What is the culture of Venezuela, or more specifically, Caracas, like?

Question

Tell me about food, music, dance, other types of art, etc.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm from Caracas (sorry about my english). In the economic, Caracas is a crowded city with to many poor people, a middle class and a little rich class (like our planet). However, like any latinamerican people we are happy because (I think) in our culture friends and family are very important concepts, you can recieve a hand from unknown people. In Caracas are everything you want, but is a caotic place sometimes. We have to much traffic, at 7 am and from 5 pm until night. Womens -no words-. We love baseball and more recently football (Note: Is football not "soccer" :) ). I'm 27 years old, and when I growed up at "Parque Central" (Central Park) was secure for me and I grew up very happy. Today is diferent, I don't want to go there, (I have friends that work there and they are ok). Our president, as you know, is Hugo Chávez, and with him Venezuela is crossing a divisional era like never lived before. Some people like him, but -trust me- more people doesn't like him. I don't want to talk too much about that because I think that Caracas is bigger than that, if you want you can search information about that by tons!.

Food: Food!! First, in Caracas as all latinamericans cities we like to prepare our food by ourselves, we eat rice, beans, meat, chiken and fish, "platanos" (sorry I don't know that word in english), pasta and our traditional dishes: (I'm hungry right now, writing this!) "pabellón" (rice, platanos, black beans and "Carne mechada" (?? no translation)), arepas, asado ***** and to many others. At Christmas we love eat "hallacas" (a pleasure, whit turkey and pan de jamón! -jam bread-), torta negra (black cake, whit rum and black sugar), we like coffee and fruit juice, we love to drink "papelón con limón" (papelón whit lemon, sorry no translation as I know). We drink too much whisky!!!, and every party have "tequeños" an auctocthonal snack ( a must!).

Music: Generally, salsa, merengue, pop, pop rock (Shakira, etc) in spanish and recently reguetón, but that depends in what Caracas' place arec you, for example, I love guitar music (traditional, rock, jazz, etc). We are not dogmatics. Dance, of course, we're latinos!! I'm proud of that, generally people dance or enjoy ANY KIND OF MUSIC whit rythm.

You can drink almost in everyplace you want, that is not good, but, I'm guilty.

Art: We have theaters and places but I think that we need too much more, we're adapting day by day the culture of shopping malls, fast food and all that things, I don't like it.

I hope that this will help you, I'm a middle class man (I never use that word but I'm doing my best eforce to describe Caracas for you, in fact I never think in that). And Caracas depends in WHAT PLACE OF IT YOU ARE, I don't know, honestly, the reality of a extremely poor "barrio" beacuse I had never be there.

Right now I live at the outskirts of Caracas, in "El Hatillo" a beautiful town. You can see Caracas whit Google earth.

Try to make friends from hear (many, and you will have a better opinion)

Good Luck!


P.D: "Leones del Caracas" (Caraca's Lions), is the best venezuelan baseball team ever, no doubt. And if Venezuela were played whit it at the "Classic" (Real World Series!) it were won!


Sorry about my english again