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Member Profile
Carlos Vega Cumberland
By Alan La Rue

This month, we profile associate member Mr. Carlos Vega Cumberland, a British-Peruvian who returned to Peru in 1994 from Sudbury, Ontario after graduating from Laurentian University with a BA in Law & Justice. Since his return, he has moved from one interesting job to another, including an investment promoter at Prom Peru, a construction company owner, and most recently as an investment broker for a German bank. Two years ago, he married Catherine Rabines. They have a four-month old baby, Nicolas.

ACAP: Carlos, you are the product of an English mother and a Peruvian father. That's and interesting mix. Were there advantages and disadvantages growing up in a mixed household?

CARLOS: I guess that the advantage is that while my father always spoke to me in Spanish, my mother spoke to me in English, so I became so immersed in both languages that I am not consciously aware of whether I am thinking in Spanish or English at any given moment. That's a tremendous advantage. I am also very proud of both cultural heritages. I can't think of a single disadvantage. The mix has been always positive and helpful in many occasions.

ACAP: You told me earlier that you lived in Mexico City for 8 years. What were the most important differences with Lima?

CARLOS: mmmm& it seems to me that in Mexico everything is bigger, I mean sometimes more exaggerated than Lima, bigger cars, larger roads, more people, its really a difficult question for me since it has been so long since I lived there, and of course, too much smog!

ACAP: Similarities?

CARLOS: Similarities, well those I do remember and Mexicans enjoy big get togethers, good food, pretty much like in Peru. They are very friendly!

ACAP: What compelled you to travel to Canada to go to university?

CARLOS: Actually, my father sent me to boarding school at Pickering College in Newmarket, Ontario. After I finished high school, I decided to stay in Canada and go to Laurentian University.

ACAP: Did you enjoy living in Canada?

CARLOS: I truly enjoyed being in Canada, although it was sometimes lonesome because I had no relatives there, but I did make some good friends. Only complaint is that the bars closed at 1am, wayyyy too early for a university student!

ACAP: Is there one special memory about your time in Canada that you could share?

CARLOS: The memory that stands out for me is when I moved to Sudbury to begin university. When I arrived, I didn't know a soul, and after nearly three weeks of living in a hotel, I still hadn't found a place to live and worse, I had run out of money. My parents couldn't help me, because I didn't have a bank account, so they couldn't transfer me any cash. In my desperation, I packed my backpack and headed out to the university where I knocked on the door of the International Student Affairs Office. The secretary told me to come back later, since the person in charge wasn't around. At this point, I didn't even have bus fair, so I told her I'd wait around, if that was all right. Nearly four hours later, the person I needed to speak to finally arrived. As soon as he sat down, I blurted out that I had no money, no place to live and didn't know anybody who could help me in Sudbury, and wondered if he could do anything for me? You should have seen his face! But, calmly, he wrote a check for $1,500 and told me to open a bank account and pay him back as soon as I received my money transfer. Of course, the next thing I had to do was to borrow some change for the bus to get to the bank! It was another of life's great learning experiences.

ACAP: What brought you back home to Lima, after all of these years?

CARLOS: I actually came back to Lima to visit, but after a couple months, decided to stay permanently.

ACAP: Is there a future in Peru for an investment broker?

CARLOS: The problem that I have found is that Peruvians have had bad investment experiences, especially with mutual funds, the stock market and CLAE; so even though my product is highly regulated by the German government, it is very hard to sell. Another barrier is that the investment market in Peru is heavy on bonds, mutual funds and stocks, so there is not a lot of knowledge about options and hedging, which are important part of what my fund deals with. Sometimes I need to educate before selling.

ACAP: Why did you join the ACAP?

CARLOS: I first heard about ACAP at the Fourth of July event at the US Embassy two years ago. I met Linda at the ACAP stand and thought it would be a fun group to join, especially since I had spent so much time in Canada. It's been great.

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