Fausta Wertz was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She's a graduate of the University of Georgia and has an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She blogs at Fausta's Blog on American and Latin American politics, news, current events and culture. Fausta podcasts daily at 11AM Eastern at Fausta's 15 Minutes on Latin America. She also writes on Latin America at Real Clear World, and is a Forbes business and finance network blogger. Fausta has been a panellist at BlogHer 08, BlogHer09, BBC BlogWorld, PajamasTV, the Fox News Strategy Room, and CNN Live's Bloggers Bunch.
Why do you blog? > I blog because Latin American politics directly affect a lot of American lives, not only on foreign policy but also on immigration, drugs, terrorism, and commerce, and very few American blogs touch on stories from the entire region. Also, blogging has become not only an interest, but a passion.
What has been your best blogging experience? > Being a panellist at BlogHer08 in San Francisco, and BlogHer09 in Chicago, plus meeting hundreds of interesting people involved in the news that I post about at my blog, and the many bloggers that I've had the privilege of meeting in person, several of whom have become friends.
What has been your worst blogging experience? > No bad experiences so far, but it's disappointing when you spend several days researching a news story affecting the region and no one pays attention to that post by even leaving a comment.
What would be your main blogging advice to a novice blogger? > Write about your passions and your interests, and learn while you blog.
What are your favourite blogs? > Hot Air, Power Line, and Venezuela News and Views.
Who are your intellectual heroes? > Benjamin Franklin, Friedrich von Hayek, Milton Friedman.
What are you reading at the moment? > A Very Brief History of Eternity by Carlos Eire. I had the pleasure of meeting him through my blog - he won the National Book Award for his wonderful memoir, Waiting for Snow in Havana.
What is the best novel you've ever read? > A tie: The Last Chronicle of Barset, by Anthony Trollope. I also enjoyed the entire Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy.
What is your favourite poem? > 'Me gustas cuando callas' by Pablo Neruda. Original here. Translation here.
What is your favourite movie? > Another tie: Casablanca and The Big Lebowski.
Who is your favourite composer? > Johann Sebastian Bach.
Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? > Abortion.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to disseminate? > The moral benefits of capitalism.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? > Communism in all its incarnations.
Can you name a work of non-fiction which has had a major and lasting influence on how you think about the world? > Free to Choose by Milton Friedman. A simple, clear book on the benefits of capitalism and individual responsibility.
Who are your political heroes? > Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee.
What is your favourite piece of political wisdom? > Politics and wisdom... Isn't that an oxymoron, Norm?
What would you do with the UN? > Impound the building in New York City, evict them, and have them convene in Mogadishu.
What do you consider to be the main threat to the future peace and security of the world? > Terrorism in general, and Islamist fanaticism in particular.
Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come? > Of course it has not passed its best point. There is much better to come since the human spirit is indomitable.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life? > Life is a gift. Be thankful for it.
Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own? > No.
What is your favourite proverb? > 'Be kind to me, oh Lord, and I shall live,' which is a paraphrase of Psalm 119:17.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? > Rosalind Russell, when she was in her forties.
What would your ideal holiday be? > Tango in Buenos Aires.
What do you like doing in your spare time? > Learning tango.
If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to? > I actually gave this some thought when I was a kid, since I have such an unusual name; I like the name Emma.
What talent would you most like to have? > To be able to sing.
How, if at all, would you change your life were you suddenly to win or inherit an enormously large sum of money? > Certainly I would spend more time at tango.
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner who would they be? > Epictetus, Jeane Kirkpatrick and Winston Churchill, none of whom were vegetarians.
What animal would you most like to be? > One of the Queen Mum's corgis. They had it made!
[The normblog profile is a weekly Friday morning feature. A list of all the profiles to date, and the links to them, can be found here.]