There are alternatives to oil … There’s electricity in solar and wind, and electric cars. We can begin to do workarounds, albeit not rapidly, but over time we can work around and find alternative energy. But there is no alternative to water. It’s either there or it’s not. Edward Burtynsky Last week, the Environmental Minister Miguel…
A few days ago Miguel Rodríguez, the Environment Minister, leading a march toward Miraflores, said this: “Let’s put on a great national demonstration to show the indignation that is felt at this moment in the Venezuelan environmental movement because of what is happening (…) A demonstration of what we are going to do for our nature,…
On Thursday, March 27th, in Costa Rica, the girls from the Vinotinto U-17 made history. The faced Canada, a formidable foe, in the World Cup U-17 in the quarter finals. They won and got a shot at the semifinals. They lost, and ended in fourth place overall. Coach Kenneth Zseremeta scouted Venezuela with a fine tooth…
A few days ago, Maduro was having a down in the dumps day, he needed a quick pick me up, something empowering, something to assert his manhood. So, he did what any self respecting male would do, he made a rape joke, gorillas included. Yes, a rape joke on Cadena Nacional. In our little machista…
Casabe is to eastern Venezuelans what arepas are to the country at large. An everyday bread made from yucca flour, it accompains just about anything. Soup? (Mondongo, fish, chipi chipi) … some casabe on the side. Fried sardines? Put them on casabe. Tuna Salad? Casabe. Salpicón de Mariscos? Casabe. A cheese platter with Brie and Edam?…
Last friday, a SEBIN officer died in a showdown with Polichacao in the Prados del Este Highway. (SEBIN is the Venezuelan government intelligence service, while Polichacao is the municipal police force of opposition-controlled Chacao municipality) Polichacao claims it was responding to a kidnapping. SEBIN says Polichacao just opened fire without warning and that they were escorting…
These tumultuous days, as I was glued to Twitter, reading Facebook comments, listening to opinions on the street, and watching the students debate on CNNE, I finally “understood” Venezuela’s deep polarization. After 15 years of war speech, we have become two distinct countries, two societies that haven’t been able to reconcile in more than a…
Tonight, Venezuela is seeing a spasm of violence that’s unlike anything the country has experienced since 1989. Information is fragmented, since an almost complete media black-out is in place, but you don’t need the media to hear your neighbor’s screams. Caracas, Valencia, Merida and San Cristobal in particular have become virtual war zones: National Guard…
Esta noche, Venezuela sufre una ola de violencia a una escala que no se veía desde 1989. La informacion es fragmentaria, ya que hay un casi total apagón mediático, pero no hace falta un noticiero para oir los gritos de tus vecinos. Caracas, Valencia, Merida y San Cristobal en particular se han convertido virtualmente en…
As the student protests continue, shocking stories of the detained are hitting social media and some news outlets. Detainees are not allowed to see their family members, some students have been beaten, shocked with electricity, doused with gasoline and threatened to be set on fire. There are personal accounts of detained students being stripped of their clothing…
Heres a piece of news that got buried under the week’s turmoil – the San Josecito dumping ground has been ablaze since the beginning of February (yet again) causing the collapse of solid waste collection in the city of San Cristobal and 10 other municipalities (yet again). Meanwhile, Vielma Mora, the state’s Governor seems to have his…
In Buddhism, Samsara is the eternal wheel of human existence, linked to human suffering. The inability to learn from our mistakes is what keeps us on this eternal cycle. So here we are, ending a cycle, at a breaking point in these 15 years of Revolution, a morally and economically bankrupt country. This was the golden…
Oh “La venganza de la Obrera” How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love the faces of the men aghast with the piropos that you say. I love those that stammer and look at you with a bright red face. I love the ones that smile meekly and then quicken the…
Another piece of good news, Venezuela has recieved it’s first Goya award for the movie Azul y no tan Rosa. Written, directed and produced by Miguel Ferrari, the movie deals with homosexuality, transexuality and gender violence, but it also deals with fatherhood, and gives a message of tolerance and acceptance. In a deeply homophobic and…
I stopped watching the Miss Venezuela pageant when I was about 14 years old. Year after year, I would sit with my Nana and my sisters in a misogynistic ritual. We would mercilessly pick apart every inch of the candidates: that one is too fat, that one has a horrid nose, look at those awful…
Caracas Chronicles 