Who Wears the Pants in Venezuela?

Did you know that four out of five branches of government in Venezuela are led by women?  That’s right, President Chavez happens to be the only man at the helm of the Venezuelan state.  The judicial, legislative, electoral, and citizens’ branches are all run by women.  
More interesting though is that this seems to be [...]

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Venezuelan Coffee Now Available in U.S.

You probably know Venezuela for its oil, baseball, and salsa rhythms. But coffee? You might be surprised to know that some say the Venezuelan beans rival Colombia’s.
Now there’s a new delicacy in town, care of Citgo gas stations and former Wawa convenience store executive John Sacharok. Café Venezuela made its debut in the US [...]

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Native Americans Forge Hemispheric Ties

Aloha Nuñez, the Viceminister of People’s Power for Indigenous Communal Territory in Urban Zones arrived in the US yesterday. At the invitation of various Native American tribes she will tour American Indian reservations in South Dakota, including the Cheyenne River, Lower Brule, Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations.
She is also scheduled to speak with the National Congress [...]

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Santa Teresa Rum: The Meaning of Good Spirits

There is an exciting private-public partnership taking place in Venezuela on the same soil where the 19th-century independence hero Simón Bolívar announced an end to slavery years ago.
It all started when 500 poor families decided to squat on a stretch of the privately owned Santa Teresa Sugar Plantation and Rum Distillery. The 18,300-acre hacienda’s [...]

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L.A. Museum of Art Gets Venezuelan Goods

Tomorrow, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) opens two new galleries devoted to pre-Columbian art and artifacts from Latin America. A large part of the material comes from the collection of Venezuela’s wealthy Cisneros family.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Cuban-born sculptor Jorge Pardo was hired by LACMA to design ”a contiguous display of Latin American [...]

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Venezuelan Music Tip: Johnny Sigal

Meet Latin pop music’s new Juanes, the saucy young Johnny Sigal of Venezuela.
This baby-faced singer is very familiar with the stage, for he became famous while starring in a stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar — that’s right, he played Jesus.
In the past few months, Johnny has thrown off his robes, released a self-titled album, [...]

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Venezuela Celebrates Simon Bolivar’s Birthday

Today is the birthday of Venezuela’s most honored indpendence Hero, Simon Bolivar.
As a gift, we bring you an historical comic book version of the life of this revolutionary man, who led wars of independence in Venezuela and several other countries. His political ideals, particularly, the notion of a unified South America, are still held dear [...]

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Venezuela’s Ordonez Thrills in the Minor Leagues

Our favorite Detroit Tiger, Magglio Ordonez, has been recovering from a recent injury while sitting in with the minor leagues’ West Michigan Whitecaps, and he is wildly popular at games. Fans in sold-out crowds have begun wearing Magglio caps and wigs to mimic the player. Watch a video of his minor league escapades here.
In case [...]

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New Hampshire Signs on for Venezuelan Aid

The Venezuelan-owned gas subsidiary Citgo has been providing cut-rate home heating oil to poor communities in the U.S. for three now. Last winter, 23 states relied on the donations, which exceeded $100 million in value. New Hampshire has just become the latest to sign on.
The small state, which borders Canada and registers brutal temperatures in [...]

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Venezuelan History Reaches Film in “Miranda Returns”

Lately, it seems like Venezuela’s history is being chronicled in film like never before.
Take, for example, the biopic Miranda Regresa (“Miranda Returns”), which came out last fall. The movie is a dramatic reimagining of the life of independence hero Francisco de Miranda.
It was produced at Cinema City (in Spanish, Villa del Cine), the government- funded [...]

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Venezuela’s Citgo Delivers Energy Efficiency to U.S. Cities

For many low- and middle-income people in the U.S., helping the environment can take a back seat to the everyday demands of simply making ends meet. Citgo, the Venezuelan-owned gas company, is helping to address this problem through its new Energy Efficient Lighting Program.
The program donates energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs to families in cities across [...]

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Venezuelan Artist’s Work is for the Birds

A Venezuelan-born artist living in Florida was profiled in the Miami Herald over the weekend.
Francisco Sheuat, who owns an art gallery, is making his name in Fort Lauderdale by creating colorful papier-mache replicas of pink flamingos. Embellished with paint or mosaic, each is unique and beautiful. One looks like a motorcycle rider, another features [...]

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