Parks And Recreation’s Venezuela Episode Is Full Of Spice, Love For Chavez

A tipster tipped us off (as they do) to this episode of Parks and Recreation. It featured a visit from the parks and recreation members of Pawnee, Indiana’s sister city - lovely and majestic “Baracua,” Venezuela. Let’s take a look at how this show handled itself in the face of presenting the pleasant-smelling vibrant spiciness embodied by Venezuelan officials. 

Lesley (Amy Poehler) was nervous and excited to welcome the Vaynayzooaylans and fussed over what to wear in her photo op with them. Tom (Aziz Ansari) very appropriately suggested “gold, sequined sweatpants.”

Ever the professional, Lesley has a few words of wisdom to impart: “Remember, everyone: Venezuela is a poor country. These men are not used to the wealth and flash we have here in Central Indiana.”

Intern April (pictured above) took this opportunity to explain why it is that she is like a sparkly piñata full of dreams and snap bracelets:  ”My mom’s Puerto Rican. That’s why I’m so lively and colorful.”

The main Venezuelan official was played by the lovely and talented Fred Armisen, who is himself Venezuelan on his mother’s side. A running gag throughout the episode was Armisen’s and his fellow officials’ assumption that Tom was a servant, something that initially angered Tom until he realized that they are quite good tippers. 

A misunderstanding about a party resulted in the revelation that the Venezuelans preferred women who happen to be “large and black.” This pleased the very lovely Donna greatly, but didn’t surprise her one bit:

“I’m not surprised at all. I’ve been to South America. I take very well there.”

Initial awkwardness out the way, the whole gang was free to schmooze and socialize. Lesley took this opportunity to learn about another culture: “There’s so much to learn from each other. What kind of birds do you guys eat?”

At the party, the officials gifted Pawnee’s Parks and Recreation department with a gold-plated gun used by Hugo Chavez during the 1992  revolution. The Venezuelans, in turn, received a giant jug of corn syrup and a large package of rubber nipples, packaged under the delightful slogan “tastes like the real thing.”

The people of Pawnee were promptly thanked for their ” bottle of sap, bag of garbage.”

Lesley’s boss, Ron, articulated a conundrum we often find ourselves facing. We, too, find Chavez’s politics despicable, yes. But on the other hand… that is a sweet-ass gun. Life is complex.

Fazed by the officials’ rudeness, Lesley was at a loss for how to impress them. “You said they didn’t know what toilet paper is,” Tom reminded her, helpfully.

Determined to change the Venezuelans’ minds about Pawnee, Lesley drove them off to visit a park. On the way, Lesley decided to partake in some friendly small talk:

Q: “Do you have TBS in Venezuela?”

A: “I have everything in Venezuela.”

Ok then! 

Vivacious Intern April, meanwhile, had caught the eye of the Venezuelan intern, who professed his love for her in a way we’ve personally found to be the norm among Latinos. When he learned that April had a “sort of” boyfriend, Hot Latino Actor Who Should Get Hired More Often said:

Upon taking the Venezuelans out to view Pawnee’s largest park, Lesley was informed that her town’s green spaces were a disgrace and an embarrassment, as Venezuela’s parks are paid for through sales of the country’s oil, and thus their Parks and Recreation Dept. is never exactly hurting for money. 

In fact, Lady GaGa had recently performed at one of their park’s wondrous amphitheaters.

“But,” offered Lesley, “We have something more beautiful than Lady GaGa: Democracy.”

Down but not out, Lesley then decided to let the Venezuelans see what a Pawnee Parks and Recreation Dept. meeting was like. The men were horrified at the fact that the meeting was held in a school classroom. When Lesley meekly informed them that they rotate locations, Armisen’s character replied, “We usually rotate as well - between different fortresses and citadels and palaces.”

The men were also taken aback by the yelling among community members during the meeting, explaining that things were done a little differently in their neck of the woods. In Venezuela, they explained, if you shout at a town hall meeting, you to jail. Likewise for undercooking fish, overcooking chicken, or making an appointment at the dentist and then failing to show up:  ”We have the best patients in the world. Because of jail.”

The following exchange between the Venezuelans and Americans succinctly demonstrated the difference between Latinos and non-Latinos, in our humble opion:

“This meeting of ugly people yelling? It is like torture.”

“That’s… one perspective.”

Lesley’s polite distance soon fell away, however, and she finally let the Venezuelans know exactly how upset she was at their constant rudeness: 

“Tell that to the Golden Gate Bridge! Or American Idol. Or the moon. Oh, that’s right. You can’t, because you’ve never been there.”

Armisen’s character was hurt: “It’s not personal. You are weak and your city is disgusting.”

Things reached a boiling point when Lesley accused the men of “wanting to marry Chavez.” 

The next day, everyone decided to come together and apologize. The Venezuelans explained that they had perhaps acted out because they were a bit jealous that officials from Caracas were visiting their sister city, Miami, and had been sending “QuickTime movies” of themselves partying with Dwayne Wade:

“So much culture and history. And the cars! People really take care of their cars.”

Wow. That does sound like fun! In fact, it sounds like an awesome location for a focus group meeting. 

The Venezuelans then presented Lesley with a check for $35,000 - exactly the amount she needed to turn a nearby dirt pit into a public pool for the city. Lesley wasn’t too sure about accepting the money, especially after she was asked to go on camera and show the check. When asked to yell “Viva Chavez!” into the camera, Lesley initially balked:

“I don’t wanna… viva that guy.”

…then agreed to do so, out of politeness. She asked Intern April what the men were discussing in Spanish, only to discover that they had been sent by Chavez’s “Passion Project” - the Committee to Humiliate and Shame America. We found that to be a realistic touch.

All in all? We loved this episode. We thought it did an excellent job at portraying, in a highly absurd fashion, the real issues at play in interactions between Latinos and non-Latinos, and acclimated Latinos versus Latin Americans. It touched on body image, racial fetishization, machismo, the stereotype of the Latino Lover, treatment of “others,” class differences without being preachy or overtly offensive. 

It’s really rare to see this done on TV in a way that is actually funny and that makes attitudes - not individuals - the punchline. But that’s just our take. What’d everyone else think?