 The inspiration of Buddy as we journey to take your health back. We are coming to you live from my home office in Makiki and downtown Honolulu from the studios of Think Tech Hawaii. Think Tech Hawaii features the hearts of about 30 very colorful and diverse show hosts. Today we'll be talking story with a very accomplished and successful philanthropist that I feel so honored to call a friend. His name is Andrew M. Kluger or may we call you Andy. I know him. Born in Mexico City, but let's fast forward getting his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco School of Law, his BA in International Affairs and Economics from UC Davis and postgraduate studies from Cornell University. Wow. Till today he utilizes all these degrees to accomplish so much for so many. Andy is the honorary council of the Republic of Mexico to the state of Hawaii. He's a board chair, excuse me, he's a board chair for the Mexican Museum San Francisco, which is an associate of the Smithsonian Institute and Andy is the president. What does he need a president of? He's the president of the Emergency Response International. It's an aeromedical company based in Guadalajara, Mexico. I met Andy when he was a trustee of St. Andrew's Priory here in Hawaii where my daughter Angela attended for 13 years. He is also the president of Book Bank USA and the list goes on and on and on. And this is only a 30 minute show so I had to just pull out a few of the highlights. So sorry, Andy. I mean, I think that's quite a bit already. So everyone, let's just welcome Andy, a komo mai, Andy. Aloha. Aloha. So Andy, I felt very compelled to having you on at this time of the year because September 15th through October 15th is National Hispanic Heritage Month. So I thought it was very fitting to have Mr. Mexico himself with us to share his heart for this beautiful country of Mexico and to shed some insights on Mexico. So Andy, please share with us. What does this month of celebration look like? It's basically, Wendy, to remind people and sometimes their children who have no connection with Mexico, what Mexico and also the other Hispanic countries have shared and contributed to the culture and life in the United States as well as in Latin America. Wow. I know it's a big celebration because when I was in Mexico, whatever there's a celebration or a feast, they go all out. The people come to the streets and they celebrate wholeheartedly and that's what culture is all about. And I pray that it never stops because all these cultural events, festivities are what make the country and then the generations to follow, they can understand and receive it and just create memories. And that's what all this is all about. Is that correct, Andy? You're right, Wendy. It's the same way with Hawaii, with Ohanas and Aloha, it's the same thing with Mexico, with Famillas and you know, Buenos Cosas, it's the same thing. Wow. I've known you for many years, Andy, and I'm always impressed with all your introductions of your friends to me and I'm always like, wow, who else, who don't you know, right? So here's a slide with a dear friend of yours as she was visiting Hawaii as you judged the Miss Latina pageant, directed by Nancy Ortiz. So please share with us a little bit about your dear friend, Guadalupe Rivera-Marin. Guadalupe is the daughter of Diego Rivera. She was a very, she's a very accomplished person. She was a former senator and legislature in Mexico, a former ambassador to UNESCO from the United States, originally from Hawaii in terms of where she started some of her diplomatic work, accomplished author. She's written a number of very important books as well as the children's book called Mi Papaya Yo, My Father and I, and I've known her a long time in my life. In fact, she watched me or babysat me and I was a little boy in Mexico also. So history goes way back. She's one of the loveliest people I know. And Wendy, you were wonderful to host her in Hawaii also. And she really, she adored you. She does. And you know, I have that picture on my phone and I'll tell you a little story. I was surfing about four weeks ago and I heard an accent. So I asked a young lady, she's new to Hawaii. She was only like 22 years old. And I asked her, hey, and I showed her my phone. I says, do you know who this woman is? And she goes, oh, yes, Diego Rivera, the daughter of Diego Rivera. I'm like, and she was a young girl. And I was so impressed that she recognized this woman. And then she knew the family name. That's how historical this family has, or how much history this woman has. And that's just the kind of friendships that you have built throughout your years and cherishing that they would come all the way here to be with you as you did an important event here in Hawaii. So even she loved being in Hawaii. Yeah, I'm so glad I just can't wait for her to return and just pray for her safe journey to them from Hawaii again. Let's keep hoping she stays healthy. Amen, amen. And even when the tall ship of Mexico voyage to Honolulu, you also voyage to Honolulu to make sure that you were there to receive the people of Mexico as they came to Hawaii. So that was an incredible evening to be a guest on that tall ship with you and all the dignitaries of Mexico there along your side. So tell us a little bit about the purpose of the voyaging tall ship that entered on Hawaii's harpers. Every year, Mexico, through its Naval Academy, sends one of the tall ships around the world to do ambesidorial calls. And one of the highlights for a lot of these young sailors who are training to be cadets and officers is stopping in Hawaii. So I arranged a couple of times with several presidents of Mexico to make sure the tall ship stopped. And they really loved it. And we arranged for kids to perform for them there and your death group also and your rowing team to be there also. So it's very important for goodness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was an incredible evening for my Dragon Boat Race team to be invited guest of yours on that ship. And it was a night to remember. And it was a dream come true for many of them because we only see these beautiful ships in movies or in the news or in print. But to actually see it and then be invited on. And you have no idea. I'm so proud. I'm so proud to just say that I was there and to meet all the magnificent people on that ship. I met the admirals of different countries when I go on the ship and in all the different dignitaries as well as the crew. And then as you mentioned, they performed their native dances of their villages for us in their native costumes, along with the best food ever, especially for us here in Hawaii to have such quality of great Mexican cuisine. Mahalo. Mahalo. My pleasure, really. I mean, the reality is that they only get to choose 30 ports worldwide. And Hawaii comes up in the first two or three that they want to see. Thank you. It was people like you, Wendy, that make really a really good welcome for them. Thank you. Give them a lot of aloha. Truly appreciate it. And keep them coming. We love hosting them as well. So, you know, as long as I've known you, Andy, you've always had a history with emergency response. I know you were very much involved with and ran the Hawaii Air Ambulance. And currently, you are the president of the Emergency Response International, an aerial medical company based in Guadalajara, Mexico. So tell us a little bit more about this professional part of you and about this venture and service. Well, I started running and owning Hawaii Air Ambulance in 1996 in Oahu. And we had 10 airfields we worked out of in Hawaii. And we provided and we still, the crews still provide assistance in Hawaii. Although I sold Hawaii Air Ambulance 15 years later and it continued in this now part of AMR. But I love the fact that first responders are very much involved in the importance of healthcare. I had the opportunity to come on board and take over Emergency Response International, which is an international aerial medical company. It's based in Guadalajara, Mexico, but it flies all over the world. And again, it does the same things that Hawaii Air Ambulance did. The problem that happens is that it's very difficult during this coronavirus incidences to be able to handle things. I sent you a photograph of some of the capsules where we have to put coronavirus patients. And we have to wear like spacesuits to protect the crews. It's a very difficult time now, it really is. And coronavirus is very rampant right now in Mexico as it's also trying to be controlled in the States and our beautiful Paradise Island of Hawaii. It's very hard, but that was something we never experienced. That was something we never experienced before. What you created here and when, Hawaii, the islands being 30, 40 minutes apart, we direly needed that service. And it has opened up a lot of eyes to a lot of my friends who worked with you. And the need on the out lane islands as well is so great. And by having that service, it really bridged the gap to getting the people of need, medical need, quickly to this island where we have more of the larger facilities to address their issues. So mahalo for getting all that started and mahalo for continuing that in the different parts of Mexico as well. So greatly needed that service. So thank you. Now we have to get back. We have to get back. We like to do. Hey, listen, I used you in many ways. When it was time for Christmas, I would be giving away chocolate covered fortune cookies to the crews, to the patients, all of that also. You're a great customer of ours, Andy. We appreciated you and all your kind gestures that you used us for to mahalo your people that you loved and service throughout the year. So we appreciate you so much. Thank you. We have a lot of bridges that we cross together. We have. We have so many. And it's not the end. It's still more because we're building in Mexico. I go to Mexico as often as I can. Love the people. I love the food and I love the culture. So I'm going back. In fact, one of my first trips once we open up we'll be going back to Mexico City and probably a week in Cancun and back to Mexico City as we build that country healthier. And that's part of our work. Yes. But you know, ever since I met you you always wanted to build engineer and design. That's your just, I don't know what you don't do but you just do want to do all these things. And I know that one of your passions and used to talk about this all the time it was to build a museum of Mexico art in San Francisco. So I know it's come a long way. You put a lot of hours in there and I don't want to say sweat because I don't know how much you sweat in San Francisco being so cool but just give us an update with this mega project of yours. The Mexican Museum Smithsonian began 40 years ago with an idea and the last five years where I've been chairman of the board we actually started construction. And now we have completed the building not the interior but the outside. So we spent, we raised $35.5 million just to do that without any debt. And now we're dealing with the interior. It's going to be a magnificent building. It's four stories and it's gonna have, it has 17,000 pieces of art in the collection and I'm very proud of it. I mean, it's something that I've grown to really be compassionate about. I may drive people crazy to get this done. No, that's what it takes. It takes a driver like you to get things done like this. Well, you never realize what it takes to build a building especially the opportunity to build a museum. Exactly. In life time, I think nobody really has that opportunity when it came to me. I said, okay, I'm jumping in feet first. Right, and not only did you create this opportunity and saw the project from groundbreaking to where we are now, but to get it, I mean, it's an associate of the Smithsonian Institute. That's amazing in itself. But then you also need to in some way work with someone working with the artist and the different museums to secure these pieces to come to your museum. Yeah. That in itself is a big... And we've had really good people give us collections like the Rockefeller family gave us a very large collection of over 700 pieces of Mexican art. And, you know, we've had some very unique people. We recently got a collection, Wendy, of 81 pieces of pre-Columbian prehistoric and pre-Hispanic pieces are like going into the Anthropological Museum in Mexico City. They're magnificent pieces. When I took the director of Bayez Artes, the finest Mexican museum to see it with me, his mouth fell open. He says, oh my God, this was a professor from UC Berkeley that spent 50 years of his life every year collecting. And he just was obsessed with collecting. And he collected in Europe, he collected in Latin America before it became illegal to take pieces out of countries. And it's an incredible collection we were given. So that's another example of art that we've gotten. So it's just one of these very good luck situations. Well, yeah, not just good luck. And yes, luck follows you, but the tenacity of your work ethics, your relationships that you build, so people trust you, you know, and entrust their collections to you and where you can put them so more and more people can appreciate it. So those are just qualities that make a leader. So great. And getting jobs like this is these mega jobs accomplished. So we will look forward to walking into the museum and just knowing from the very beginning, I saw a lot of your hard work going into it through your post and all your emails to all of us. And I'm just so proud to be a part of that journey. Although you did all the work and all the anxiety and driven evenings, thank you for allowing us to be a part of that. I was listening to Wendy, you're my ohana. No question. Thank you. And, you know, so now we'll get to you are honorary council general in Hawaii. How long have you served in that capacity and who? I presently have served 14 years in that position. I was appointed by one president. Yes. And then a second president and now the third president. So I guess they want me to continue a non-paying job. And, you know, luckily we have that heart. You have that big heart and, you know, you're looking at the longevity and the connections that it can build versus financial reward and gain. Of course, financial reward is good too, but there are things that we just must do that has to be done without that, but just with the biggest heart that you have to continue that, Andy. So thank you for freaking out and continuing to do what you do. And I know you have such a big heart for, you know, not just the people of Mexico, the Mexican people of Hawaii, the Mexican nationals or family members in Hawaii. So how many do you calculate? How many Mexican national or families are here? We've calculated between 27,000 and 30,000 Mexicans or Mexican national descendants. Wow. Mostly on three islands, Wendy. That's a big population. And I'm praying that we have enough facilities and, you know, services that can support them because they need to be represented well as well. And so I know that's something that's in your heart and you're working, you know, towards so that they too can have every opportunity like everyone else here in Hawaii as we welcome. I know they work very hard. They're in the agricultural fields. Yes. They work in the service industry in the hotels and restaurants and in construction. Those are the three primary fields that the Mexican American, Mexican nationals working in Hawaii. Wow. Yeah. And I know and now that I'm more in tuned, I'm listening more and more. And as soon as I hear a slight, a little accent, I'm asking, hey, where are you from? And they're like, oh, I'm from Mexico. I'm like, Mexico, what part? And I'm like, just like Ohana already. So I wanting them to feel that love here with us just immediately and you just be so proud to be a Mexican nationalist here in our beautiful islands. And I know that when I go to Mexico, I feel the same love and aloha. So I want to make sure that they have that welcome here as well. So that's very kind of you. Yeah. So, you know, we know Mexico like Hawaii is battling the coronavirus. How is the pandemic situation there? It's very bad. One of the reasons is that the government doesn't really feel the need to test. So we have no records really of how many are really sick. We know there's a lot of people dying. The problem is, is that you also have to have treatment. So they're waiting for vaccines. The problem is that Mexicans by habit, it's a culture of like real lahana, hugging, kissing, getting together. So they don't understand social distancing and masks, they don't understand it. So it's really an education problem. It's much worse than we know. And all we can do is battle it every day, hoping that people will understand that it's serious. I mean, I have people I know personally that have been affected by it. Some have passed away and some of them are really seriously ill. But it's a very difficult problem. You're like it is in the States. Right, right. And you know, like you mentioned too, we may be here of the numbers, but those are really, I'm sure those are not even, a great percentage of those that have or experience in Corona are not even being able to get to the facility and to report it or to get the help because a lot of them are in rural areas that can't and won't go to get the service. You're absolutely correct. The Rural Health Organization has stated that Mexico probably has 10 times greater the numbers than they're reporting. And partly for that, the country has a very large population, and over a very large area, a lot of the population lives in rural areas and there is no clinics to take care of them. And like a lot of families here in Hawaii where we have clusters in homes, multiple generations in homes. I know that in Mexico, they have the same lifestyle as we do here in the islands where they do cluster in a home and multiple of generations. So that doesn't happen either. But that also affects the Mexicans living in Hawaii. They're affected by the same multiple generation housing. Right, right, right. Wow. So serious. It's very serious and it's sad. And I knew that that's what you were gonna tell me. And I know the numbers are much greater than we hear in the news or anywhere printed, but we just have to continue to pray for the cure and the wellness of the people, of all people of the world. Yeah, it's true. Well, let's speak a little bit about health-related problems in Mexico and in the community of Hawaii as well. So can you share a little bit about health-related problems? Mexico has the highest rate of adolescent diabetes in the world. They also have a very high rate of adult diabetes, type two. As in Hawaii, the Mexican population also has a high rate of type two diabetes. That comes as a result of modern diets as compared to what they used to eat, beans, rice, tortillas and stuff. Now it's hamburgers, it's McDonald's, it's a lot of Coca-Cola. Mexico's rate of consumption of Coca-Cola is the highest per capita in the world. And in fact, one of the past presidents of Mexico, Vicente Fox, was the president of Coca-Cola of Mexico. So Coke, you can't get clean water in a village where you go or it's a small town, but you can always buy Coke. And that's one of the problems is the consumption is enormous. As a direct result of that, you also have dental health issues because they're not watching for their teeth and cavities or rampants. So that's the principally highest disease right now in Mexico. The second highest disease in Mexico is COPD, breathing in the lungs because they have a tremendously high incidence of smokers. Now, Hawaii doesn't have as bad with the Mexican community, but it's still in the older population. It's still tough, you know? And then the third are like two competing diseases. One is orthopedic problems and also cardiac hypertension. So it's one of these things that it's very typical of the diseases, Wendy, of what exists in the modern world, but diabetes is close to your heart. It's a really tough disease. It's rampant for Mexican kids to have the highest rate of adolescent diabetes in the world. We're not talking about country, in the world is very serious. That's not good. That breaks my heart, Andy. As you know, I sit on the board of directors for American Diabetes here in Hawaii for the last 10 years. And when the beginning, when I took the position of the board, we registered about 154,000 diabetics here and our population is about 1.4 million people. And now 10 years later, we register about over 600,000 diabetics here in our islands and about 1.4 million people. So we're almost 50% of our population is diabetic. And so that breaks my heart. And we fight tirelessly and we put out events and trainings and talks to encourage people to make better lifestyle decisions with the processed food and then with the sugary drinks. And I always just said as simple as us stop drinking sugary drinks, Coca-Cola by name, but all sugary drinks, you know, I in my heart truly believe that diabetes will drop about 50%. And then we work on the other issues, but in your country, in Mexico, I understand. I mean, no different than when we go to other countries where water is an issue. So water is more expensive or not readily available. But yeah, you can get a bottle of Coke or any other pop and it'd be more palatable and pleasurable at that moment, you know, in the deep, in the moment of that heat, you just want to quench your thirst and that bottle of water is not readily available. So yes, we always want to reach for that bottle. I mean, they even talked, Wendy, of raising taxes on sugary drinks. Nobody cared. They'd be willing to pay the taxes because they basically it's part of their natural consumption of diet now. Right, right. Have sugary drinks. Right. And we've done studies and we saw the amount of pop and processed food that a lot of these countries are consuming in the United States as well and Hawaii as well. And that's really sad. And my goal, my goal right now as I retired from my chocolate factory is to help people to take their health back. And like what we're doing right now, Andy, making them aware of just making a simple lifestyle change, you know, when we're in Mexico or when I'm in China or in Hong Kong where water is not the best, we boil the water. You know, you boil and you boil. I mean, that's one mental way of saying the water is better to drink, but we filter and we boil and we boil and we bottle it and then we drink that when we cook or when we're at home. So we're trying to do those little lifestyle changes to accommodate the issues of the community. And so... Again, Wendy, it's an education problem because with the sugary drinks, it's the instant gratification. You grab it, you drink it, you know, it's done. And then it also gives you with all that sugar and a little bit of caffeine in there, it gives you up and you're like, whoa. So yeah, these are legal sources of illegal substances that we can consume. And so people are excited about that. They know that it's also, it's equivalent to Coke. You know, some of these sugary drinks, sugar is equivalent to cocaine. And so people are thinking, wow, I can buy it, it's free. And I get the buzz off of it. So why not? And people just don't think most of the time, Andy. And so that's the sad part about all of this is just people are not thinking, but if they open up their hearts and their minds and if they're thinking about the generations to come, that's what our goal is. And I'm sure that's what you share and when you're out there, you're preaching the same thing. You know, we're taking all you sick bodies from one location to a hospital. How about we develop some source of educational programs to educate the rural areas to help them? You're right. You're absolutely correct, Wendy. We're healthier and we wouldn't be as sick, but it just takes more plans like this. And I'm willing to do it. And I've done it in many small ways. No, you've done great. Your leadership has been terrific. Yeah, so. In terms of what you've done. And that's what we need to do. Whether it's your roof gardens, whether it's diabetes, education, all that, your leadership is so important. Yeah, I'm just following what you do, Andy, and you're doing it on a large scale. And I'm just there to just help on the lower levels to continue what message that you bring out. You do it great. Now you do it great. This is a mutual admiration society. I got a good mentor. So I'm excited about that. So I know, Andy, I don't know if you want to discuss this, but I know at one time you also, you had a bout with equal eye. Do you remember? Yes. I got it from a salad. I know in California, and when you did get it and then you were, it really affected you and. Oh, I was in the hospital, yeah. You were fighting for your life, as I remember. You got good memory, yeah, yeah, you got good memory. And you recovered and everything is back to normal? Yep, well, kind of, I mean, I'm still breathing. Oh yeah, the problem is you're working harder now because you want to just keep busy, right? Yeah, yeah. Wow, Andy, that's amazing. Yeah, it really is great talking to you, honestly, Wendy. Yeah, I enjoy it so much. I just get so much. And even just watching your posts and watching your drive in every project that you do, you start and then you finish, it's amazing. And I want to also end with, I remember from the very beginning, you used to do doctors without borders and you would spend your days, that holiday when you would take off from work, your office job and business, and you would go to different countries. And mostly Central America, yeah. I did it with three other guys who were surgeons, two from Paris and then one from the States and over South Africa, depending which one. And my job was to be the mule. I drove the trucks, you know, all this stuff. But we did a lot of surgeries on kids and stuff. It was giving back, it's important. That's amazing. You got good memory, Wendy, you know. I remember everything about you, Andy, because it's so amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right now, we have to say aloha to Andy. Aloha. Continue to do the great work that you've been doing and I know the best is yet to come because you're never gonna stop. But you keep it up too. Mahalo for everything, really. And aloha to everybody who's watching the show. All right, and we'll come visit you at your Mexican museum soon. Aloha, Andy. Aloha. Bye.