Rediscovering the History of Venezuela

At school, history wasn’t my favorite subject, too boring for me. Grade after grade, history became a hassle and just stopped paying attention. I thought it would be unnecessary to know it in order to make a living, unless I were supposed to be a history teacher, but I wasn´t expecting to be one.

Simón Bolívar - The Liberator

Life recently showed me that those things underestimated can switch to a highest rank of appreciation. It happened when one of my students asked me about Venezuelan history and I immediately regretted not taking the time to read Simón Bolivar’s life. Remembering old times (well, not so old!), learning English in the US, I realized that this student is not so different from the student I was years ago. I also wanted to learn everything about the culture, history and traditions of the host country. So why was I so interested in learning about other culture when I didn’t even appreciate mine? At that time, I didn’t see all this, I was younger and overwhelmed by the US.

I have started to rediscover Venezuelan history through books and internet, now with a different perspective from school times. More than a duty, a must-learn for a language teacher who works with foreign students, an unexpected surprise. I see history with other eyes. It has another taste now. Refreshing. Enjoyable. Overwhelming, especially when reading how our people fought fiercely for our independence from the Spanish crown, but also depressing in many chapters of our history.

One of my rediscovering is a novel book named Doña Bárbara written by one of our former Presidents, Rómulo Gallegos. It’s our masterpiece, so regionalist. Every Venezuelan student in high school MUST read this novel. Now that I re-read it, I have felt so connected with my llaneras roots and very proud of my land since I was born in and raised in Barinas state which belongs to a region called Los Llanos (the plains) formed by the states of Anzoátegui, Apure, Barinas, Cojedes, Guárico and Monagas, so I’m llanera. Doña Bárbara’s story takes place in Los Llanos de Apure. It’s very descriptive about typical vegetation, wild life and traditions (watch the video in this post), making this novel a jewel in Venezuelan literature. As Wikipedia mentions: “It establishes a psychological study of the people of the Venezuelan plains: victims of unfortunate situations, but at the same time strong and courageous.” 

More about Doña Bárbara: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do%C3%B1a_B%C3%A1rbara

I am not going to give a class of Venezuelan history and literature in this post since there are still many details unknown for me. My point is that I feel so proud of my cultural background that now I have included in my classes strong cultural components: legends, traditions, history, literature, food, songs and festivities. The students are learning something new, and I am rediscovering history through teaching.

If you’d like to know more about the history of Venezuela, please check this link http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/venezuela-history.html

SOMETHING CALLED OLD YEAR

While having dinner with some friends, a particular image came up to my mind, without any reason. It's about a Venezuelan custom called Año Viejo (Old Year), which is represented by something similar to a straw man, human size, dressed in rags, filled with sawdust, straw or any material available. Generally, people place it at the main door of the house or tied to a street pole. At midnight of December 31, Año Viejo is burned, where fire purifies the past, represented by the ending year, and opens paths for the upcoming year.

After some online research, I found out that this tradition is a cultural part of several South American countries. In Venezuela, it’s a typical custom of the Andean towns and some other states of the country, however, the tradition has diminished because nobody has the time to do it or people simply find it boring nowadays.

During my childhood, each year one of the neighbors placed Año Viejo tied to a street pole, from December 1 until the burning day, which was on December 31. Over the years, this neighbor stopped making them because of her age and some of these were stolen, so it’s a shame this tradition declined.

I loved looking out of the window to see Año Viejo there, with a hat under the relentless sun of the Venezuelan plains. It was easy to become fond of this after watching it for a whole month, and its burning used to wake up a sudden longing for the past because, come on, sometimes Old Years aren’t as bad as they seem.

My best wishes for all of you, prosperity and happiness embrace you during the whole upcoming year 2015!!!