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A short account of the life (and unlife) of Mr. de Olivera

Gonzalo Jose de Olivera Guzman, or just Gonzalo de Olivera, has had a particularly interesting, if a bit convoluted, life (and unlife) so far. However, very few people who have met him know the precise details of it. Rumours about his life before Embrace differ greatly, ranging from him having actually spent most of his childhood and teenage years in Mexico (supposedly being involved in somewhat murky "activities") and only recently acquiring US citizenship, to stories about him being born somewhere in the southwest of the US, the son of mexican inmigrants. The thruth, however, lies somewhere inbetween.

* * * * *

Gonzalo was indeed born in US soil back in 1975, more precisely in Los Angeles, the son of José de Olivera and Rosa Guzmán, two illegal inmigrants who had crossed the border some years before. Since he was a kid, he proved to be a particularly smart and charismatic person, with a natural ability to think on his feet and charm those around him. His childhood years were spent between his deeply religious and conservative family and the convoluted streets of LA. It was there that Gonzalo found what would eventually change his life: basketball. Over time, he'd prove himself to be a pretty good player with the skills of a squad leader, good enough to make it into his high school team and attract the atention from scouts.

* * * * *

There was a darker side to him growing up in LA, however, and that was his involvement in the chaotic and violent world of gangs. As the time of his graduation approached, he became more and more involved into it, much to the despair of his parents. The only reason he hadn't dropped out of school at that point was his desire to keep playing for it's team. It was then that luck (or destiny) intervened. For some time now, Gonzalo's parents had been looking for help in taking his son out of the streets, and they had found it in Father Rodriguez, a catholic priest commited to fighting gang violence in the neighborhood. Rodriguez had seen much potential in Gonzalo, and was determined to find a way of saving him from himself before it was too late. With that purpose in mind, he pulled some strings to get a scout from St. Mary's University to travel to LA and watch one of his games. The scout was so impressed he offered Gonzalo a full scholarship (as well as some help in solving once and for all his "citizenship" issue..) in order to get him into the squad. The sudden death of one of his closest friends in a clash with a rival gang finally made up his mind. He didn't think it twice: a few months later he was packing and moving to San Antonio, thereby fulfilling Rodriguez's goal of getting him away from the streets of LA and it's violence, much to the joy of his parents.

* * * * *

At University, de Olivera would prove to others and especially to himself than there was more to him than a wannabe thug. Besides being a good and reliable (though not exceptional) player for St. Mary's Rattlers, he soon showed a natural talent to recognize business opportunities and to react quickly to a shifting enviroment, as well as a magnetic personality capable of swaying people's opinion in a heartbeat. Pretty soon he decided to focus his studies in business, finance, and what he perceived (quite correctly) to be the next "big thing": internet services. It was around this time when, unknowingly to him, he began to attract the attention of the man who'd become, in time, Gonzalo's sire: a Carthian Mekhet by the name of George.

* * * * *

After studying Gonzalo for some time, George approached him, interested in gaining his services for several purposes. First, the Shadow wanted Gonzalo to teach him all he knew about the new business oportunities arising around the Internet boom, and if he became interested enough, to invest in whichever options Gonzalo recommended. Second (but possibly more important to George), he was looking to test the mortal's skills, to see if he could make a useful ghoul, or perhaps even a potential candidate for Embrace.

Over the next few years, Gonzalo would meet these expectations tenfold. Shortly after finishing his studies, he would go on to become a full-time private consultant in an investment firm of San Antonio, especialized in the new dotcom companies which where growing like mushroms in the late '90s. In the process, he would make lots of money to himself, but also to George. The Mekhet would be finally convinced to reveal his vampiric nature to Gonzalo after he was able to perceive the upcoming bubble burst and quietly get rid of all the soon-to-be toxic assets, thus preserving his newly made fortune, as well as George's. Shortly after that, the Shadow revealed himself as Kindred and turned Gonzalo into his ghoul, acting as his personal financial advisor and, in case of emergency, potential bodyguard. After a few more years of service, George embraced Gonzalo in 2005.

* * * * *

His first years as Kindred would prove to be just as interesting and shifting as his mortal life. He would quickly clash, quietly and politely, with the Lancea Sanctum over his personal view of religion's role in kindred's unlife. Having been a faithful, if somewhat erratic, catholic, Gonzalo would rapidly grow interested in the teachings of Longinus' followers. However, his time in business school and as a private consultant had taught him than religion was better left as a personal matter, convincing him of the need to separate State and Church affairs. Religion, he believed, had the capability of rapidly escalating conflicts, which in turn reduced profits and harmed society as a whole. In a nutshell, it had a tendency to be bad for business. This would cause him some trouble in the Spear-dominated city of San Antonio. Despite this, he would become a respectable member of kindred society, gaining a reputation as a reliable and pragmatic individual with a knack for making money and pulling the strings at the local bureaucracy and research community, eventually becoming a full member of the Carthian Movement, which seemed to him the most progressive covenant, capable of keeping up with the rapidly chaging kine society.

As 2012 approached, growing rumours of a possible conflict between The Heartland and the Tomesha Valley holds over the city of San Antonio decided him to try his luck in a more "friendly" enviroment. However, instead of heading to Albuquerque, as most "diehard" Carthians would've done, he settled for Las Vegas. The many business oportunities in the city, as well as it's condition as one of the most socially "libertarian" (others would say decadent) cities in the country, and Carthian-ruled to booth, finally decided him to pack up and leave San Antonio. How it will all turn out remains to be seen.

Things he owns