Letenka do neznáma aneb Rozhovory přes oceán – Kroc Vladimír, Krausová Eliška (2021)

The fascinating story of Eliška Krausová-Chaves, sister of writer Ivan Kraus, political scientist Michael Kraus, and moderator Jan Kraus, who in the spring of 1968 set off to Colombia to improve her Spanish, as if she were going to Slapy! "I didn't know anything in advance; it seemed like an interesting, adventurous journey into the unknown. Soon I understood that America is a different perspective on the world, a different view of life, somewhat like a different century," she recounts in an interview with Czech Radio moderator Vladimír Kroce. When the occupation of Czechoslovakia occurred on August 21, she decided to stay in Colombia. Thanks to her strong genes and the love of a fateful man, she managed to navigate various challenges and rise high on the social ladder. Her captivating life features well-known actors, poets, artists, scholars, wealthy individuals, adventurers, war heroes, dictators, and presidents. We get to know Eliška not only as a professor of French at the university in Bogotá but also as a telephone operator, wig seller, bookstore manager, and occasional television actress. At the same time, she gives us insight into the lives of Colombians and the history of the extraordinary Kraus family, popularized especially by her eldest brother, writer Ivan Kraus, and the youngest...