After all the buzz about Venezuela’s music education program, “El Sistema,” here is something new and different: teachers from England are coming to Caracas to witness the successes of Venezuela’s free “Bolivarian” schools.
The BBC reports on the “Connecting Classrooms” initiative that provides an exchange program for instructors from Britain and Venezuela.
Here is what Steven Connors, [...]
Archive for November, 2008
Britain Learns from Venezuela’s Bolivarian Schools
Posted in Society & Politics, tagged bbc, bolivarian process, bolivarian schools, caracas, children, education, education in venezuela, school, schools in venezuela, students, students in venezuela, universities in venezuela, venezuela, venezuelan children, venezuelan universities on November 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Venezuela’s Dudamel Helps Celebrate Israel
Posted in Arts & Culture, tagged classical music, dudamel, el dude, gustavo dudamel, gustavo the great, music, the dude, venezuela, venezuelan conductor, venezuelan music, venezuelan symphony orchestra on November 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Last Sunday and Monday, the Venezuelan conductor joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra to perform shows at Carnegie Hall commemorating the 60th anniversary of Israel.
According to this New York Times review, Dudamel achieved a “killer reading” of Tchaikovsky.
UPDATE: the Washington Post weighs in on the Carnegie Hall show, calling Dudamel “the wild child of music” and [...]
More Praise for ‘The Dude’ from Venezuela
Posted in Arts & Culture, tagged classical music, education, education in venezuela, el dude, el sistema, Eloisa Maturen, gustavo dudamel, gustavo the great, Los Angeles Philharmonic, music, music education, simon bolivar youth orchestra, the dude, venezuela, venezuelan conductor, venezuelan symphony orchestra, washington post on November 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday, the Washington Post reported on Gustavo Dudamel, the classical music conductor who — along with the state-funded music education “sistema” in Venezuela that he champions — is becoming muy famoso.
El Sistema takes children, often from circumstances of abject poverty, and teaches them to play instruments. According to most press reports, there are more than [...]
Caracas Cable Car Eases Commutes
Posted in Nature & Environment, Society & Politics, tagged Bolivarian Cable Car, caracas, environment, green transportation, mass transit, metro, Metro Cable System, Petare, public transportation, San Augustin, Urban Think Tank, venezuela on November 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The city of Caracas is in a valley surrounded by hills and mountains. Many people live in the hills and work in the valley, which can mean a long walk to the bus stop. That’s all about to change for residents of San Augustin, Petare, and other high-altitude Caracas neighborhoods thanks to The Bolivarian Cable [...]
Venezuelan Scientist Aids in Census of Marine Life
Posted in Nature & Environment, tagged biology, census of marine life, climate change, environment, global warming, marine biology, Nature, ocean, Patricia Miloslavich, science, simon bolivar, venezuela, venezuela and environment, venezuelan scientist, venezuelan scientists, venezuelan universities on November 12, 2008 | 3 Comments »
The world’s first Census of Marine Life is making a splash, and it is doing so with some help from Venezuela.
The census is an enormous effort to take stock of the past, present, and future of marine life with the participation of seventy nations over the course of ten years. The fourth progress report on [...]
Venezuela Celebrates the International Year of the Potato
Posted in Arts & Culture, tagged Guinness Book of World Records, sancocho, The Potato: Around the World in 200 Recipes, united nations, venezuela, Venezuelan culture, Venezuelan food, Venezuelan recipe on November 7, 2008 | 1 Comment »
2008 is the International Year of the Potato, and the UN created a cookbook for the occasion, “The Potato: Around the Globe in 200 Recipes.” The potato is native to Latin America, and is now eaten and grown all over the world.
Venezuela submitted a recipe for sancocho, a traditional stew made with veal, chicken, potato, [...]

