Venezuela: Difference between revisions

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	==Administrative divisions==		==Administrative divisions==




	==Geography==
	{{main\|Geography of Venezuela}}
	] (''Salto Ángel''), the world's highest ], in ].]]

	At 916,445 ] (353,841 ]), Venezuela is the world's 33rd-largest country (after ]). It is comparable in size to ], and is about half the size of the ] state of ]. Mainland Venezuela rests on the ]; its Caribbean islands were formed by ] at the margins of the bordering ]. With 2,800 km of coastline, Venezuela is home to a wide variety of landscapes. The extreme northeastern extensions of the ] reach into Venezuela's northwest and continue along the northern ] coast. There, the nation's highest point, ], is found.

	The country's center is characterized by the '']'', extensive plains that stretch from the Colombian border in the far west to the ] of the ] in the east. To the south, the dissected ] is home to the northern edge of ] and ], the world's highest ]. Venezuelan forests are being depleted at the rate of 200,000 ] per annum by logging and ].<ref></ref>

	The country can be further divided into nine geographical areas, some corresponding to the natural regions, one being the ] Range. The ] region comprises the lowlands near the ]. The ], a mountainous block in the northwest, is home to several ]s and valleys. The ] runs parallel to the coast and includes the hills surrounding ]; the ], separated from the Central Range by the ], covers all of ] and northern ]. The ] region makes up a third of the country's area above the ]. Under it, is the ] (the Guianas, above described). The ] is formed by ] and the ]. The last geographical region is the ] which forms a pantanous triangle, covering ], with the Atlantic platform branching off the coast.

	]

	The ] is the largest and most important river of the country, originating in one of the biggest ]s in Latin America. Other important rivers are the ] and the ].

	The local ] is tropical and generally hot and humid, though moderate and cold in the highlands. The capital, ] is also the country's largest city. Other major cities include ], ], ], ], and ].

	Venezuela is one of the seventeen ], for the great number of animal and vegetable species that habitate there.

Revision as of 21:18, 3 December 2006

Bolivarian Republic of VenezuelaRepública Bolivariana de Venezuela
Flag Coat of Arms of Venezuela Coat of Arms
Motto: None
Anthem: Gloria al Bravo Pueblo ("Glory to the Brave People")

Capitaland largest city	Caracas
Official languages	Spanish
Government	Federal republic

• President	Hugo Chávez Frías
• Vice president	José Vicente Rangel

Independence

• From Spain	July 5, 1811
• From Gran Colombia	November 21, 1831
• Recognised	March 30, 1845

• Water (%)	0.3
Population
• July 2005 estimate	26,749,000 (43rd)
• 2001 census	23,054,210
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$163.503 billion (51st)
• Per capita	$6,186 (95th)
HDI (2003)	0.772 high (75th)
Currency	Venezuelan bolívar (VEB)
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	None
Calling code	58
ISO 3166 code	VE
Internet TLD	.ve
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been the full official title of the state since the adoption of the 1999 constitution, when the state was renamed in honour of Simón Bolívar. Historical: Dios y Federación (English: "God and Federation") The Constitution also recognizes all indigenous languages existing in the country.

Venezuela (IPA: ; Template:Lang-es, IPA: ) is a country on the northern coast of South America. Comprising a continental mainland and numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea, Venezuela borders Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west. Trinidad and Tobago, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, and the Leeward Antilles lie just north of the Venezuelan coast.

A former Spanish colony, Venezuela is a federal republic. Historically, Venezuela has had territorial disputes with Guyana, largely concerning the Essequibo area, and with Colombia concerning the Gulf of Venezuela. Today, Venezuela is known widely for its petroleum industry, the environmental diversity of its territory, and its natural features. Christopher Columbus, upon seeing its eastern coast in 1498, referred to Venezuela as Tierra de Gracia (Land of Grace), which has become the country’s nickname.

Administrative divisions

Military

Main article: Military of Venezuela

Culture & heritage

Main articles: Culture of Venezuela and Heritage of Venezuela

File:Dia Virgen del Valle 01.jpg

Worship of the Virgin of the Valley, Isla Margarita.

Venezuela's heritage, art, and culture has been heavily influenced by the historical evolutions of its Latin American counterparts. These elements extend to its historic buildings, architecture, art, landscape, boundaries, and monuments. Venezuelan culture has been shaped by indigenous, Spanish, and African influences dating at early as the colonial period. 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.

Venezuelan art is gaining attention within and outside the country. First dominated by religious motives, in the late 19th century it changed to historical and heroic representations, led by Martín Tovar y Tovar. Modernism took over in the 20th century. Some remarkable Venezuelan artists include Arturo Michelena, Cristóbal Rojas, Armando Reverón, Manuel Cabré, Jesús-Rafael Soto, Carlos Cruz-Diez (who both contributed greatly to kinetic art) and Yucef Merhi.

Venezuelan Joropo. Drawing by Eloy Palacios (1912).

Venezuelan literature began developing soon after the Spanish conquest, and it was dominated by Spanish culture and thinking. Following the rise of political literature during the Independence War, then came Romanticism, the first important genre in the region, whose great exponent was Juan Vicente González. Although mainly focused on narrative, poets also figure with great importance, Andrés Eloy Blanco being the most famous of them, and also Fermín Toro. Major writers and novelists are Rómulo Gallegos, Teresa de la Parra, Arturo Uslar Pietri, Adriano González León, Miguel Otero Silva and Mariano Picón Salas. Another great poet and humanist was Andrés Bello, besides being an educator and an intellectual. Other philosophers and intellectuals, like Laureano Vallenilla Lanz and José Gil Fortoul, along with many other writers, sustained the theory of Venezuelan positivism.

The great architect of the Venezuelan modern era was Carlos Raúl Villanueva, who designed the Universidad Central de Venezuela, (a World Heritage Site) and its Aula Magna. Venezuelan architectural examples are the Capitol, the Baralt Theatre, the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, and the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge.

Indigenous musical styles are sort of a crucible of Venezuelan cultural inheritances, most exemplified by groups like Un Solo Pueblo and Serenata Guayanesa. The national musical instrument is the cuatro. The typical or representative musical styles are mainly from the llanos area and its surroundings, such as 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 Gaita (music style) is also a popular style, played generally during Christmas, typical of the Zulian region. The national dance is the joropo. Teresa Carreño was a world famous piano virtuosa during the late 19th century.

Venezuela is also known for their world famous baseball players, such as Luis Aparicio, who is in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York (USA), David Concepción, Oswaldo Guillén, Andrés Galarraga, Omar Vizquel, Luis Sojo, Bobby Abreu, and Johan Santana, winner of the Cy Young Award in 2004 and 2006. Although baseball is tremendously popular (it's the national pastime), football (soccer) is also gaining popularity, due to the increasing performance of the Venezuela national football team.

Notes

"Coro and its Port". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 1993.
"Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2000.

References

Child, Jack. "The Politics and Semiotics of the Smallest Icons of Popular Culture: Latin American Postage Stamps." Latin American Research Review, 40:1 (2005) 108-137.