Specifically: “vote for me and I will pose nude for the next issue of Soho.”1
Said promise was made by María Fernanda Valencia, who is a candidate for the Chamber of Representatives for the district representing Bogotá on the La U list.
She is a lawyer with a masters in political science and is a former viceminister of tourism and newscaster (according to her page at the La U web site).
I noted the story because I saw a photo in El Tiempo of Gabriel García Márquez and his wife both wearing t-shirs in support of Valencia (see below). Gabo’s shirt is of Valencia’s SoHo cover. She made the promise in an interview with the magazine. At first I was confused as he doesn’t seem the La U type.
The interview can be read, for those dying to become versed in Colombian politics no doubt, at Valencia’s web site.
There is little doubt that this is a way to garner attention. Beyond that, one wonders what the overall plan is, as clearly she is combining the campaign with a general PR/self promotion process that goes beyond the campaigning as she has a YouTube video that starts out like a documentary about registering one’s candidacy to the (not nude) photo shoot and interview with SoHo. Given that even candidates don’t have cameras following them all the time, it feels like some greater attempt at personal PR. Which, I would note, appears to be working.
- SoHo is a Colombian magazine along the lines of Maxim, or so the web site would lead one to think. Indeed, perhaps more than Maxim. NSWF for sure. [↩]
March 24th, 2010 at 9:57 am
[...] Let me start with a little light-hearted follow-up to a post from before the elections, wherein a candidate for La U made certain promises if she were to win a seat in the Chamber of Representatives representing Bogotá (A Campaign Promise I Haven’t Heard Before). [...]