south america

Thunder in Guyana Strikes Global Voices

Power Couple: Janet Rosenberg and Dashing Cheddi Jagan

How did a 77-year-old Jewish woman from Chicago become the president of a South American country?

In Thunder in Guyana, airing this Sunday on Global Voices on PBS WORLD, filmmaker Suzanne Wasserman offers a compelling explanation.

Wasserman grew up fascinated by her glamorous cousin Janet, a Chicago native, who at 23 fell in love with a handsome dental student from a country no one in her family had even heard of. Together, the political power couple became known as the founders of modern Guyana, and in 1997, Janet Rosenberg became the first American-born woman to lead a nation.

Throughout the film, Wasserman uses interviews, family photos and archival footage to tell the story of her remarkable cousin: a tale of life-long love, political intrigue, and struggles to bring progressive policies to an adopted country.