Venezuela Guide on Instagram - FITVen2013

INSTAGRAMEANDO ANDO YO...

In October 2013 I was invited to travel around Venezuela on a Press Trip organized by the Tourism Ministry (MinTur) in the run up to the FITVen2013 International Tourism Fair.

As I lost my laptop and camera en route to Venezuela I was forced to improvise. Armed only with an HTC One S mobile phone with an 8 megapixel camera, I decided to document my trip on Instagram.

Through trial and error, I learnt how to get the most out of a single shot and train my eye to find images that would work in a square. The filters I just responded to depending on my mood that day. The feedback on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter has been really encouraging.

I am pleased with the results.

The restrictions of Instagram forced me to be more creative and think carefully before taking each shot, which helped me to see Venezuela in a different way.

I came home with some great new images of Caracas, the islands of Margarita, Coche and Cubagua, rafting in Barinas, paragliding in Mérida and the folk festivals of the Pueblos del Sur, remote villages in the Andean mountains south of Merida.

To see more of my Instagram images follow me at @Venezuelaguide - http://instagram.com/p/gJ0qZdNZZG/



Street Theatre: In the area around Plaza el Venezolano and Plaza Bolivar in the centre of Caracas, actors recreate key scenes from Venezuela's history by bringing to life famous characters from the past who tell the story of their time. Here, the dictator Juan Vicente Gomez takes a stroll with Independence hero Francisco de Miranda.  



Whitewater Rafting: On the Rio Acequias in Barinas, adventure tour company Arassari Trek took us on a bumpy, adrenaline-pumping ride down a Grade 3 stretch of foaming rapids. It helps if everybody rows together.

For more details of rafting in Barinas contact Arassari Trek

Remote Andean Villages: Just outside San Jose de Acequias, one of the so-called Pueblos del Sur, we came across this tiny chapel dedicated to San Isidro Labrador, the patron sain of farmers. 

Vibrant Folk Festivals: The Locainas de Santa Rita are gentlemen who dress like ladies for a day during the festivities in honor of San Isidro, as Santa Rita in popular lore is the wife of the saint. As their name suggests, these ladies can get quite "loco" during the festivities held on 21-22 May, and after dancing with their sticks they try to liven up the festive mood by flirting with the men in the crowd.





Paragliding in Merida: Close to the city of Merida is one of the best paragliding spots in Venezuela, a place called Tierra Negra. Jose Albarran of Fanny Tours is one of the pioneers of paragliding in Venezuela and a great pilot for a tandem flight. Known to his friends as "Piojo" (Flea), due to his uncanny ability to scale sheer rock faces, Jose is one of the founders of the paragliding school in the nearby village of Las Gonzales, close to the landing site, where youngsters are being trained to become the paragliding champions of the future. Watch a video of me paragliding with Piojo here

For more details of paragliding in Merida contact Jose at Fanny Tours

Venezuelan ska band Desorden Publico star in BBC documentary

Veteran BBC presenter Jonathan Dimbleby joins Desorden Publico - a ska band that has been at the top of the charts in Venezuela for over a quarter of a century - as part of his documentary series "South American Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby", which airs on BBC 2 at 8 p.m. on 25 September.

Playing to audiences of up to 150,000 people, Desorden Publico are not mere entertainers but have a profound political purpose invariably challenging the status quo.

As Jonathan stomps his feet to their energetic beat, Horacio Blanco, the lead singer is worried. He tells Jonathan that Chavez's 21st century Socialist revolution has polarised the country.

A video of Desorden Publico in London playing the song Monkey Ska

The veteran BBC presenter also visited Hato Masaguaral, a ranch in the plains of Los LLanos Venezuela, that breeds an endangered species of crocodile commonly know as the Caiman del Orinoco. Video here.

The full documentary of Jonathon Dimbleby's documentary on Colombia and Venezuela is being shown on BBC 2 at 8 p.m. on 25 September and will be available on the iPlayer for a week after broadcast.

Tambores - San Juan Bautista Fiesta in Choroni

Every year on the 24 June coastal towns and villages celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, described locally as "the saint of the blacks", or the "party saint". This is clearly a syncretic fusion of African traditions brought over by slaves and Catholic iconography. In Choroni and Chuao the statues of Saint John the Baptist are taken down from their places in the church, washed and dressed, offered rum to drink and carried in procession. Devotees carry red flags, the colour associated with San Juan, which adds to the colourful spectacle. Every couple of years there is a "meeting of the saints", when fishing boats take the various statues out to sea to meet and then go in procession to one of the coastal villages for drums, drinks and revelling. A true fusion of the sacred and the profane, folk music does not get more Venezuelan than this. For the drummers, it is a great honour to take part in the exhausting all night, all day celebrations, which generally start on the 23 June and can last up to three days or more.

Salsa: Bailatino - Llego Bailatino

A proper rough-edged salsa dura track from the full lineup of Jose "Cheo" Navarro's group Bailatino, with two vocalists, two trombones and flute. This really swings. Cabilla.

Salsa: Bailatino - Lo Que Se Da No Se Quita

Percussionist Jose "Cheo" Navarro's group Bailatino show off their salsa chops in a live performance of "Lo Que Se Da No Se Quita". Listen out to Alberto Crespo's banging piano montuno. Suave.

Los Impala - Sound of the Swinging 60s

Los Impala, along with Los 007, produced some of the best Venezuelan pop-rock music of the swinging 60s, covering Mersey Beat and surf tracks. The band was made up of Henry Stephen on vocals, Pedro Alfonzo on piano and vocals, Edgar Quintero on guitar and vocals, Francisco Belisario, on on guitar and vocals, Nerio Quintero on bass and vocals and Omar Paduay on drums. Try and guess who did the original of this track: "La Vi Parada Ahi".

Los Amigos Invisibles - Playa Azul

Venezuela's greatest export - after oil, beauty queens and salsa star Oscar D'Leon - has to be Los Amigos Invisibles.

Now based in New York City, the invisible friends made this video during a typically harsh New York winter.

The slinky samba from their 2004 album The Venezuela Zinga Son Vol. 1 is full of nostalgia for Venezuela, old friends and the tropical heat of "Playa Azul".

The track appears on the compilation CD "The Rough Guide to Latin Lounge" that came out in September 2008, with music from Ska Cubano, Novalima, The Quantic Soul Orchestra and Anga Diaz.

To download Los Amigos Invisibles MP3 tracks click here:

To buy the CD "The Venezuelan Zinga Son, Vol. 1" click here:


To buy the new CD "Commercial" click here:



Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Mentiras

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Diablo

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Cuchi Cuchi

Video: Max and Jason have lunch with Los Amigos Invisibles

CD Review: Venezuelan Zinga Son Vol 1 - Amigos Invisibles

CD Review: Arepa 3000 - Los Amigos Invisibles

Musica Llanera: William Sarquiz - Pecho Rajao

From the Llanos state of Barinas singer William Sarquiz takes an old-school approach on his hit single "Pecho Rajao" ("Broken Heart" is the closest translation). Sad songs like this are known as "canciones del despecho" and usually involve gallons of aguardiente (cane alcohol) to dull the pain of a lost love. The music is known as a "pasaje" and the singer's nasal tone is typical of Musica Llanera. The video shows some of the birds that are found on these seasonally-flooded plains.

Tambores in Chuao

This is a good introduction to Venezuelan tambores music. The two guys on the ground are playing cumaco drums made from hollowed avocado tree trunks with deer or cowhide skins. Behind them are two other drummers playing on the trunks with hard sticks called "palillos" or "laures" that give the distinctive taca-ta-taca-ta sound that drives the dancing. The singer or cantor is accompanied by a chorus, as is typical with Afro-Caribbean call and response drum music. The male dancers try and get as close as they can to the muchachitas, while the ladies spin away to avoid them. Anybody, male or female, can cut in at any time and take over. Tambores is popular in all the old plantation towns along the coast and harks back to slave days. Chuao is a historic plantation where Venezuela's finest cocoa beans are produced. It is reached by sea from Choroni .

Read the article - Chuao: In Search of World's Finest Cocoa Beans
Read the article - Choroni: Tambores, guarapita and midnight dips

Desorden Publico: Monkey Ska

Venezuela's favourite ska band Desorden Publico came to London to play a show in 2005 and decided to make this video of a Derek Harriot number. For some reason they also decided to feature the distinctive double-decker buses of the capital.

Sadly, it was 7th of July and the London tube and buses were hit by suicide bombings that very same day.

The band finished the video but the gig was cancelled and their tour over. This excellent cover of a ska classic appears on their 2007 album: "Estrellas del Caos".

The video was filmed and edited by Ignacio Crespo.

Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra - Albert Hall 2007

Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra had the usually sedate audience at the Royal Albert Hall in London stomping their feet for more when they played the Proms on 19 August.

The programme included works by Shostakovich, Leonard Bernstein and some Latin American classics.

For the climactic finale the orchestra added a bright splash of colour by changing into their Venezuelan-flag jackets and gave London a true taste of the mambo.

Unbelievable. The press reaction after the concert was ecstatic. Wish I’d been there.... I had to settle for BBC4.

Video: Gustavo Dudamel interviewed at the Proms in 2007

CD review: "Fiesta" Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela

To download tracks from the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra's latest album "Fiesta" click here:

Babylon Motorhome and Simon Diaz: Angustia

Simon Diaz is best known for his popular interpretations of musica llanera, the folk music of the Llanos, especially his romantic versions of working songs known as tonadas. Here, one of his lilting ballads gets a radical ska makeover by the Caracas-based band Babylon Motorhome. The track appears on the album "Simon Diaz Remixes".

Track Listing:
1. Garcita - Simón Díaz vs Rombo
2. Clavelito Colorado - Simón Díaz vs Trujillo
3. Angustia - Simón Díaz vs BMH
4. Tonada de una llena - Simón Díaz vs KP 9000
5. Sabana - Simón Díaz vs Dr Muu
6. Arbolito Sabanero - Simón Díaz vs Masseratti 2lts
7. Mi Querencia - Simón Díaz vs Panasuyo
8. Tonada del Cabrestero - Simón Díaz vs Spyro
9. Sabana - Simón Díaz vs Garnica
10. Arbolito Sabanero - Simón Díaz vs GM120 + KP9000
11. Pasaje Garcita - Simón Díaz vs Todosantos
12. Tonada del Cabrestero - Simón Díaz vs Velazco
13. Tonada de luna llena - Simón Díaz vs Trilobites
14. Mi Querencia - Simon Diaz vs Cardopusher
15. Tonada de luna llena - Simón Díaz vs La Original

Report: Simon Diaz to be honoured at Latin Grammy Awards

Click here for a video of Simon Diaz singing "Caballo Viejo"

Click here for a video of Babylon Motorhome performing "ComoCumbia"

Panasuyo: Tierra Querida

Venezuelan singer, songwriter and producer Aureliano Mendez, better known to his fans as Panasuyo, represents a new wave of young musicians mixing traditional Venezuelan sounds with rock, pop, reggae and electronica. "Pana suyo" means "Your mate" in Venezuelan Spanish. Tierra Querida is taken from his debut album "Monte y Culebra" (literally, "Scrubland and Snakes"), a term some Venezuelans use quite dismissively to describe anywhere outside the big cities.

Choroni - Tambores on the malecon

The best party in Venezuela has to be Thursday or Friday night in Puerto Colombia, Choroni, where if you're lucky the Afro-Venezuelan drums will be playing, setting pulses racing on the seafront malecon. Try some of the local hooch - guarapita - a deadly cocktail of passionfruit and cane alcohol. Sweet.

Read my travel article - Choroni: Tambores, guarapita and midnight dips

Salsa: Magia Caribeña - Federico Boogaloo

In 1967 Federico Betancourt and his Combo Latino released the first album to use the term salsa in the title: "Llego la Salsa".

Now Federico Junior is carrying the torch for Venezuelan salsa with his group Orquesta Magia Caribeña. Sabroso...

In July 2007 the group released a mini "best of" CD entitled "Federico Boogaloo" with the following tracks:

1. Señor Gallo
2. Federico Boogaloo
3. Rosa, La Peligrosa (salsa version)
4. Hay Algo En Ti
5. Rumba Buena
6. El Amor Que Buscaba
7. Pasion Gitana
8. Yo No Se Que Me Paso
9. Quisiera
10. Te Quiero
11. Costumbres
12. Señor Gallo (radio version).

Anybody living in London can pick up a copy from Sterns Music in Warren Street.

Click here for a video of Orquesta Magia Caribena playing "Cocolia" with Jimmy Bosch.

Click here for a video of Orquesta Magia Caribena playing "El Jaleo" from their new album "Llego La Salsa, Parte II".