HISTORICALLY SPEAKING VENEZUELA PATCH PROGRAM
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1. Venezuela is located in the northern area of South America. It’s coastline is about 1,740 miles long and borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. View an outline of a Venezuela country map and its Capital. Identify Venezuela’s flag.

2. The Venezuela official language is Spanish. Though the indigenous Indians in Venezuela have their own language and customs. Learn to count or say phrases in Spanish or learn some wordswords from the Indian language.

3. In Venezuela they play instruments like the cuatro, four stringed guitar, and maracas. Their national dance is the joropo and danced in nearly all the festivals. Other dances are the meremgue and tanguito, similar to the Argentina Tango. Some of the dances and instruments are unique from different regions of Venezuela. Watch a dance OR listen to music OR sing a song OR learn more information about a dance or instrument from Venezuela.

You Tube Video Joropo dance [1:58 minutes] learn some steps!

4. The Pabellon Criollo, is Venezuela’s national dish. Ithas black beans, shredded beef, onions, garlic, green peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, with white cheese over top. It is served with rice, a fried egg and plantain. Arepas are also a common food. They are balls of fried corn or wheat flour and can be filled with a variety of different things such as cheese, jelly, vegetables or meat. Try a recipe, food, or drink from Venezuela. .

5. The Carnival is a two day celebration that takes place usually in March. Many people dress up in costumes and dance in parades competing for the most colorful and inventive costume. Learn more about the festivals or holidays in Venezuela, go to a festival, participate in one, OR complete a craft that represents a festival. Examples include: Corpus Christi, New Year’s Day, Epiphany, and Patron Saints Day.

6. In Venezuela, they throw big parties to celebrate their children’s birthdays. All the children at the parties take turns trying to hit a piñata. On a girls 15th birthday, they have a quinceañera , or coming out party. The party lasts all day and the girl wears a fancy gown. Have a birthday celebration with a piñata, OR learn more about quinceañera, OR decorate a cupcake or cake for a celebration.

7. Folklore tales sometimes include the llanero, cowboy of the llanos, the hero in the story. He was known for his courage and strength and rounding up his herd with a lasso. Read OR listen to a folk tale.

8. Venezuela has a large variety of terrains. The Guiana Highlands has the world’s highest waterfall named Angel Falls. It has 72 islands in the Caribbean sea and desert land. This creates a large variety of outdoor activities to complete from deep-sea fishing to hiking. They also enjoy snorkeling, windsurfing, sailing, and swimming. Choose a terrain or an outdoor activity from Venezuela to learn more about.

9. The orchid is the national flower of Venezuela. It can carry 3.7 million seeds in one pod. In the Andean Mountain area has a large variety of animals that reside there. One of the world’s largest rodents that reside there is the capybara. Choose [3] animals, trees, OR plants from Venezuela to learn more about. Examples include: Otter, manatee, pink dolphin, oilbird, owl, toucan, and cactus.

10. Indigenous Indian handmade items are usually made for the family and sold to tourists in the markets. The Guajiro Indians are known for their ceramics, hammocks, colorful shawls, bags and belts. The Warau Indians are known for beautiful baskets, wooden figurines carved into shapes of animals. The people of the Andes mountains create sweaters, wool ponchos, and leather items. Other groups are known for masks, feather and bead ornaments, jewelry, and wooden stools. Learn more about one of the native groups in Venezuela OR create a craft or project using a traditional a skill OR jewelry OR observe someone creating a handicraft from Venezuela.

11. During holidays and festivals the Venezuelans wear the traditional clothing. The men wear a liqui-liqui [lee-kee-lee-kee] outfit made of cotton which consists of a jacket, white shirt, and pants. Women wear colorful full skirt called a joroperas [hoh-roh-PAY-rahs] with an off shoulder white blouse shirt with matching trim or embroidery. Draw a picture of the clothing, dress up in Armenia themed clothing, create an accessory, complete our paperdolls OR view traditional clothing through books or the internet or our country manual.

12. There are a variety of games and sports that played in Venezuela. One of the popular sports is bullfighting and baseball. Bolas Criollas is their version of bowling. Learn a traditional game OR play a game that symbolizes Venezuela.