. Opposition people dislike the idea of helping show the world

that the children of poor people are in every way as intelligent, as creative, as sensitive as any pampered brat who was ever sent to private music teachers. They would be happy to see all the poor members removed from the orchestra, and replaced from the creepy little privileged brats with a sense of entitlement and a trained repulsion toward the poor, their full equals intellectually, just the same, without the insulation and the careful guidance and pampering.

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2. People here get upset if you won't take sides too.

It's one of the best ways to see which side they are on, see what they get upset about.

The flame wars are more organized here than they once were, too, but no more effective.