Happy Birthday, Venezuela!

Today, April 19th, 2010, was the bicentennial of the writing and approval of the first declaration of independence of Venezuela. However, it wasn't until July 5, 1811 that they were truly independent from Spain. The signing on April 19th was significant in part because it helped political revolutionaries like Simón Bolívar, who is very much revered even today, rise to fame and help Venezuela achieve true freedom from Spain. In fact, the country was even recently renamed "The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" in his honor and the airport now carries his name as well. You can read more about the 19th of April here (it's in English).

Last night at 12:00AM, I awoke to loud booms and bangs and, in my sleepy stupor, was kind of worried. I mean, it's not every day that one awakes to such a racket. Then, on a hunch, I looked at my cell phone and saw "19 abril 2010" and "12:01AM." Then it hit me that it was just a celebration. I ran to look out the window and was able to capture it on my camera.

Then this afternoon, I went to a ceremony that was both commemorating the opening of a new public square/gathering area in the Chacao municipality and honoring the 200th anniversary of the signing of the first declaration of independence. A local orchestra rehearsed a few songs while we waited for the event to begin and a group of local musicians played Venezuelan folk music. The event was delayed as we waited for the guests of honor (the local mayors, political leaders, etc) to arrive. They eventually got there... with a parade!

The mayor of Chacao (on left) and the mayor of Caracas

The mayor of Caracas speaking

Unfortunately, soon after we were forced to run for cover when the heavens opened up on us. After the rains ceased, we returned to socialize a bit. That was when I got to meet a few councilmen, a radio show host and even the mayor of Chacao, Emilio Graterón! He treated me like an old friend and made me feel very welcome in his municipality. In fact, everyone I met was very open and friendly, even though I had never met them before and was obviously not Venezuelan. It was a great feeling.

Me and the mayor of Chacao!

So all in all, it was an exciting day here in Caracas, drama-free and positive. Cheers, Venezuela!

To sauce or not to sauce....definitely no contest here!

Since I've been living here in Caracas, I have found that there are foods from home that I miss, as happens every time I travel. However, sauces are most certainly not a part of this list. Sauces are varied and abundant: I've never even heard of some of them!

I went to one of the Calle de Hambre (literally, "Hunger Street"), where there used to be lines of hot dog, hamburger and other fast food carts. In the last few years, there have been many improvements and now there are actual restaurants instead of the carts. I went into one of the restaurants with some friends and got to experience the best of the best, all potentially covered in 1,000 different sauces.

Auto Lunch Adriana- your friends' hamburgers!

The sauces that were out on our table when we arrived- were they enough to satisfy us?

He says "¡sí!"

This hot dog brings new meaning to getting it with the works! You don't even need to get french fries because it comes with potato chips already on it.

This stuff smelled like liquid popcorn with extra butter...

My hamburger had a ridiculous number of toppings- bean sprouts, egg, tomato, lettuce, cheese and I don't even know what else! But it was quite tasty.

After a hearty meal, my Rotary counselor, Katy, and I were quite content to show off the additional sauces we could've used if the ones on our table weren't enough.

If you'd like it to rain...

Update on the heat: I have actually gotten goosebumps from the chilly air both in the morning and at night since I wrote the last blog entry (it finally rained a little, cleaned the air a bit and cooled off slightly after sundown)...


DISCLAIMER: The link below is for entertainment purposes and in no way am I expressing my dislike or support for the current government. I simply found this entry funny, about how to finally get it to rain here in Venezuela. This entry has nothing to do with the government, but rather with Murphy's Law.


Along the same lines, when I was searching for a modern-day rain dance or something of the like, I found this: a surefire method for getting it to rain!