isted they adhere to. Ilich at sixteen (Yallop)As Ilich grew taller and heavier his friends teased him calling him "El Gordo" (Fatso). He hated the name and would scream in anger and counter their taunts by telling them how one day they and the rest of the world would hear of him. Regardless of the name-calling, Ilich became a natural leader in a group comprising his brothers and their friends. In 1958, because of her husband's blatant womanizing, Elba took her sons and left the family house, traveling to Jamaica then Mexico and back to Jamaica again before returning to Caracas in 1961. The years of traveling were disruptive for the boys and particularly affected Ilich. His schoolwork suffered but he discovered that he had a flair for languages and reveled in the different cultures he encountered. Elba's period of absence from the family home had done nothing to correct the instability in her marriage, to the point where Jos began bringing his mistresses home. The couple was divorced two years later. Ilich was only thirteen when his parents split but, by his own admission, was relieved that the bitterness in his family was finally over.After the divorce, Ilich was sent to the Fermin Toro Lyce School in Caracas. The school, which had been chosen by his father, was known for it's radical left-wing teachings with many of the students becoming involved in street marches to protest over the liberal government's ban of the Communist Party. In January 1964, Ilich joined the Venezuelan Communist Youth and became embroiled in their revolutionary activities, which included violent demonstrations against the ruling government. Ilich would later brag of his exploits and organizational abilities during his time at the school but Pedro Ortega Diaz, the president of the Venezuelan Communist Party at that time, later told authorities that Ilich had not made any memorable contribution to the cause.Regardless of his lackluster involvement with...
