Venezuela Honors Haitian Ties, Past and Present

Venezuela’s captial city is awash with festivals these days!
Caracas is currently celebrating Haitian Cultural Week, which features Haitian music, theater, dance, and film.
At first glance, Venezuela may not appear to have much in common with Haiti. But in fact, their relationship dates back to the 19th century, when Haiti’s first elected president, [...]

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Venezuelan Mission Helps Free Colombian Captives

Earlier today, a Venezuelan mission involving the International Red Cross liberated four hostages in Colombia. All are former members of Congress and had been held captive by the rebel group FARC for over six years.
This is the second hostage release achieved this year as a result of President Chavez’s humanitarian mediation in favor [...]

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Venezuela Honors Israeli Independence

Caracas is paying homage to Jewish culture in a new photography exhibit commemorating the 60th anniversary of Israeli independence.
Pictures by renowned photographer Alex Levac portray daily life in Israel in a meaningful way that provides perspectives on diversity across cultures, ethnicities, and religions.
The exhibit, called “Our Country” and debuting February 28th, is hosted by the Rómulo [...]

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Venezuelan Baseball Players, Then and Now

Spring training has started in Major League Baseball, and believe it or not, there are 130 players from Venezuela participating. Nearly 50 more sluggers from Venezuela are headed for independent leagues in the U.S. and other countries including Mexico, Italy and Japan.
These days, the highest-paid pitcher in the major leagues, Venezuela’s Johan Santana, is [...]

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Venezuelan Film Thinks Local, Goes Global

A short film by Venezuelan director Mariana Fuentes will grace the silver screen at this year’s Chicago Latino Film Festival in April. The international tour of Lupe’s Café (El Café de Lupe) is sponsored by Venezuela’s state-funded Villa del Cine, or Cinema City, which was founded in recent years to promote national artistic production [...]

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Venezuelan Scientists Tackle Climate Change

As climate change becomes a pressing issue both globally and locally, Venezuela is poising itself to become a key player in finding common solutions.
Eleven Venezuelan scientists recently departed for Antarctica to do research on climate change.
The scientists, who are aboard a Uruguayan ship, will spend 45 days studying the effects of global warming on [...]

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Venezuela’s “Gustavo the Great”

Venezuela’s maverick classical music conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, was featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes yesterday. Dudamel is a product of Venezuela’s renowned music education program for youth, called “El Sistema.” At the age of only 26, Dudamel was selected to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra starting in 2009.
Check out the 60 Minutes segment that [...]

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Venezuela’s Living History

The Institute of National Patrimony in Caracas is helping Venezuelans discover what life was like in the days of its famous independence leader, Simon Bolivar.
The influence of this national hero in Venezuela cannot be underestimated, for most Venezuelan towns and cities have a central Plaza Bolivar. However, few people today know much about the [...]

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How to Say ‘I Love You’ in Venezuelan

Did you know that Venezuela produces some of the best organic chocolate in the world?
To sample high-quality truffles, bon bons, or any other chocolate confection your sweetheart’s heart desires, you could visit Chuao Chocolatier, the Florida-based shop featured in the Miami Herald.
Or instead, visit our travel section to find out how you can see Venezuelan [...]

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Telesur Brings New Broadcast to Brazil

The Latin American television network TeleSUR begins broadcasting in Portuguese this week, thanks to a new partnership with the Brazilian network TV Paraná. This initiative was a long time coming. TeleSUR took steps to begin Portuguese-language programming back in May 2006, but a Brazilian editorial staff was finally assembled last month.
TeleSUR was created [...]

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Venezuela Hosts Jewish Film Festival

Caracas is currently hosting its annual Jewish film festival. Paradoxically, this show of cultural inclusiveness comes on the heels of spurious allegations that President Chavez is responsible for a “wave of anti-Semitism in Venezuela.”
This trailer for the Jewish film festival is in Spanish, but English-speakers will not miss the message: this [...]

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Venezuelan Theater Debuts in Washington

A new theatrical work by Venezuelan dramatist Gustavo Ott has arrived in Washington, DC where it is being performed at the GALA Hispanic Theater through February 24th. “Tu Ternura Molotov” (Your Molotov Kisses) is billed as a “hilarious and provocative commentary on political incorrectness.” Check out the Washington Post article about the [...]

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