Venezuela

1. Venezuela Through the Eyes of Mama Akosua, AKA Karen Boseman-Gross Teacher, Betty Shabazz International School Chicago, Illinois

2. http://www.merriam-webster.com/maps/images/maps/venezuela_map.gifhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/maps/images/maps/venezuela_map.gif

3. Saturday, June 20, 2009 The subject of the blogs I will post of the next two weeks will focus on  Barlovento, a region east of Caracas along the shores of Venezuela.  This region is composed of small communities including San Jose, Rio Chico, Higuerote and Curiepe, the site of the San Juan de Bautista Festival that takes place between June 22 and June 27 each year.

4. With Chucho Garcia – a leading activist in Venezuela

5. Thursday, June 25, 2009 I am now in an internet cafe in Rio Chico Venezuela writing my blog. The past few days have been exciting and exhilarating.  I have learned so much about how we as African people have adapted to our enslavement and colonialism to still fight for freedom as we express our selves.  The celebration of the San Juan Bautista awakening and link to the San Juan Congo celebration is amazing, beyond comprehension.

6. Thursday, June 25, 2009 San Juan Bautista Festival The San Juan Bautista Festival is celebrated all over the area known as Barlovento, which is the coastal region east of Caracas, the capital.  Although there are minor celebrations in the towns of San Jose, Rio Chico, Higuerote, and Mamaporal, the main celebration is in Curiepe.  People come from all over to celebrate San Juan and jam the streets of Curiepe.  The history of San Juan Bautista dates back to the days of slavery.  The Spanish captors forced Catholicism on the slaves.  They gave the slaves San Juan Buatista to worship for three days in June, the 24th to the 27th of June. During this time the slaves could drum, sing, dance and make merry without fear of reprisal.  Cleverly the slaves plotted and planned freedom activities and adopted their own saint, San Juan de Congo which to me looks just like San Juan Bautista, but smaller.  At the end of the celebration the slaves would put San Juan Bautista to rest and celebrate their African Heritage through San Juan de Congo.Today, all activities are reenactments with both San Juans carried through the streets of Curiepe, everyone in their variation of red and white colors, singing, drumming and dancing.  The Festival is now know as the festival of the tambores, the large drums that are from the Congo.  In the streets you can hear the style of singing....call and response, the is typical of African roots.  The devout Catholics take the opportunities when the Saints are resting (not carried through the streets) to touch the flowers around them and say prayers.  Elders, dressed in traditional garb often offer prayers to the visitors.The closest thing that we might have in Chicago is the Bud Billiken parade or the African Festival that takes place over Labor Day weekend.    Even though these celebrations do not have a religious significance, there are similarities in terms of drawing the crowds, celebrating with food, vendors selling items and the general merrymaking around  family activities.  In Curiepe, even with the numbers of people, there are very few incidents of violence....too much drinking, maybe, but few crimes against people and property.  More on this later.

7. Friday, June 26, 2009 Time, Space and Money Well, I have been here in the Barlovento Region of Venezuela for a little less than a week and I have learned some things about Time, Space and Money.  If someone tells you lunch will be ready at 12 noon, they really mean 2pm.  If someone tells you that what you want doesn’t cost a lot, it is probably more than you expect.  If you don’t like people bumping you and squeeze by you, don’t go to a festival.  Of course I am saying this mode of operating is outside the business world, because no matter where you go, business is business.  Venezuelan people know how to make money, survive and even become wealthy. One occupation, that I found very interesting are the people, mostly women, who make a living letting people use their various cell phones.  In Venezuela, cell phone companies use different networks.  It is expensive to call someone outside your network from you cell phone. You visit one of these curbside call centers and make your call.  If it connects you pay a fee.  Imagine in the US if you were on Sprint and had to pay extra to call someone who uses TMobile!  There is going to be a nationalized brand in Venezuela coming soon, but meanwhile, the call center ladies make that money.Venezuelan people also know how to party.  Everyone in the family has a good time, dances and makes merry in a wholesome fashion.  The cultural dance done by a man and a woman in Curiepe is very elegant and sensual.  When dressed in the red and white colors of San Juan, the dancers look like something out of the 20th Century.  Even the elders dance in their red and white colors.  There is nothing in African-American culture that parallels this.

8. Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Food in Venezuela: BreakfastA typical Venezuelan day begins with coffee served in little plastic cups, most often black (negro).  If you want a little milk,  it is served in the same cup with a dash  of milk (maron).  If you love the milky taste, you get it served in a bigger cup (cafe con leche).  Adding sugar (azucar), with fresh steamed milk, you get a  wonderful beverage to start the day (in my opinion).  It is an art to drink this hot without burning your fingers.Another staple is the arepa, a round cornmeal bread, served with butter.  It may also be stuffed with beef, chicken or cheese for a breakfast sandwich.  You may also get shredded meat on the side with eggs or black beans and rice.Other variations:  Corn Flakes and Milk.  You can get the milk hot or cold....interesting pancakes with a sauce similar to apple sauce or with butter and  shredded cheeseFresh Fruit juices:  Include mango, pineapple, guanabana, strawberry, passion fruit, papaya

9. Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Food in Venezuela: LunchThe Empanada is similar to a hot pocket that is also filled with fish, beef, chicken or cheese and smaller than an arepa.  It is opened and eaten with a delicious sauce that is a little spicy, but not really hot. I am going to learn how to make this special sauce.  In my later blogs, I will tell you the name.   Of course, rice and beans may be added.  Other variations include soups of all types, such as a soup of roots like potatoes, yuccas or yams.  I experienced Mondongo, a soup with potatoes and green beans with cows stomach for flavoring.  Mondongo is an African dish from the Congo.  Other choices for lunch may include grilled fish, chicken or beef, fries (papas) and of course, beans and rice. Accompanying salads depend upon the skill of the cook.  For example, at Lilliana's in San Jose, we would experience a variety of salads including a delicious broccoli, onion and red pepper cold salad, a beet and pineapple salad, and a cabbage salad similar to cole slaw.Plantain:  fried, baked, sauteed addition to any mealFresh Fruits:  Like fruit juices may be whole, sliced chopped and mixed and added to any meal.

10. Lunch - Empanada

11. Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Food in Venezuela: DinnerTypical Venezuelan dinner may include many of the items from lunch with slight variations depending upon the skill of the cook.  In addition to the above grilled or fried beef, chicken or fish may be added.  In the Barlovento region, it is hot between 9AM & 5 PM, so a heavier meal may be  in the evening, rather than in the hottest part of the day.  Chicken and rice (arroz con pollo) is a favorite with most travelers from the US, because it is familiar and recognizable.  Venezuelan Food is not spicy, but a variety of sauces of varying spiciness may be added to suit ones tastes.  In Rio Chico, we ate at a very nice restaurant and experienced spaghetti and meat balls, shrimp with garlic and Ceasar salad with entirely too much cheese.

12. Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Food in Venezuela: Vegetables and vegetarianismAs in countries in Africa, vegetarianism is still a relatively new concept.  With some preparation and advanced notice to cooks, meals with no meat products, including dairy and cheese may be prepared.  In the larger cities such as Caracas and Barquisimeto there are vegetarian restaurants, but in the smaller cities, one has to be very creative to avoid a meatless meal.  It helps to know the language and be very specific with what you want.  For example, had I known that the  ceasar salad that I ordered was going to have a heavy amount of shredded cheese on it, I would have asked for just a little cheese or cheese on the side as I often do with any salad dressing.  From then on, I remembered that Venezulean cuisine often adds cheese or eggs to many dishes and to becareful to ask my tour guide what is in any dish, no matter how "innocent" it looks.  Venezuelan cuisine is not noted for its vegetable dishes, but there are green beans, squash, red & green peppers, onions, corn and a varity of peas and beans from which a vegetable addition may be added or served over rice for a meatless meal.

13. Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Foods in Venezuela: DessertsAt Lillianas in San Jose, desserts are plentiful.  She makes so many frozen or refrigerated delights out of chocolate, strawberry, mango, passion fruit and pineapple.  At ice cream shops and bakeries, we bought ice cream, sherbert-like treats and  pastries.  Because of the heat, community people don't do a lot of baking, pies and cakes in their homes.  In Rio Chico, we attended a birthday party of a little nine year old girl who had a bakery-baked tinkerbell cake for her party and a variety of tiny pasteries for treats.  Although the young ladies on this trip did not taste "flan", the custard-like dessert also found in Mexican cuisine.

14. Dessert

15. Saturday, July 4, 2009 In 2003, President Hugo Chavez set up a series of targeted initiatives called "Misiones" or Missions.  They are a diverse and innovative set of social programs aimed at addressing some of the most pressing  social needs of the poorest Venezuelans, among them education, health, nutrition, land and micro credit.  They  serve as the organizing points for social policy and programs in the country.  In many communities across Venezuela, the Community Councils make decisions on how services are implemented and resources are distributed.  In addition, the leadership of the Councils have direct connections to the dollars that are needed to implement projects and programs.Mission Robinson I & II.  This mission was designed to teach poor Venezuelans how to read and write and provide primary education through the 8th grade.  Today, Venezuela boasts between a 75% & 90% literacy rate depending upon the region.  A daily lunch program is now a part of all public school programs, similar to the free and reduced lunch programs in the US.  In addition, some schools have after school programs in which a snack or meal is served. In high poverty areas, food service programs are incentives to school attendance and school retention.Mission Ribas  This Mission provides high-school education, allowing Venezuelans of any age to receive a high-school equivalency diploma.Mission "Barrio Adentro"(Inside the Neighborhood) This Mission envisions health as being closely related to the economy, culture, sports, environment, education and food security. which makes clear the importance of the participation of community organiztions and doctors living in the communities in which they work. The latest statistics are that 87% of the Venezuelans use the Public Health system.Mission Milagro is a humanitarian program aimed at restoring the eysight of economically disadvantaged individuals suffering from certain eye conditions that cause blindness. People from all over Central America, the Caribbean and South America come to the eye clinics in Barquisimeto to receive the free eye surgeries, staffed by Cuban and Venezuelan doctors. Thousands of people have now been the recipient of this service including one African-American woman that we referred in 2006. She has returned to work as a bus driver for a regional transit authority in Chicago.Other Missions address land reform, indigenous identity (Natives to Venezuela commonly called Indians), economic empowerment, housing and the identity of the Afro-Venezuelans who call themselves "Afrodescendientes".  These are the Venezolanos who declare that their identity is linked with Africa, primarily the Congo region. What is interesting is that the people who use this term  may be fair skinned or dark skinned, but by using this term, they are making  a statement as to their linkage with Africa.  In other blogs I will discuss Education and Health in more detail as those are topics of discussion that have some parallels to discussions that are being held right now in the US.

16. Monday, July 13, 2009 The cornerstone of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela is the formation of Community Councils.  The Law of Community Councils, enacted in April 2006, offers neighborhoods funding once they organize democratically and submit feasible project to state agencies.  Each council represents between 200 and 400 families who approve of priority projects in neighborhood assemblies.  By planning, administering and financing public works and housing construction in their barrios, the community councils represent not only the government's most recent success in jumpstarting popular participation, but also a radical break with the past, when these activities were undertaken by the city, state or national government.

17. Monday, July 13, 2009 While in Venezuela, we had an opportunity to participate in a Fisherman's meeting in Tacariqua Laguna.  This meeting had male and female representatives from local workers cooperatives and the community councils.  The purpose of the meeting was to update the attendees on issues that affected their fishing businesses and the resources that were being dispersed to them, such as larger boats that would allow them to fish in deeper waters off the coast of Venezuela.  Due to changes in the law, now foreign fishing companies are prohibited from dominating the International Waters.  Local Fishermen have been given the right to fish in these waters with competitive boats and equipment.  As a result, they are catching species of fish that were always swept up by the larger companies, most of which were foreign.