Portal:Venezuela/Did you know/archives



number-one]] song "Baila Mi Rumba"?
 * ... that the degradation of a mural (pictured) by Francisco Narváez in the University City of Caracas led to the formation of a group dedicated to preserving his works there?
 * ... that Infection, the first Venezuelan zombie film, has been banned in the country despite horror being a popular genre there?
 * ... that Sangrador, Venezuela's submission for the 2003 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, had only 31 box-office attendances in the country that year?
 * ... that the Baralt Theatre (pictured) in Maracaibo, the location of Venezuela's first film screenings, now hosts the country's short-film festival?
 * ... that the female black-capped tanager (pictured) moulds her nest by vibrating in it?
 * ... that subjects of Venezuelan films of the 1890s include a dentist pulling teeth in a hotel and a man getting into a brawl with a stagecoach driver?
 * ... that the Colombian television series Bolívar used 6,000 extras?
 * ... that Philadelphia-based physician Charles Sajous, called the "father of American endocrinology", received the French Legion of Honour and the Venezuelan Order of the Liberator?
 * ... that despite its title, the Venezuelan film Muchachos bañándose en la laguna de Maracaibo (Kids bathing at the lagoon of Maracaibo) also features street shots of the city of Maracaibo?
 * ... that Venezuelan director Patricia Ortega (pictured) has drawn strength from her film Being Impossible during both personal and political upheavals?
 * ... that there has been a boom in LGBT+ cinema produced in Latin America, in contrast to its traditionally religious and machismo culture?
 * ... that Perla Farías has created telenovelas, such as Juana la virgen and La Reina del Sur, which avoid classic stereotypes?
 * ... that the queen parrotfish feeds on the algae it scrapes from corals and other surfaces, resulting in bioerosion?
 * ... that the Creole Petroleum Corporation's 1956 propaganda film Assignment: Venezuela sought to convince American oil workers that the anti-capitalist military dictatorship had embraced the American way of life?
 * ... that former astrophysicist Alejandra Melfo now works on preserving microbial life from Venezuela's rapidly receding last glacier?
 * ... that Venezuela's economy still has not recovered from Black Friday in 1983?
 * ... that Venezuelan politician Miguel Pizarro was expelled from high school for starting protests against military education?
 * ... that Venezuelan journalist Fabiana Rosales (pictured) has assumed the role of international ambassador, soliciting support for her husband's opposition party, towards resolving the crisis in Venezuela?
 * ... that Venezuelan journalist Luz Mely Reyes was one of the "Guardians" spotlighted for the 2018 Time Person of the Year?
 * ... that Roma producer Gabriela Rodríguez is the first Latin American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture?
 * ... that for nearly 100 years, people thought Manuel Trujillo Durán introduced cinema to Venezuela, though he was just a film technician at the time?
 * ... that representatives from more than a dozen nations are reported to be attending today's International Conference on the Situation in Venezuela in Montevideo, Uruguay? (8 February 2019)
 * ... that Román Chalbaud's 1977 film El Pez que Fuma was inspired by stories from prostitutes at a brothel he used to frequent?
 * ... that the production of the film El Caracazo required a military security presence for the filming of scenes of riot and massacre in the centre of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas?
 * ... that Venezuelan director Román Chalbaud became interested in camera angles after playing an angel in a Nativity play and seeing the stage and the audience from on high?
 * ... that the death of Venezuelan politician Fernando Albán Salazar led to protests in Caracas, and calls for investigations by the European Union and the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner?
 * ... that Ana María Campos, who died 190 years ago today, is celebrated (monument pictured) as a heroine of the Venezuelan War of Independence? (18 October 2018)
 * ... that Venezuelan political activist Rafaela Requesens was a flamenco dancer for fifteen years from the age of six?
 * ... that the 31 acoustic panels (pictured) on the ceiling of the Central University of Venezuela's Aula Magna auditorium were originally meant to be an art installation in the outside corridor?
 * ... that the cocoi heron (pictured) is the largest heron in South America?
 * ... that after leading the first slave insurrection in Venezuela's history, Miguel de Buría had himself crowned as king?
 * ... that Maribel Parra de Mestre is the first female vice admiral of Venezuela?
 * ... that Venezuelan footballer Sergio Córdova scored on his professional debut for Caracas FC?
 * ... that when the USS Albany disappeared off the coast of Venezuela in 1853, its crew included the offspring of several prominent politicians?
 * ... that former CIA agent Luis Posada Carriles twice escaped from prison in Venezuela, where he faced trial for the bombing of Cubana Flight 455?
 * ... that in The Field of Fight, new US National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn argues that Bolivia, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela are allied with Al-Qaeda and ISIS?
 * ... that when it leased the planes of a failed Venezuelan airline, a Bolivian company retained the name LaMia to avoid the cost of repainting the aircraft?
 * ... that the United States was accused by President Maduro of provoking a covert coup against his government in Venezuela's state of emergency?
 * ... that the pepito is one of the most popular street foods in Venezuela?
 * ... that the 1993 Tropical Storm Bret was the deadliest natural disaster in Venezuela since the 1967 Caracas earthquake?
 * ... that the Venezuelan footballer Edder Farías scored against Honduras in February 2015, his country's first victory since September 2013?
 * ... that art dealer Konrad Bernheimer was born in Venezuela after his grandfather made a deal with Hermann Göring to allow the family to flee Germany?
 * ... that the Sierra de Perijá National Park in Venezuela is home to the Perijá tapaculo, a bird first described in 2015?
 * ... that Venezuelan singer Aneeka cites as musical influences American singers Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin?
 * ... that the 200-million-year-old Tachiraptor is a new type of dinosaur discovered in Venezuela?
 * ... that the Venezuelan president Rómulo Betancourt had been the director of the Costa Rican communist newspaper Trabajo in the 1930s?
 * ... that women in Venezuela are being targeted by hair thieves known as the Piranhas who steal their hair in broad daylight?
 * ... that the new species of frog Pristimantis jamescameroni (pictured) from Venezuela was named after the film-maker James Cameron?
 * ... that the song "Volví a Nacer" by Carlos Vives reached number one in Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, and the Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States?
 * ... that Juan Antonio Yanes was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum sixteen years after his death?
 * ... that you can buy "British Airways" at an ice cream store in Mérida, Venezuela?
 * ... that Hollis Dow Hedberg led the Gulf Oil Corporation's geological operations in San Tomé and eastern Venezuela?
 * ... that Francisco Esteban Gómez is honored in Venezuela as a hero of the Battle of Matasiete?
 * ... that the Neo-Gothic renovation of Venezuela's Palacio de las Academias (pictured) gave the façade forty bays containing windows or doors?
 * ... that the Palacio de Justicia de Caracas in Venezuela straddles an access highway to the city centre?
 * ... that the National Art Gallery in Caracas has a wall with sculptural reliefs by Francisco Narvaez, Venezuela's first modernist sculptor?
 * ... that the house where Simón Bolívar was born (pictured) is now a national monument in Venezuela?
 * ... that Venezuela formerly produced almost as much coffee as Colombia, but by 2001 its coffee production was only about one percent of world production?
 * ... that the  edifice  (pictured) was the focal point for the Constitutional Convention and signing of the Declaration of Independence of Venezuela in the nineteenth century, hence known as the "cradle of independence"?
 * ... that Bruce Rondón, a Venezuelan baseball player, was described as a "rare talent" by General Manager Dave Dombrowski of the Detroit Tigers?
 * ... that Mexico–Venezuela relations were strained in November 2005 by comments Hugo Chavez made on a talk show?
 * ... that the 1999 constitution of Venezuela enabled the expansion of local government via the Local Public Planning Councils?
 * ... that Emilio Boggio is credited as the first Impressionist painter of Venezuela?
 * ... that Catedral Nuestra Señora in La Asunción is the oldest church in Venezuela?
 * ... that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would have voted for U.S. President Barack Obama if he could?
 * ... that the Andrés Bello Catholic University is the oldest of all private universities in Venezuela?
 * ... that Venezuela's second satellite, VRSS-1, was launched at the end of September? (2012)
 * ... that the Rose of Venezuela (flower pictured) and Inga thibaudiana are trees that grow in seasonally flooded tropical forests?
 * ... that a study showed that cultivating the Atlantic winged oyster off the coast of Venezuela was not commercially viable?
 * ... that Hugh Carless, who accompanied travel writer Eric Newby on an expedition to Northern Afghanistan in 1956, later served as the British ambassador to Venezuela?
 * ... that Venezuelan singer-songwriter Franco De Vita received nominations for the Latin Grammy Awards for his album En Primera Fila and the song "Tan Sólo Tú"?
 * ... that Eduar Villanueva set a Venezuelan national record while competing in the men's 1500m event during the World Championships in Athletics held earlier this month in Daegu, South Korea?
 * ... that the Bearded Helmetcrest (pictured) of the high páramo of Colombia and Venezuela nests in the daisy Espeletia?
 * ...that the Parque Central Complex towers (right) are the second tallest buildings in South America?
 * ...that Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan revolutionary leader, took part in the French Revolution and is depicted in Paris's Arc de Triomphe?
 * ...that Pabellón criollo, Venezuela's national dish, represents the social classes that existed within the country during the Spanish Colony?
 * ...that the name Venezuela actually means Little Venice?
 * ...that Dr. José Gregorio Hernández  is considered a saint by many Venezuelans, but never given such title by the Vatican?
 * ...that the Mérida Cable Car is the highest aerial tramway in the world?
 * ...that the Maracaibo Lake is the largest lake in South America?
 * ...that the Venezuelan War of Independence against the Spanish was viewed by some as a civil war?
 * ...that the approximate number of Venezuelan-born currently signed to the Major League Baseball was around 800?
 * ... that Eduardo Iturrizaga became Venezuela's first and only chess grandmaster, at the age of 19?
 * ... that the English clergyman George Edmundson worked for the British Government on the Boundary Arbitration between British Guiana and Venezuela?
 * ... that the Spanish warship that fought in the Action of 13 June 1898 would later serve in the Venezuelan Navy?
 * ... that via Urban Land Committees, more than 300,000 Venezuelan urban households have benefited from a land titling program?
 * ... that Venezuelan farmer Franklin Brito amputated a finger for the television cameras when a court ruled against him?
 * ... that in 1967 Venezuela's ruling Democratic Action party denied the winner of its primary election the nomination for the 1968 presidential race, for being too leftwing?
 * ... that the Movimiento 2D is a Venezuelan opposition movement founded and led by the editor/proprietor of the daily El Nacional?
 * ... that the present Alto Vista Chapel (pictured) in Aruba, completed in 1952, stands at the location where the original chapel was built in 1750 by Domingo Silvestre, a missionary from Venezuela? (image lost)
 * ... that Venezuela's 2006 National Commission on Police Reform proposed a new model of policing with a new police force specifically trained in human rights?
 * ... that "El Cariño Es Como Una Flor", performed by Venezuelan singer-songwriter Rudy La Scala, became his first best performing Latin single in 1990?
 * ... that the Venezuelan historian Lucía Raynero Morales holds a Visiting Fellowship at St Antony's College, Oxford, that is named after the Venezuelan humanist Andrés Bello?
 * ... that the Venezuelan town Potosi was intentionally flooded in 1985, but has reappeared in 2010 due to a drought?
 * ... that the Parks and Recreation episode "Sister City" featured Saturday Night Live star Fred Armisen in a guest role as the head of a visiting Venezuelan delegation?
 * ... that Venezuelan performer José Luis Rodríguez "El Puma" received a Grammy Award nomination for his [[List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1989|
 * ... that Venezuelan painter Cristóbal Rojas produced a painting of purgatory (pictured) shortly before his death in the knowledge he was going to die from tubercolosis?
 * ... that Alex Garcia, driver of No. 98 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, is the first Venezuelan to race in NASCAR?
 * ... that while in Venezuela for the Winter Leagues current Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Gary Glover was robbed at gunpoint?
 * ... that the natural habitats of the Short-tailed Emerald are moist lowland forests and montanes and heavily degraded former forests in Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela?
 * ... that as part of Cuba-Venezuela relations, 50,000 Venezuelans went to Cuba for free eye treatment?
 * ...that after discovering a suitcase with US$800,000 in Maletinazo (the suitcase scandal), policewoman Maria de Lujan Telpuk appeared on the cover of the Argentine and Venezuelan editions of Playboy?
 * ...that current Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister and ambassador to the OAS Jorge Valero, a vocal spokesman for the Chavez government, fell out with his brother Hidalgo, an anti-Chavez activist?
 * ...that the four catfish species of the genus Pseudolithoxus are only found in the Amazonas and Bolívar states of Venezuela?
 * ...that Antonio Ricaurte immolated himself in 1814 to prevent the Spanish Crown from taking over the San Mateo estate in Venezuela?
 * ...that despite the country's oil revenues, only 87% of Venezuelan citizens have access to potable water and 71% have access to sanitation?
 * ...that Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine is supported by both the Congressional Black Caucus and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez?
 * ...that the Thanksgiving 1984 Nor'easter (pictured) deposited a 197-foot Venezuelan freighter in the backyard of a Palm Beach, Florida socialite, where it remained for several months? (image lost)
 * ...that Deportivo Táchira Fútbol Club is the Venezuelan soccer club with the most appearances in the Copa Libertadores?
 * ...that Russian native Emilio Kosterlitzky, known as the Mexican Cossack, spoke nine languages, jumped ship in Venezuela, fled to Mexico where he fought in the Apache Wars and in the Mexican Revolution, and eventually became an undercover operative for the U.S. government during World War I?