Henrique is Venezuelan born.  His Canaima passion started when he met Alejandro Laime during his honeymoon in Canaima National Park in 1991. They had lunch and talked like old friends. Laime  told Henrique  his  fascinating, sometimes crazy, ideas about Canaima; some of them were captured by Valdis Abols’ 2011 film Aleksandrs Laime -Diamonds of Angel Falls. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2145545/

Henrique’s  knowledge of archeoastronomy was zero at that moment. That conversation with Laime was the driver of things that happened later in his  life. He took archeoastronomy courses at Parque Del Este Planetarium, searched for pre-Columbian observatories in the Venezuelan Andes,  and studied the hypothesis of a Milky way Amerindian religion – the  concept of pre-Columbian advanced cultures and the more well-known  Mayan and Inca cultures.

He does  not consider himself a scholar;  he is a curious person that questions many things. In 2023, he  researched and produced a homemade video titled  La Verdadera Historia del Salto Angel/The True Story of Angel Falls.    

In a robust and unquestionable manner, he presents research that verifies that Jimmie Angel was the first person to see the waterfall we know as Angel Falls.

By profession, Henrique is a  Mechanical Engineer, specifically an expert in frozen food and HVAC [Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning].   His studies are with the Advanced Management Program of the Civil Association Institute of Higher Administration Studies [PAG IESA] where he earned an Executive Masters of Administration; a  Bachelor Degree  in Engineering from the University Simon Bolívar; and a Food Processing Diploma from the University of Ballarat, Australia [in 2013, the name changed to Federation University Australia].

He is a licensed general and mechanical contractor,  and  an accredited USGBC [U. S. Green Building Council]  and LEED [Leadership Energy and Environmental Design] professional.

Henrique’s  father was an example of conservationism and that was part of his education.  His father  was Ec. Luis Benedetti, co-founder with Ing. Rafael Garcia of El Ávila National Park in Caracas.  The park is also known as Waraira Repano National Park, the Indigenous name for the area.

His father’s message drove him to adventure and the need to deeply know his  country and its people. He has been to La Gran Sabana thirteen [13]  times, and has climbed Roraima,  Kukenán, Pico Humboldt,  and Pico Bolívar. In addition, he has done hundreds of mountain bicycle trips on  flat lands, in the Andes mountains,  competed as a sailor, endurance rider, and water-skier.
Henrique is passionate about preserving Venezuela’s land and culture.  He lives with his family in Doral, Florida.  He was elected to the JAHP Board of Directors in 2024.