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3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Venezuela? Wrong! If the Venezuela is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Venezuela then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

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6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Venezuela wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Venezuela then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Venezuela site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Venezuela, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Venezuela, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox Country or territory|native_name = República Bolivariana de Venezuela|conventional_long_name = Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela|common_name = Venezuela|image_flag = Flag_of_Venezuela (state).svg‎|image_coat = Coat_of_arms_of_Venezuela.svg|image_map = LocationVenezuela.svg|national_motto = |national_anthem = Gloria al Bravo Pueblo(Spanish language)"Glory to the Brave People"|official_languages = Spanish language|demonym = Venezuelan|latd=10 |latm=30 |latNS=N |longd=66 |longm=58 |longEW=W|largest_city = capital|government_type = [Federal Republic|leader_name1 = [Hugo Chávez|leader_name2 = Jorge Rodríguez (politician)|area_rank = 33rd|area_magnitude = 1 E11|area_km2 = 916,445|area_sq_mi = 353,841|percent_water = 0.32|population_estimate = 27,730,469|population_estimate_rank = 42nd|population_estimate_year = July 2007|population_census = 23,054,210|population_census_year = 2001|population_density_km2 = 30.2|population_density_sq_mi = 77|population_density_rank = 173rd|GDP_PPP = $176.4 billion |GDP_PPP_rank = 47th|GDP_PPP_year = 2006|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $7,165|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 90th|sovereignty_type = Independence|established_event2 = from [Gran Colombia [1811 [1830 [1845|currency_code = VEB|country_code =|time_zone = [UTC-4|calling_code = 58|footnotes = The "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" has been the full official title since the adoption of the new [Constitution of Venezuela, when the state was renamed in honor of Simón Bolívar. Formerly "God and Federation" (). The Constitution also recognizes all indigenous languages of the Americas spoken in the country. Area totals include only Venezuelan-administered territory.-->

Venezuela (IPA: /IPA chart for English/), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America.

The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea. It borders Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west. Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Leeward Antilles lie just north, off the Venezuelan coast. Falling within the tropics, Venezuela sits close to the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere.

An independent country since 1821 and a former Spanish colony, Venezuela holds territorial disputes with Guyana, largely concerning the Essequibo area, and in the past with Colombia concerning the Gulf of Venezuela. There was a Venezuelan Boundary Crisis in 1985. Today, Venezuela is known widely for its petroleum industry, the biodiversity of its territory, and its natural features. Venezuela is considered to be among 17 of the most megadiverse countries in the world.

Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America; the vast majority of Venezuelans live in the cities of the north, especially in the capital Caracas which is also the largest city. Other major cities include Maracaibo, Valencia, Venezuela, Maracay, Barquisimeto, and Ciudad Guayana. Venezuela is also home to a diversity of fauna of Venezuela in a variety of list of national parks of Venezuela.

Etymology , similar to those seen by Amerigo Vespucci.The name "Venezuela" is believed to have originated from the cartographer Amerigo Vespucci who, together with Alonso de Ojeda, led a 1499 naval expedition along the northwestern coast's Gulf of Venezuela. On reaching the Guajira Peninsula, the crew observed the distinctive stilt villages (palafitos) that the indigenous Añu people had built over the water. This reminded Vespucci of the city of Venice (), so he named the region "Venezuola",. p. 177. meaning "little Venice" in Italian. In Spanish, the suffix -zuela is used as a diminutive term (e.g., mujerzuela, cazuela); thus, the term's original sense would have been that of a "Klein Venedig".

Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of Vespucci and de Ojeda's crew, states in his work Summa de Geografía that the indigenous population they found were called "Veneciuela", suggesting that the name "Venezuela" may have evolved from a native word. The Vespucci story, however, remains the most popular and accepted version of the origin of the country's name. In English language, the word Venezuela is IPA chart for English as . The Venezuelan Spanish word Venezuela is pronounced as .

History 's La Batalla de CaraboboHuman habitation of Venezuela is estimated to have commenced at least 15,000 years ago, from which period leaf-shaped flake tools, together with chopping and plane-convex scrape implements, have been found exposed on the high riverine terraces of the Rio Pedregal in western Venezuela. Late Pleistocene hunting artifacts, including spear tips, have been found at a similar series of sites in northwestern Venezuela known as "El Jobo"; according to radiocarbon dating, these date from 13,000 to 7,000 BC.Kipfer 2000, p. 172. In the 16th century, when the Spanish colonization of the Americas of Venezuela began, Indigenous people of the Americas such as the Mariches, themselves descendants of the Caribs, were systematically killed. Indian caciques (leaders) such as Guaicaipuro and Tamanaco attempted to resist Spanish incursions, but were ultimately subdued; Tamanaco himself, by order of Caracas' founder Diego de Losada, was also put to death.

Venezuela was first colonialism by Europeans in 1522, when it hosted the Spanish Empire's first permanent South American settlement in what is now Cumaná. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, most of Venezuela eventually became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada; portions of eastern Venezuela were incorporated into New Andalusia. After a series of unsuccessful uprisings, Venezuela—under the leadership of Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan marshal involved in the French Revolution—declared independence on 5 July 1811. This began the Venezuelan War of Independence. However, a devastating earthquake that struck Caracas in 1812, together with the rebellion of the Venezuelan llaneros, helped bring down the Venezuela (first republic).. p. 103. A Venezuela (second republic), proclaimed on 7 August 1813, lasted several months before being crushed as well.

Sovereignty was only attained after Simón Bolívar, known as El Libertador ("The Liberator") and aided by José Antonio Páez and Antonio José de Sucre, won the Battle of Carabobo on 24 June 1821. José Prudencio Padilla's victory in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823 helped seal Venezuelan independence. New Granada's congress gave Bolívar control of the Granadian army; leading it, he liberated several countries and founded Greater Colombia. Sucre, who won many battles for Bolívar, went on to liberate Ecuador, and later become the second president of Bolivia. Venezuela remained part of Gran Colombia until 1830, when a rebellion led by Páez allowed the proclamation of a new Republic of Venezuela; Páez became its first president.

Much of Venezuela's 19th century history was characterized by political turmoil and dictatorial rule. During the first half of the 20th century, caudillos (military strongmen) continued to dominate, though they generally allowed for mild social reforms and promoted economic growth. Following the death of Juan Vicente Gómez in 1935 and the demise of caudillismo (authoritarian rule), pro-democracy movements eventually forced the military to withdraw from direct involvement in national politics in 1958. Since that year, Venezuela has had a series of democratically elected governments. The discovery of massive oil fields, totaling some 400 million barrel (unit)s, during World War I prompted an economic boom that lasted into the 1980s; by 1935, Venezuela's per capita gross domestic product was Latin America's highest,. pp. 616–617. and globalization and heavy immigration from Southern Europe and poorer Latin American countries markedly diversified Venezuelan society.

The collapse of oil prices in the 1980s, and the huge public spending and accumulation of internal and external debts by the government and private sector during the Petrodollar years of the 1970s and early 80s, crippled the Venezuelan economy. As the government devalued the currency in order to face its mounting local and external financial obligations, Venezuelans' real standard of living fell dramatically. A number of failed economic policies and increasing corruption in government and society at large, has led to rising poverty and crime and worsening social indicators and increasing political instability, resulting in three major coup attempts, 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts and 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt. In the February 1992 coup, Hugo Chávez, a former paratrooper, attempted to overthrow the government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez as anger grew against the President's economic austerity measures. Chávez was unsuccessful and landed in jail. In November of that year, another unsuccessful coup attempt occurred, organized by other revolutionary groups in the Venezuelan Armed Forces and those that remained from Chávez’s previous attempt. By 2002, the tables had turned, and Hugo Chávez, now a democratically elected president, was temporarily ousted from power by his opponents. The current president Hugo Chávez, who led the first unsuccessful coup in 1992, was elected as a reaction against the established political parties and the corruption and inequalities their policies created. Since coming to power, Chávez has attracted some controversy through his reforms of the Constitution, the implementation of his "Bolivarian Revolution," and his assumption, approved by the elected National Assembly, of powers to rule by decree.

Government The President of Venezuela is elected by a vote, with direct and universal suffrage, and functions as both head of state and head of government. The term of office is six years, and a president may be re-elected to a single consecutive term. The president appoints the vice-president and decides the size and composition of the cabinet and makes appointments to it with the involvement of the legislature. The president can ask the legislature to reconsider portions of laws he finds objectionable, but a simple parliamentary majority can override these objections.

The unicameral Venezuelan parliament is the National Assembly of Venezuela or Asamblea Nacional. Its 167 deputies, of which three are reserved for indigenous people, serve five-year terms and may be re-elected for a maximum of two additional terms. They are elected by popular vote through a combination of party lists and single member constituencies. The highest judiciary body is the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Venezuela) or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, whose magistrates are elected by parliament for a single twelve-year term. The National Electoral Council (Venezuela) (Consejo Nacional Electoral, or CNE) is in charge of electoral processes; it is formed by five main directors elected by the National Assembly.

Politics There are currently two major blocs of List of political parties in Venezuela: the leftist Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) and its major allies For Social Democracy (PODEMOS), Fatherland for All (PPT), and the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV); and A New Era (UNT) together with its allied parties Project Venezuela, Justice First, Movement for Socialism (Venezuela) and others. Following the fall of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958, Venezuelan politics was dominated by the center-right Christian democracy COPEI and the center-left Social democracy Democratic Action (AD) parties; this two-party system was formalized by the puntofijismo arrangement. However, this system has been sidelined following the initial Venezuelan presidential election, 1998 of current president Hugo Chávez.

The voting age in Venezuela is 18 and older. Voting is not compulsory voting. Most of the political opposition boycotted the Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2005. Consequently, the MVR-led bloc secured all 167 seats in the National Assembly. Then, the MVR voted to dissolve itself in favor of joining the proposed United Socialist Party of Venezuela, while Chávez requested that MVR-allied parties merge themselves into it as well. The National Assembly has twice voted to grant Chávez the ability rule by decree in several broadly defined areas, once in 2000 and again in 2007. This is a power frequently granted to the executive in Venezuela, and was a characteristic of previous administrations as well.

Public health Infant mortality in Venezuela stood at 16 deaths per 1,000 births in 2004, much lower than the South American average.UNDP. Human Development Report 2006: Venezuela. Accessed 8 March 2007. Child malnutrition (defined as stunting or wasting in children under age five) stands at 17%; Delta Amacuro and Amazonas have the nation's highest rates.FAO. Venezuela. Accessed 20 September 2006. According to the United Nations, 32% of Venezuelans lack adequate sanitation, primarily those living in rural areas. Unicef. Venezuela. Accessed 20 September 2006. Diseases ranging from typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis D are present in the country. Venezuela Guardian. Accessed 20 September 2006. Only 3% of sewage is treated; most major cities lack treatment facilities.Appropriate Technology for Sewage Pollution Control in the Wider Caribbean Region, Caribbean Environment Programme Technical Report #40 1998 available online at http://www.cep.unep.org/pubs/Techreports/tr40en/chapter5.html 17% of Venezuelans lack access to potable water.UNICEF. Safe Drinking Water. Accessed 20 September 2006. As of 1999, around 110,000 Venezuelans had HIV. Dengue Fever are present in Venezuela; in addition, high incidence of the flatworm infestation Schistosomiasis are present in Venezuela. Disease Risk Analysis: Traveler Advisory for South America

Travellers to Venezuela are advised to obtain vaccinations for a variety of diseases including typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis D. Venezuela Guardian. Accessed 20 September 2006. In a cholera epidemic of contemporary times in the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela's political leaders were accused of racial profiling of their own indigenous people to deflect blame from the country's institutions, thereby aggravating the epidemic.http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-0520230310-2

As had previous administrations, the government is attempting to create a national universal health care system that is free of charge. The current vehicle for this idea is Barrio Adentro.

Foreign relations , Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru—liberated by the Venezuelan leader Simón Bolívar is buried at the Parque de las Cinco Repúblicas in Mérida, Mérida.

Throughout most of the 20th century, Venezuela maintained friendly relations with most Latin American and Western nations. Since 1998, however, relations between Venezuela and the United States have progressively worsened, resulting in the latter imposing military sanctions. Correspondingly, ties to various leftist-led Latin American and anti-U.S. Middle-Eastern countries have strengthened. Venezuela stresses Western Hemisphere integration via such proposals as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas trade proposal and the newly launched pan-Latin American television network teleSUR. Venezuela was a prime mover behind the Organization of American States's decision to adopt its Anti-Corruption Convention, and is actively working in the Mercosur trade bloc to push increased trade and energy integration. Globally, it seeks a "polarity in international relations" world based on strengthened ties among Third World countries.

Military Venezuela's national armed forces include roughly 87,500 personnel spread through four service branches: the Army of Venezuela, the Navy of Venezuela (including the Marine Corps), the Venezuelan Air Force, and the Armed Forces of Cooperation (FAC), commonly known as the Venezuelan National Guard. As of 2005, a further 100,000 soldiers were incorporated into a new fifth branch, known as the Armed Reserve; these troops bear more semblance to a militia than the older branches. The President of Venezuela is the commander-in-chief of the national armed forces.

Subdivisions Venezuela is divided into twenty-three states (Estados), a Venezuelan Capital District (distrito capital) corresponding to the city of Caracas, the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias Federales, a special territory), and Guayana Esequiba (claimed in a border dispute with Guyana). Venezuela is further subdivided into 335 municipality (municipios); these are subdivided into over one thousand parishes (parroquias). The states are grouped into nine administrative regions (regiones administrativas), which were established by presidential decree. Historically, Venezuela has also claimed all Guyana territory west of the Essequibo River; this tract was dubbed Guayana Esequiba or the Zona en Reclamación (the "zone to be reclaimed").

Geography , a tepui in Canaima National Park in southeastern Venezuela. The park lies atop the Guiana Shield; its Precambrian geological formations rank among the world's oldest.

Venezuela's mainland rests on the South American Plate; With of coastline, Venezuela is home to a wide variety of landscapes. The extreme northeastern extensions of the Andes reach into Venezuela's northwest and continue along the northern Caribbean Sea coast. Pico Bolívar, the nation's highest point at , lies in this region. The country's center is characterized by the llanos, extensive plains that stretch from the Colombian border in the far west to the Orinoco River river delta in the east. To the south, the dissected Guiana is home to the northern fringes of the Amazon Basin and Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall. The Orinoco, with its rich alluviums, binds the largest and most important drainage system of the country; it originates in one of the largest drainage basins in Latin America. The Caroní River (Venezuela) and the Apure River are other major rivers.

in the northwestern state of Mérida.

The country can be further divided into ten geographical areas, some corresponding to climatic and biogeographical regions. In the north are the Venezuelan Andes and the Coro region, a mountainous tract in the northwest, is home to several sierras and valleys. East of it are lowlands abutting Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela. The Cordillera de la Costa Central runs parallel to the coast and includes the hills surrounding Caracas; the Eastern Range, separated from the Central Range by the Gulf of Cariaco, covers all of Sucre (state) and northern Monagas. The Llanos region comprises a third of the country's area north of the Orinoco River. South of it lies the Guiana Shield, a massive two billion year old Precambrian geological formation featuring tepuis, mysterious table-like mountains. The Insular Region (Venezuela) includes all of Venezuela's island possessions: Nueva Esparta and the various Federal Dependencies. The Deltaic System, which forms a triangle covering Delta Amacuro, projects northeast into the Atlantic Ocean.

Though Venezuela is entirely situated in the tropics, its climate varies substantially; it varies from that of humid low-elevation plains, where average annual temperatures range as high as , to glaciers and highlands (the páramos) with an average yearly temperature of . Annual rainfall varies between in the semiarid portions of the northwest to in the Orinoco Delta of the far east. Most precipitation falls between May and November (the rainy season or "winter"); the drier and hotter remainder of the year is known as "summer", though temperature variation throughout the year is not as pronounced as at temperate latitudes.

Flora & Fauna (Tabebuia chrysantha), Venezuela's national tree.

Venezuela lies within the Neotropic ecozone; large portions of the country were originally covered by tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. One of seventeen megadiverse countries and among the top twenty countries in terms of endemism, some 38% of the over 21,000 plant species are unique to the country; 23% of reptiles and 50% of amphibian species are also endemic.. Venezuela hosts significant biodiversity across habitats ranging from deserts and xeric shrublands in the extreme northwest to coastal mangrove forests in the northeast. Its cloud forests and lowland rainforests are particularly rich, for example hosting over 25,000 species of orchids. These include the flor de mayo orchid (Cattleya mossiae), the national flower.

is among the more common of Venezuela's arthropods.

Venezuela's national tree is the Tabebuia, whose characteristic lushness after the rainy season led novelist Rómulo Gallegos to name it «a primavera de oro de los araguaneyes» ("the golden spring of the araguaneyes"). Notable mammals include the giant anteater, jaguar, and the capybara, the world's largest rodent. More than half of Venezuelan avian and mammalian species are found in the Amazon Rainforest south of the Orinoco.. Manatees, Boto river dolphins, and Orinoco Crocodiles, which reach up to in length, are notable aquatic species. Venezuela also hosts a huge number of bird species, a total of 1,417, 48 of which are Endemism. Important birds include ibises, ospreys, kingfishers, and the yellow-orange troupial, the national bird.

In recent decades, logging, mining, shifting cultivation, development, and other human activities have posed a major threat to Venezuela's wildlife; between 1990 and 2000, 0.40% of forest cover was cleared annually. In response, federal protections for critical habitat were implemented; for example, 20% to 33% of forested land is protected. Venezuela is currently home to a biosphere reserve that is part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; five wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention. In 2003, 70% of the nation's land was under conservation management in over 200 protected areas, including 43 national parks.

Economy .

The petroleum sector dominates Venezuela's mixed economy, accounting for roughly a third of gross domestic product, around 80% of exports, and more than half of government revenues. The country's main petroleum deposits are located around and beneath Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela. The oil sector operates through the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), whose subsidiaries include the distributor CITGO. Other major exports are bauxite and aluminum, steel, petrochemicals, and agriculture produce. Venezuela's main trading partners are the United States, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. Venezuela is, as of May 2007, undergoing a rapid nationalization program, in line with Chávez's promise to turn the country into a socialist state. Venezuela has recently withdrawn from the World Bank and IMF.

Venezuela is also highly dependent on its Agriculture. Sectors with major potential for export-led growth are production of both coffee and cocoa crops. At one time, Venezuela ranked close to Colombia in coffee production, but in the 1960s and 1970s, as petroleum temporarily turned Venezuela into the richest country in South America, coffee was relegated to the economic back burner. Today, Venezuela produces less than 1% of the world's coffee, most of it consumed by the domestic market. However, Venezuelan coffees are again entering the North American specialty markets. Venezuela's cocoa industry has decayed since the days of Spanish colonialism, when African slaves worked on cocoa estates. The focus of cocoa cultivation has long since moved to tropical West Africa. In recent years, there has been an attempt to resuscitate this industry, as its rare variety of cacao, known as Chuao, is considered the finest and most aromatic in the world and is used in certain single-origin chocolates. The largest Venezuelan fine chocolate producer is El Rey Chocolates, though some companies such as Savoy (Nestlé) also manufacture chocolate from Venezuelan cacao and export it to Europe.



Venezuela is one of the five founding members of OPEC, which was the initiative of Venezuelan politician Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo; it was proposed in 1960 as a response to low domestic and international oil prices. Since 2005, Venezuela has also been a member of Mercosur, joining Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay; it has yet to gain Suffrage. Venezuela is also a member of the Union of South American Nations (Unasul - Unasur).



As of 2007, unemployment in the 12.5 million person labor force was 8.4%; 37% of Venezuelans live below the poverty line.

Demographics

Some 67% of the estimated are Mestizo (mixed white people and Amerindian ancestry); another 21% are white Latin American, mostly of Italian people, Spanish people, German people, and Portuguese people stock. Other important minority groups include Afro-Venezuelans (10%), and Asians (2%), who are of predominantly Arab and Chinese people descent. Only 1% of Venezuelans are Amerindian. These groups were joined by sponsored migrants from throughout Europe and neighboring parts of South America during waves of immigration in the early 20th century; many were attracted again, by the mid-20th century economic boom. About 85% of the population live in urban areas in northern Venezuela; 73% live less than from the coastline. Though almost half of Venezuela's land area lies south of the Orinoco, only 5% of Venezuelans live there.

The national and official language is Spanish language; 31 indigenous languages are also spoken, including Guahibo language, Pemon, Warao, Wayuu, and the various Yanomaman languages. European immigrant communities and their descendants commonly use their own native languages. Nominally, 96% of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.

Culture Basilica, Maracaibo

Venezuela's Heritage of Venezuela, art, and culture have been heavily influenced by its Latin American context. These elements extend to its historic buildings, architecture, art, landscape, boundaries, and monuments. Culture of Venezuela has been shaped by Indigenous peoples, Spanish people and Italian people, and some African influences. Before this period, indigenous culture was expressed in art (petroglyphs), crafts, architecture (shabonos), and social organization. Aboriginal culture was subsequently assimilated by Spaniards; over the years, the hybrid culture had diversified by region.

Art of Venezuela is gaining prominence. Initially dominated by religious motifs, it began emphasizing historical and heroic representations in the late 19th century, a move led by Martín Tovar y Tovar. Modernism took over in the 20th century. Notable Venezuelan Artists include Arturo Michelena, Cristóbal Rojas, Armando Reverón, Manuel Cabré, the kinetic artists Jesús-Rafael Soto and Carlos Cruz-Diez.

Venezuelan literature originated soon after the Spanish colonization of the Americas of the mostly pre-literate indigenous societies; it was dominated by Spanish culture. Following the rise of political literature during the War of Independence, Venezuelan Romanticism, notably expounded by Juan Vicente González, emerged as the first important genre in the region. Although mainly focused on narrative writing, Venezuelan literature was advanced by poets such as Andrés Eloy Blanco and Fermín Toro. Major writers and novelists include Rómulo Gallegos, Teresa de la Parra, Arturo Uslar Pietri, Adriano González León, Miguel Otero Silva, and Mariano Picón Salas. The great poet and humanist Andrés Bello was also an educator and intellectual. Others, such as Laureano Vallenilla Lanz and José Gil Fortoul, contributed to Venezuelan Positivism.

.

Carlos Raúl Villanueva was the most important Venezuelan architect of the modern era; he designed the Central University of Venezuela, (a World Heritage Site) and its Aula Magna. Other notable architectural works include the Capitolio (Venezuela), the Baralt Theatre, the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, and the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge.

Indigenous Music of Venezuela are exemplified by the groups Un Solo Pueblo and Serenata Guayanesa. The national musical instrument is the cuatro. Typical musical styles and pieces mainly emerged in and around the llanos region, including Alma Llanera (by Pedro Elías Gutiérrez and Rafael Bolivar Coronado), Florentino y el Diablo (by Alberto Arvelo Torrealba), Concierto en la Llanura by Juan Vicente Torrealba, and Caballo Viejo (by Simón Díaz). The Zulian gaita (music style) is also a popular style, generally performed during Christmas. The national dance is the joropo. Teresa Carreño was a world-famous 19th century piano virtuosa.

Baseball is Venezuela's most popular sport, although football (soccer) (soccer), spearheaded by the Venezuela national football team, is gaining influence. Famous Venezuelan baseball players include Luis Aparicio (inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame), Dave Concepción, Ozzie Guillén (current White Sox manager, World Series champion in 2005), Cubs Ace Carlos Zambrano, Freddy Garcia, Andrés Galarraga, Omar Vizquel (an eleven-time Gold Glove winner), Luis Sojo, Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, Felix Hernandez, Magglio Ordonez, Ugueth Urbina, Víctor Martínez (baseball), Rafael Betancourt, and Johan Santana (a two-time unanimously selected Cy Young Award winner).

The World Values Survey has consistently shown Venezuelans to be among the happiest people in the world, with 55% of those questioned saying they were "very happy".

See also

References External links Government

General references

Other

{{Infobox Country or territory|native_name = República Bolivariana de Venezuela|conventional_long_name = Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela|common_name = Venezuela|image_flag = Flag_of_Venezuela (state).svg‎|image_coat = Coat_of_arms_of_Venezuela.svg|image_map = LocationVenezuela.svg|national_motto = |national_anthem = Gloria al Bravo Pueblo(Spanish language)"Glory to the Brave People"|official_languages = Spanish language|demonym = Venezuelan|latd=10 |latm=30 |latNS=N |longd=66 |longm=58 |longEW=W|largest_city = capital|government_type = [Federal Republic|leader_name1 = [Hugo Chávez|leader_name2 = Jorge Rodríguez (politician)|area_rank = 33rd|area_magnitude = 1 E11|area_km2 = 916,445|area_sq_mi = 353,841|percent_water = 0.32|population_estimate = 27,730,469|population_estimate_rank = 42nd|population_estimate_year = July 2007|population_census = 23,054,210|population_census_year = 2001|population_density_km2 = 30.2|population_density_sq_mi = 77|population_density_rank = 173rd|GDP_PPP = $176.4 billion |GDP_PPP_rank = 47th|GDP_PPP_year = 2006|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $7,165|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 90th|sovereignty_type = Independence|established_event2 = from [Gran Colombia [1811 [1830 [1845|currency_code = VEB|country_code =|time_zone = [UTC-4|calling_code = 58|footnotes = The "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" has been the full official title since the adoption of the new [Constitution of Venezuela, when the state was renamed in honor of Simón Bolívar. Formerly "God and Federation" (). The Constitution also recognizes all indigenous languages of the Americas spoken in the country. Area totals include only Venezuelan-administered territory.-->

Venezuela (IPA: /IPA chart for English/), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America.

The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea. It borders Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west. Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Leeward Antilles lie just north, off the Venezuelan coast. Falling within the tropics, Venezuela sits close to the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere.

An independent country since 1821 and a former Spanish colony, Venezuela holds territorial disputes with Guyana, largely concerning the Essequibo area, and in the past with Colombia concerning the Gulf of Venezuela. There was a Venezuelan Boundary Crisis in 1985. Today, Venezuela is known widely for its petroleum industry, the biodiversity of its territory, and its natural features. Venezuela is considered to be among 17 of the most megadiverse countries in the world.

Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America; the vast majority of Venezuelans live in the cities of the north, especially in the capital Caracas which is also the largest city. Other major cities include Maracaibo, Valencia, Venezuela, Maracay, Barquisimeto, and Ciudad Guayana. Venezuela is also home to a diversity of fauna of Venezuela in a variety of list of national parks of Venezuela.

Etymology , similar to those seen by Amerigo Vespucci.The name "Venezuela" is believed to have originated from the cartographer Amerigo Vespucci who, together with Alonso de Ojeda, led a 1499 naval expedition along the northwestern coast's Gulf of Venezuela. On reaching the Guajira Peninsula, the crew observed the distinctive stilt villages (palafitos) that the indigenous Añu people had built over the water. This reminded Vespucci of the city of Venice (), so he named the region "Venezuola",. p. 177. meaning "little Venice" in Italian. In Spanish, the suffix -zuela is used as a diminutive term (e.g., mujerzuela, cazuela); thus, the term's original sense would have been that of a "Klein Venedig".

Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of Vespucci and de Ojeda's crew, states in his work Summa de Geografía that the indigenous population they found were called "Veneciuela", suggesting that the name "Venezuela" may have evolved from a native word. The Vespucci story, however, remains the most popular and accepted version of the origin of the country's name. In English language, the word Venezuela is IPA chart for English as . The Venezuelan Spanish word Venezuela is pronounced as .

History 's La Batalla de CaraboboHuman habitation of Venezuela is estimated to have commenced at least 15,000 years ago, from which period leaf-shaped flake tools, together with chopping and plane-convex scrape implements, have been found exposed on the high riverine terraces of the Rio Pedregal in western Venezuela. Late Pleistocene hunting artifacts, including spear tips, have been found at a similar series of sites in northwestern Venezuela known as "El Jobo"; according to radiocarbon dating, these date from 13,000 to 7,000 BC.Kipfer 2000, p. 172. In the 16th century, when the Spanish colonization of the Americas of Venezuela began, Indigenous people of the Americas such as the Mariches, themselves descendants of the Caribs, were systematically killed. Indian caciques (leaders) such as Guaicaipuro and Tamanaco attempted to resist Spanish incursions, but were ultimately subdued; Tamanaco himself, by order of Caracas' founder Diego de Losada, was also put to death.

Venezuela was first colonialism by Europeans in 1522, when it hosted the Spanish Empire's first permanent South American settlement in what is now Cumaná. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, most of Venezuela eventually became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada; portions of eastern Venezuela were incorporated into New Andalusia. After a series of unsuccessful uprisings, Venezuela—under the leadership of Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan marshal involved in the French Revolution—declared independence on 5 July 1811. This began the Venezuelan War of Independence. However, a devastating earthquake that struck Caracas in 1812, together with the rebellion of the Venezuelan llaneros, helped bring down the Venezuela (first republic).. p. 103. A Venezuela (second republic), proclaimed on 7 August 1813, lasted several months before being crushed as well.

Sovereignty was only attained after Simón Bolívar, known as El Libertador ("The Liberator") and aided by José Antonio Páez and Antonio José de Sucre, won the Battle of Carabobo on 24 June 1821. José Prudencio Padilla's victory in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823 helped seal Venezuelan independence. New Granada's congress gave Bolívar control of the Granadian army; leading it, he liberated several countries and founded Greater Colombia. Sucre, who won many battles for Bolívar, went on to liberate Ecuador, and later become the second president of Bolivia. Venezuela remained part of Gran Colombia until 1830, when a rebellion led by Páez allowed the proclamation of a new Republic of Venezuela; Páez became its first president.

Much of Venezuela's 19th century history was characterized by political turmoil and dictatorial rule. During the first half of the 20th century, caudillos (military strongmen) continued to dominate, though they generally allowed for mild social reforms and promoted economic growth. Following the death of Juan Vicente Gómez in 1935 and the demise of caudillismo (authoritarian rule), pro-democracy movements eventually forced the military to withdraw from direct involvement in national politics in 1958. Since that year, Venezuela has had a series of democratically elected governments. The discovery of massive oil fields, totaling some 400 million barrel (unit)s, during World War I prompted an economic boom that lasted into the 1980s; by 1935, Venezuela's per capita gross domestic product was Latin America's highest,. pp. 616–617. and globalization and heavy immigration from Southern Europe and poorer Latin American countries markedly diversified Venezuelan society.

The collapse of oil prices in the 1980s, and the huge public spending and accumulation of internal and external debts by the government and private sector during the Petrodollar years of the 1970s and early 80s, crippled the Venezuelan economy. As the government devalued the currency in order to face its mounting local and external financial obligations, Venezuelans' real standard of living fell dramatically. A number of failed economic policies and increasing corruption in government and society at large, has led to rising poverty and crime and worsening social indicators and increasing political instability, resulting in three major coup attempts, 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts and 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt. In the February 1992 coup, Hugo Chávez, a former paratrooper, attempted to overthrow the government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez as anger grew against the President's economic austerity measures. Chávez was unsuccessful and landed in jail. In November of that year, another unsuccessful coup attempt occurred, organized by other revolutionary groups in the Venezuelan Armed Forces and those that remained from Chávez’s previous attempt. By 2002, the tables had turned, and Hugo Chávez, now a democratically elected president, was temporarily ousted from power by his opponents. The current president Hugo Chávez, who led the first unsuccessful coup in 1992, was elected as a reaction against the established political parties and the corruption and inequalities their policies created. Since coming to power, Chávez has attracted some controversy through his reforms of the Constitution, the implementation of his "Bolivarian Revolution," and his assumption, approved by the elected National Assembly, of powers to rule by decree.

Government The President of Venezuela is elected by a vote, with direct and universal suffrage, and functions as both head of state and head of government. The term of office is six years, and a president may be re-elected to a single consecutive term. The president appoints the vice-president and decides the size and composition of the cabinet and makes appointments to it with the involvement of the legislature. The president can ask the legislature to reconsider portions of laws he finds objectionable, but a simple parliamentary majority can override these objections.

The unicameral Venezuelan parliament is the National Assembly of Venezuela or Asamblea Nacional. Its 167 deputies, of which three are reserved for indigenous people, serve five-year terms and may be re-elected for a maximum of two additional terms. They are elected by popular vote through a combination of party lists and single member constituencies. The highest judiciary body is the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Venezuela) or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, whose magistrates are elected by parliament for a single twelve-year term. The National Electoral Council (Venezuela) (Consejo Nacional Electoral, or CNE) is in charge of electoral processes; it is formed by five main directors elected by the National Assembly.

Politics There are currently two major blocs of List of political parties in Venezuela: the leftist Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) and its major allies For Social Democracy (PODEMOS), Fatherland for All (PPT), and the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV); and A New Era (UNT) together with its allied parties Project Venezuela, Justice First, Movement for Socialism (Venezuela) and others. Following the fall of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958, Venezuelan politics was dominated by the center-right Christian democracy COPEI and the center-left Social democracy Democratic Action (AD) parties; this two-party system was formalized by the puntofijismo arrangement. However, this system has been sidelined following the initial Venezuelan presidential election, 1998 of current president Hugo Chávez.

The voting age in Venezuela is 18 and older. Voting is not compulsory voting. Most of the political opposition boycotted the Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2005. Consequently, the MVR-led bloc secured all 167 seats in the National Assembly. Then, the MVR voted to dissolve itself in favor of joining the proposed United Socialist Party of Venezuela, while Chávez requested that MVR-allied parties merge themselves into it as well. The National Assembly has twice voted to grant Chávez the ability rule by decree in several broadly defined areas, once in 2000 and again in 2007. This is a power frequently granted to the executive in Venezuela, and was a characteristic of previous administrations as well.

Public health Infant mortality in Venezuela stood at 16 deaths per 1,000 births in 2004, much lower than the South American average.UNDP. Human Development Report 2006: Venezuela. Accessed 8 March 2007. Child malnutrition (defined as stunting or wasting in children under age five) stands at 17%; Delta Amacuro and Amazonas have the nation's highest rates.FAO. Venezuela. Accessed 20 September 2006. According to the United Nations, 32% of Venezuelans lack adequate sanitation, primarily those living in rural areas. Unicef. Venezuela. Accessed 20 September 2006. Diseases ranging from typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis D are present in the country. Venezuela Guardian. Accessed 20 September 2006. Only 3% of sewage is treated; most major cities lack treatment facilities.Appropriate Technology for Sewage Pollution Control in the Wider Caribbean Region, Caribbean Environment Programme Technical Report #40 1998 available online at http://www.cep.unep.org/pubs/Techreports/tr40en/chapter5.html 17% of Venezuelans lack access to potable water.UNICEF. Safe Drinking Water. Accessed 20 September 2006. As of 1999, around 110,000 Venezuelans had HIV. Dengue Fever are present in Venezuela; in addition, high incidence of the flatworm infestation Schistosomiasis are present in Venezuela. Disease Risk Analysis: Traveler Advisory for South America

Travellers to Venezuela are advised to obtain vaccinations for a variety of diseases including typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis D. Venezuela Guardian. Accessed 20 September 2006. In a cholera epidemic of contemporary times in the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela's political leaders were accused of racial profiling of their own indigenous people to deflect blame from the country's institutions, thereby aggravating the epidemic.http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-0520230310-2

As had previous administrations, the government is attempting to create a national universal health care system that is free of charge. The current vehicle for this idea is Barrio Adentro.

Foreign relations , Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru—liberated by the Venezuelan leader Simón Bolívar is buried at the Parque de las Cinco Repúblicas in Mérida, Mérida.

Throughout most of the 20th century, Venezuela maintained friendly relations with most Latin American and Western nations. Since 1998, however, relations between Venezuela and the United States have progressively worsened, resulting in the latter imposing military sanctions. Correspondingly, ties to various leftist-led Latin American and anti-U.S. Middle-Eastern countries have strengthened. Venezuela stresses Western Hemisphere integration via such proposals as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas trade proposal and the newly launched pan-Latin American television network teleSUR. Venezuela was a prime mover behind the Organization of American States's decision to adopt its Anti-Corruption Convention, and is actively working in the Mercosur trade bloc to push increased trade and energy integration. Globally, it seeks a "polarity in international relations" world based on strengthened ties among Third World countries.

Military Venezuela's national armed forces include roughly 87,500 personnel spread through four service branches: the Army of Venezuela, the Navy of Venezuela (including the Marine Corps), the Venezuelan Air Force, and the Armed Forces of Cooperation (FAC), commonly known as the Venezuelan National Guard. As of 2005, a further 100,000 soldiers were incorporated into a new fifth branch, known as the Armed Reserve; these troops bear more semblance to a militia than the older branches. The President of Venezuela is the commander-in-chief of the national armed forces.

Subdivisions Venezuela is divided into twenty-three states (Estados), a Venezuelan Capital District (distrito capital) corresponding to the city of Caracas, the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias Federales, a special territory), and Guayana Esequiba (claimed in a border dispute with Guyana). Venezuela is further subdivided into 335 municipality (municipios); these are subdivided into over one thousand parishes (parroquias). The states are grouped into nine administrative regions (regiones administrativas), which were established by presidential decree. Historically, Venezuela has also claimed all Guyana territory west of the Essequibo River; this tract was dubbed Guayana Esequiba or the Zona en Reclamación (the "zone to be reclaimed").

Geography , a tepui in Canaima National Park in southeastern Venezuela. The park lies atop the Guiana Shield; its Precambrian geological formations rank among the world's oldest.

Venezuela's mainland rests on the South American Plate; With of coastline, Venezuela is home to a wide variety of landscapes. The extreme northeastern extensions of the Andes reach into Venezuela's northwest and continue along the northern Caribbean Sea coast. Pico Bolívar, the nation's highest point at , lies in this region. The country's center is characterized by the llanos, extensive plains that stretch from the Colombian border in the far west to the Orinoco River river delta in the east. To the south, the dissected Guiana is home to the northern fringes of the Amazon Basin and Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall. The Orinoco, with its rich alluviums, binds the largest and most important drainage system of the country; it originates in one of the largest drainage basins in Latin America. The Caroní River (Venezuela) and the Apure River are other major rivers.

in the northwestern state of Mérida.

The country can be further divided into ten geographical areas, some corresponding to climatic and biogeographical regions. In the north are the Venezuelan Andes and the Coro region, a mountainous tract in the northwest, is home to several sierras and valleys. East of it are lowlands abutting Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela. The Cordillera de la Costa Central runs parallel to the coast and includes the hills surrounding Caracas; the Eastern Range, separated from the Central Range by the Gulf of Cariaco, covers all of Sucre (state) and northern Monagas. The Llanos region comprises a third of the country's area north of the Orinoco River. South of it lies the Guiana Shield, a massive two billion year old Precambrian geological formation featuring tepuis, mysterious table-like mountains. The Insular Region (Venezuela) includes all of Venezuela's island possessions: Nueva Esparta and the various Federal Dependencies. The Deltaic System, which forms a triangle covering Delta Amacuro, projects northeast into the Atlantic Ocean.

Though Venezuela is entirely situated in the tropics, its climate varies substantially; it varies from that of humid low-elevation plains, where average annual temperatures range as high as , to glaciers and highlands (the páramos) with an average yearly temperature of . Annual rainfall varies between in the semiarid portions of the northwest to in the Orinoco Delta of the far east. Most precipitation falls between May and November (the rainy season or "winter"); the drier and hotter remainder of the year is known as "summer", though temperature variation throughout the year is not as pronounced as at temperate latitudes.

Flora & Fauna (Tabebuia chrysantha), Venezuela's national tree.

Venezuela lies within the Neotropic ecozone; large portions of the country were originally covered by tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. One of seventeen megadiverse countries and among the top twenty countries in terms of endemism, some 38% of the over 21,000 plant species are unique to the country; 23% of reptiles and 50% of amphibian species are also endemic.. Venezuela hosts significant biodiversity across habitats ranging from deserts and xeric shrublands in the extreme northwest to coastal mangrove forests in the northeast. Its cloud forests and lowland rainforests are particularly rich, for example hosting over 25,000 species of orchids. These include the flor de mayo orchid (Cattleya mossiae), the national flower.

is among the more common of Venezuela's arthropods.

Venezuela's national tree is the Tabebuia, whose characteristic lushness after the rainy season led novelist Rómulo Gallegos to name it «a primavera de oro de los araguaneyes» ("the golden spring of the araguaneyes"). Notable mammals include the giant anteater, jaguar, and the capybara, the world's largest rodent. More than half of Venezuelan avian and mammalian species are found in the Amazon Rainforest south of the Orinoco.. Manatees, Boto river dolphins, and Orinoco Crocodiles, which reach up to in length, are notable aquatic species. Venezuela also hosts a huge number of bird species, a total of 1,417, 48 of which are Endemism. Important birds include ibises, ospreys, kingfishers, and the yellow-orange troupial, the national bird.

In recent decades, logging, mining, shifting cultivation, development, and other human activities have posed a major threat to Venezuela's wildlife; between 1990 and 2000, 0.40% of forest cover was cleared annually. In response, federal protections for critical habitat were implemented; for example, 20% to 33% of forested land is protected. Venezuela is currently home to a biosphere reserve that is part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; five wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention. In 2003, 70% of the nation's land was under conservation management in over 200 protected areas, including 43 national parks.

Economy .

The petroleum sector dominates Venezuela's mixed economy, accounting for roughly a third of gross domestic product, around 80% of exports, and more than half of government revenues. The country's main petroleum deposits are located around and beneath Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela. The oil sector operates through the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), whose subsidiaries include the distributor CITGO. Other major exports are bauxite and aluminum, steel, petrochemicals, and agriculture produce. Venezuela's main trading partners are the United States, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. Venezuela is, as of May 2007, undergoing a rapid nationalization program, in line with Chávez's promise to turn the country into a socialist state. Venezuela has recently withdrawn from the World Bank and IMF.

Venezuela is also highly dependent on its Agriculture. Sectors with major potential for export-led growth are production of both coffee and cocoa crops. At one time, Venezuela ranked close to Colombia in coffee production, but in the 1960s and 1970s, as petroleum temporarily turned Venezuela into the richest country in South America, coffee was relegated to the economic back burner. Today, Venezuela produces less than 1% of the world's coffee, most of it consumed by the domestic market. However, Venezuelan coffees are again entering the North American specialty markets. Venezuela's cocoa industry has decayed since the days of Spanish colonialism, when African slaves worked on cocoa estates. The focus of cocoa cultivation has long since moved to tropical West Africa. In recent years, there has been an attempt to resuscitate this industry, as its rare variety of cacao, known as Chuao, is considered the finest and most aromatic in the world and is used in certain single-origin chocolates. The largest Venezuelan fine chocolate producer is El Rey Chocolates, though some companies such as Savoy (Nestlé) also manufacture chocolate from Venezuelan cacao and export it to Europe.



Venezuela is one of the five founding members of OPEC, which was the initiative of Venezuelan politician Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo; it was proposed in 1960 as a response to low domestic and international oil prices. Since 2005, Venezuela has also been a member of Mercosur, joining Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay; it has yet to gain Suffrage. Venezuela is also a member of the Union of South American Nations (Unasul - Unasur).



As of 2007, unemployment in the 12.5 million person labor force was 8.4%; 37% of Venezuelans live below the poverty line.

Demographics

Some 67% of the estimated are Mestizo (mixed white people and Amerindian ancestry); another 21% are white Latin American, mostly of Italian people, Spanish people, German people, and Portuguese people stock. Other important minority groups include Afro-Venezuelans (10%), and Asians (2%), who are of predominantly Arab and Chinese people descent. Only 1% of Venezuelans are Amerindian. These groups were joined by sponsored migrants from throughout Europe and neighboring parts of South America during waves of immigration in the early 20th century; many were attracted again, by the mid-20th century economic boom. About 85% of the population live in urban areas in northern Venezuela; 73% live less than from the coastline. Though almost half of Venezuela's land area lies south of the Orinoco, only 5% of Venezuelans live there.

The national and official language is Spanish language; 31 indigenous languages are also spoken, including Guahibo language, Pemon, Warao, Wayuu, and the various Yanomaman languages. European immigrant communities and their descendants commonly use their own native languages. Nominally, 96% of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.

Culture Basilica, Maracaibo

Venezuela's Heritage of Venezuela, art, and culture have been heavily influenced by its Latin American context. These elements extend to its historic buildings, architecture, art, landscape, boundaries, and monuments. Culture of Venezuela has been shaped by Indigenous peoples, Spanish people and Italian people, and some African influences. Before this period, indigenous culture was expressed in art (petroglyphs), crafts, architecture (shabonos), and social organization. Aboriginal culture was subsequently assimilated by Spaniards; over the years, the hybrid culture had diversified by region.

Art of Venezuela is gaining prominence. Initially dominated by religious motifs, it began emphasizing historical and heroic representations in the late 19th century, a move led by Martín Tovar y Tovar. Modernism took over in the 20th century. Notable Venezuelan Artists include Arturo Michelena, Cristóbal Rojas, Armando Reverón, Manuel Cabré, the kinetic artists Jesús-Rafael Soto and Carlos Cruz-Diez.

Venezuelan literature originated soon after the Spanish colonization of the Americas of the mostly pre-literate indigenous societies; it was dominated by Spanish culture. Following the rise of political literature during the War of Independence, Venezuelan Romanticism, notably expounded by Juan Vicente González, emerged as the first important genre in the region. Although mainly focused on narrative writing, Venezuelan literature was advanced by poets such as Andrés Eloy Blanco and Fermín Toro. Major writers and novelists include Rómulo Gallegos, Teresa de la Parra, Arturo Uslar Pietri, Adriano González León, Miguel Otero Silva, and Mariano Picón Salas. The great poet and humanist Andrés Bello was also an educator and intellectual. Others, such as Laureano Vallenilla Lanz and José Gil Fortoul, contributed to Venezuelan Positivism.

.

Carlos Raúl Villanueva was the most important Venezuelan architect of the modern era; he designed the Central University of Venezuela, (a World Heritage Site) and its Aula Magna. Other notable architectural works include the Capitolio (Venezuela), the Baralt Theatre, the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, and the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge.

Indigenous Music of Venezuela are exemplified by the groups Un Solo Pueblo and Serenata Guayanesa. The national musical instrument is the cuatro. Typical musical styles and pieces mainly emerged in and around the llanos region, including Alma Llanera (by Pedro Elías Gutiérrez and Rafael Bolivar Coronado), Florentino y el Diablo (by Alberto Arvelo Torrealba), Concierto en la Llanura by Juan Vicente Torrealba, and Caballo Viejo (by Simón Díaz). The Zulian gaita (music style) is also a popular style, generally performed during Christmas. The national dance is the joropo. Teresa Carreño was a world-famous 19th century piano virtuosa.

Baseball is Venezuela's most popular sport, although football (soccer) (soccer), spearheaded by the Venezuela national football team, is gaining influence. Famous Venezuelan baseball players include Luis Aparicio (inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame), Dave Concepción, Ozzie Guillén (current White Sox manager, World Series champion in 2005), Cubs Ace Carlos Zambrano, Freddy Garcia, Andrés Galarraga, Omar Vizquel (an eleven-time Gold Glove winner), Luis Sojo, Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, Felix Hernandez, Magglio Ordonez, Ugueth Urbina, Víctor Martínez (baseball), Rafael Betancourt, and Johan Santana (a two-time unanimously selected Cy Young Award winner).

The World Values Survey has consistently shown Venezuelans to be among the happiest people in the world, with 55% of those questioned saying they were "very happy".

See also

References External links Government

General references

Other



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