Venezuela’s national instrument, the cuatro, is currently on display at the House of Venezuelan History (Casa de Estudio de la Historia de Venezuela). This cultural institution is a library and exhibition center set in a beautiful old colonial mansion in downtown Caracas. It is an appropriate place to feature the cuatro, which also has historical significance in Venezuela.
The four-stringed cuatro is the modern version of a renaissance-era instrument popular in Portugal and Spain. It was brought to the Caribbean in the colonial period, and became an important ingredient in folkloric music in Venezuela. In the countryside, the cuatro holds the melody in llanera ballads, which recount epic stories.
According to a description of the musical group Cuatro Trio, “the sound of the cuatro is as light and airy as the diminutive instrument itself, played with quick strumming, lightweight bursts of sound, and shifting intervals, emphasizing both rhythm and bright harmonies characteristic of Venezuelan folk music.”
Want to hear it for yourself? Check out Cheo Hurtado, one of Venezuela’s most famous cuatro players, and download songs by his band, Ensamble Gurrufío.
Consumers in the U.S. will soon be able to buy specialty coffee from Venezuela in Citgo gas stations. Citgo is a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Pdvsa, and its charitable donations of heating oil in the U.S. are well known. Now, Citgo is helping bring small producers in Venezuela to the global stage by carrying Café Venezuela, a brand of coffee that comes from farming cooperatives under the Ministry of Agriculture.
Café Venezuela was founded to assist coffee growers in rural Venezuela by packaging their products and delivering them to consumers abroad. It is comprised of small and medium coffee producers, mostly on family farms and in communities that have historically suffered from economic marginalization.
The company is aimed at helping Venezuelan farmers to prosper, but its goals also include maintaining traditional lifeways in the countryside, fostering environmental sustainability, and achieving food security. Behind these goals is a simple commercial relationship that also has cultural significance; the slogan of Café Venezuela appropriately reads: “from the grower to your cup.”
Five years have passed since Venezuela began its “social missions,” state-funded social programs across diverse areas of human development such as education, medicine, nutrition, and culture.
They began in 2003, when the government sought to revolutionize the country’s old social service institutions and reach out to communities all over the country in an aggressive program to redistribute wealth. For too long, citizens had failed to benefit from oil profits.
Venezuela’s social missions are still new, but research on their impact indicates that they contributed to a 9.9% decrease in the poverty rate since 2003.
The stories of people whose lives have been improved by the missions are the best testament to their success. A low-income woman who received a university scholarship from “Mision Sucre,” said: “for so many years I was an excluded person, from education and so on, and four years later I’m a licensed teacher… [this] has caused a change, not just for me but for my family as well. We won’t be passive people, but protagonists in this process.”
Today, Venezuela has 25 “social missions,” some of which have even expanded abroad, such as “Mision Miracle,” which gives free eye surgeries to correct blindness due to cataracts. One of the newest is “Mision Jose Gregorio Hernandez,” which provides disabled people with medical attention and free equipment such as wheelchairs, prostheses, and special beds. To read more about all of the different missions and see statistics on their impact, click here.
Because its economy based largely on natural resource exports, Venezuela faces particular challenges with regard to environmental sustainability. How can a country draw on the Earth’s riches while ensuring their long-term availability?
One way is to prevent excess exploitation. This is exactly what Venezuela’s Ministry of the Environment has recently done by curtailing gold mining activities in the Imataca Forest in the southeastern state of Bolívar. This region of Venezuela boasts an amazing amount of bird species, and birding is one of the country’s top tourist attractions. Five major Indigenous groups living in and around the Imataca Forest have been adversely affected by the mining.
The Ministry of the Environment responded the concerns of environmentalists and local communities alike last week when it rescinded a permit allowing gold and copper exploitation by the company Gold Reserve Inc. Meanwhile, another firm called Crystallex International was denied a request to expand its own mining operations. Now that sustainability is the goal, many now believe that Venezuela’s natural wealth will last for a long time to come.
Latin American leaders met yesterday to talk about what is becoming a pressing global issue: the supply of affordable basic foods. Diets in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean rely on staples like corn, rice, and other grains, and their price has doubled in the last three years. Shortages have caused riots in Haiti and parts of Africa and Asia, and in the U.S., major bulk grocery stores have limited rice purchases by customers.
Luckily, Latin American governments seem to be taking a pro-active approach to the issue of food security.
A new regional agreement signed by representatives of 17 countries under the ALBA regional integration initiative is based on a proposal by Venezuela that also addresses energy security. Countries vowed to increase food production by pursuing agricultural reform and investing more in the agricultural sector, perhaps asking private banks to do so as well. Also, greater cross-border cooperation in food supply issues was prioritized to create “fair trade within and between the countries that results in fair prices for producers and consumers.”
The ALBA initiative includes a $100 million fund by Venezuela that is aimed at boosting cereal production. The money will help finance programs including a grain bank for the region. Another meeting is planned for later this month.
Venezuela is currently enjoying a renaissance of cultural growth, and it has a lot to do with the state’s new mandate to channel oil profits into educational and community development. Last month, a new cultural project was founded called Corazón Adentro (roughly translated, “Inside the Heart”).
To launch that institution, circus performances were held in the Caracas Polydrome. At the opening event, President Chavez announced plans to found a national circus company in Venezuela, perhaps inspiring a larger, continental one called the “Circus of the South.” To read more about this three-ring affair, click here (in English) or here (Spanish).
The Corazón Adentro project begins with a national census to improve knowledge of different local cultural forms and traditions throughout Venezuela. Certainly, there is no shortage of talent. The playful painting above is by Juan Urbina, a native of Caracas who grew up in the poor neighborhood of Petare and whose work is now part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California.
What does Venezuela sound like? The best answer to this question is perhaps provided by the band Los Vasallos del Sol (in English, “Vassals of the Sun”). This 25-member group interprets diverse musical traditions that speak of local heritage in many different parts of the country, from the Afro-Venezuelan rhythms of the Caribbean coast to the llanera ballads of the inland plains.
Formed in 1990, Los Vasallos have recorded five albums to date, most recently the 15-year anniversary disc, Quince años (2005). While in the past they were solely supported by the private sector, now they also receive government support and exemplify Venezuela’s new vision of cultural inclusiveness. They are best heard live, for their drumming, dancing, and costumes will dazzle spectators and inform them about Venezuelan culture.
Luckily for us, Los Vasallos are taking their act on tour in the U.S. next week and will be performing in San Francisco, Washington DC, and Houston. For details on these concerts, visit the Venezuela in Your Town section of this blog.
For a sneak peek at Los Vasallos, watch a video here or listen to their song “Malembe de Mendoza” here.
On May 1st, known as International Workers’ Day in Latin America, Venezuelans welcomed the announcement of a 30% increase in the minimum wage. Workers in this country now earn the highest incomes in the region.
The wage increase is part of efforts by the Venezuelan government to eliminate poverty by using the country’s oil wealth to stimulate long-term human development. The right to free healthcare and education are now guaranteed in the constitution. These efforts have made Venezuela one of few countries in the region that is on track to achieve the UN Millennium Goals by 2015.
Want to know more? Watch this news report on the wage increase:
Venezuelan race car driver Milka Duno is burning up the ovals. A sophomore competitor in the IndyCar series, she is currently ranked 26th among 41 drivers, and appears to be progressing fast. Milka is one of three women set to compete in the Indy 500 this Memorial Day weekend.
Believe it or not, Milka has also made an impression in Hollywood. She graced the red carpet last Saturday at the premiere of the new movie Speed Racer, in which she plays the role of the eccentric Russian driver Kellie “Gearbox” Kalinkov.
Duno’s own story is amazing — she is a trained Naval Engineer and holds four master’s degrees. She first hopped in a race car only a decade ago, and just for fun.
Now that we’ve got your motor running, check out Milka’s career stats and read about her record-setting successes. And keep an eye out for her children’s book, Go, Milka, Go!
Today, April 29th, events are taking place in Venezuela to celebrate International Dance Day. This particular art form holds a special place in the hearts of Venezuelan people, who seldom turn down a chance to grab a partner and show off their steps.
Ballet performances are being featured at the massive Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas. It was built in the 1970s and since then has housed Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, the group recently brought to world attention by conductor Gustavo Dudamel. The theater gets its name from one of Venezuela’s most famous female musicians, Teresa Carreño, a gifted classical pianist and composer who began at an early age by tickling the ivories at the White House of Abraham Lincoln when she was only ten.
Here are some highlights from ballet performances at the Teresa Carreño Theater:
Venezuela’s national instrument, the cuatro, is currently on display at the House of Venezuelan History (Casa de Estudio de la Historia de Venezuela). This cultural institution is a library and exhibition center set in a beautiful old colonial mansion in downtown Caracas. It is an appropriate place to feature the cuatro, which also has historical significance in Venezuela.
Because its economy based largely on natural resource exports, Venezuela faces particular challenges with regard to environmental sustainability. How can a country draw on the Earth’s riches while ensuring their long-term availability?
Latin American leaders met yesterday to talk about what is becoming a pressing global issue: the supply of affordable basic foods. Diets in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean rely on staples like corn, rice, and other grains, and their price has doubled in the last three years. Shortages have caused riots in Haiti and parts of Africa and Asia, and in the U.S., major bulk grocery stores have 
Venezuela is currently enjoying a renaissance of cultural growth, and it has a lot to do with the state’s new mandate to channel oil profits into educational and community development. Last month, a new cultural project was founded called Corazón Adentro (roughly translated, “Inside the Heart”).
Venezuelan race car driver Milka Duno is burning up the ovals. A sophomore competitor in the IndyCar series, she is currently ranked 26th among 41 drivers, and appears to be progressing fast. Milka is one of 
