Caracas Totally Explained

Everything about Caracas totally explained

Demographics

conurbation including the surrounding suburbs has an estimated population of 4.7 million.
   The mixture of races and cultures has marked this city throughout its history. Previously, during colonial times, Spaniards mixed with local native Indians and again with African slaves brought to work on the cocoa and coffee fields. As a result, the racial and ethnic composition of Caracas is diverse.
   After independence and following the discovery and exploitation of petroleum, European immigrants began to arrive in the growing city. Examples include the French, who brought the telephone system (thus, locals answer the phone in French style, saying "aló", and the Dutch (Shell Petroleum), who came to exploit the natural resources.
   The aftermath of the Second World War, repressive European dictatorships, and the continued exploitation of petroleum attracted many thousands of immigrants from Spain (Galicia, Canary Islands especially), Portugal (Madeira Island especially), and Italy. Middle Eastern immigrants from Palestine and Lebanon also sought a new life in the city.European immigration was notorious during the 1960s and 1970s, but the 1980s and 1990s saw growing numbers of immigrants hailing from neighbouring countries such as Colombia; Ecuador; Peru, Bolivia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti.
   Due to the old Spanish influence, mixture of races and cultures has been an accepted part of life in the city of Caracas. Therefore, it isn't difficult to find blond people with dark eyes, as well as very dark people with blondish hair and blue eyes. Nevertheless, the common demography would be "mulatos" (people of mixed black and white ancestry), "mestizos" (mixed white and native Indian), and "criollos" (an amalgamation of three races).

Sites of interest

Federal Capitol

The Federal Capitol occupies an entire city block, and, with its golden domes and neoclassical pediments, can seem even bigger. The building was commissioned by Antonio Guzmán Blanco in the 1870s, and is most famous for its Salón Elíptico, an oval hall with a mural-covered dome and walls lined with portraits of the country's great and good.

East Park

The Caracas East Park (Parque del Este) was designed by Brazilian architect Roberto Burle Marx. It is a green paradise in the middle of the city, and contains a small zoo. A replica of the ship led by Francisco de Miranda, the Leander, may be will build in the southern part of the park. There used to exist a replica of the Santa Maria ship, used by Christopher Colombus in his voyages to discover America.

Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex

The Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex (Complejo Cultural Teresa Carreño), or more commonly the Teresa Carreño Theater (Teatro Teresa Carreño), is one of the most important Theaters of Caracas and Venezuela, where symphonic and popular concerts imagine frequently, operas, ballet and theater.

Simón Bolívar birthplace house

Skyscrapers may loom overhead, but there's more than a hint of original colonial flavor in this neatly proportioned reconstruction of the house where Simón Bolívar was born on July 24, 1783. The museum's exhibits include period weapons, banners and uniforms. Much of the original colonial interior has been replaced by monumental paintings of battle scenes, but more personal relics can be seen in the nearby Museo Bolivariano. Pride of place goes to the coffin in which Bolívar's remains were brought from Colombia; his ashes now rest in the National Pantheon.
Bolívar's funeral was held 12 years after his death at the Iglesia de San Francisco, just a few blocks west, and it was also here that he was proclaimed 'El Libertador' in 1813. The church dazzles the eye with its richly gilded baroque altarpieces, and still retains much of its original colonial interior, despite being given a modernizing once-over by Guzmán Blanco.

National Pantheon

Venezuela's most venerated building is five blocks north of Plaza Bolívar, on the northern edge of the old town. Formerly a church, the building was given its new purpose as the final resting place for eminent Venezuelans by Antonio Guzmán Blanco in 1874.

Parque Central Complex

At a short distance east of Plaza Bolívar is Parque Central, a concrete complex of five high-rise residential slabs of somewhat apocalyptic-appearing architecture, crowned by two 53-storey octagonal towers, one of them is under repair due to the fire which burned the building on October 17, 2004.
Parque Central is Caracas' art and culture hub, with museums, cinemas, the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, and the Caracas Athenaeum, home to the esteemed Rajatabla theatre company. The Mirador de la Torre Oeste, on the 52nd floor, gives a 360° bird's-eye view of the city.

Plazas

Plaza Bolívar is the focus of the old town with the monument to El Libertador, Simon Bolívar, at its heart. Modern high-rise buildings have overpowered much of the colonial flavor of Caracas' founding neighborhood. Plaza Caracas is s square is located in the Simón Bolívar Center, at the foot of the well-known towers, 30 storey dominating El Silencio District and forming a unique testimony to the early days of the modernisation of the city. The square is an important centre of the activities of the city since its construction in 1983. It has various levels for pedestrian and motorised traffic, and contains the business, shops, restaurants, services of a zone in which are concentrated important public and private institutions.

El Hatillo

El Hatillo is a colonial town located at the south-east suburbs of Caracas in the municipal area of the same name. This small town, which is one of Venezuela's few well-preserved typical colonial areas, gives an idea of what Caracas was like in centuries past.

Cerro El Ávila

Cerro El Ávila (Mountain El Ávila) (Wuaraira Repano), is a mountain in the mid-North of Venezuela. It rises next to Caracas and separates the city from the Caribbean Sea, it's considered the lung of Caracas due to the fact that there's no construction on it, only vegetation, this makes it a sites of reference of the city.

Las Mercedes

For those who wish to know the most commercial and cosmopolitan district of Caracas, you must visit Las Mercedes, this zone reunited some of the best restaurants of the city, that include the diverse gastronomical specialities, along with pleasant pubs, bars and pools. It is the favorite meeting place of the Caracas youth, it has some of the most exclusive stores of the city.

Altamira neighborhood

Altamira is a neighborhood located in the Chacao municipality of Caracas, it has its own Metro Station, many hotels and restaurants, and is an important business center of the city, the Francisco de Miranda avenue (a major avenue in Caracas) and the Distibuidor Altamira (a congested highway exit) are both located in Altamira.

Religious builings

Caracas has numerous religious buildings.
The Caracas Cathedral is situated in one corner of the Plaza Bolívar, it was founded in 1594. The parents of Simón Bolívar are buried there, besides its hand carved altars, it possesses works of art such as, The Resurrection by Rubens, the Presentation of the Virgin by Murillo, and the Last Supper, an unfinished work by the Venezuelan painter Arturo Michelena.
Along with the Cathedral, the San Francisco Church is one of the most important religious buildings in Caracas. It houses some XVII century masterpieces of art, carvings, sculptures and oil paintings. The Central University of Venezuela, created in the time of Philip V, was lodged in the church cloisters, today is the seat of the Language Academy, and the Academies of History, Physics, and Mathematics. This church is of much historical and sentimental value to the people of Caracas, for it was in its precincts where the people congregated in 1813, to concede the title of El Libertador (The Liberator) to Simón Bolívar.

Colleges and universities

Central University of Venezuela

(Universidad Central de Venezuela in Spanish) is a premier public University of Venezuela located in Caracas. Founded in 1721, it's the oldest university in Venezuela and one of the first in Latin America. The university campus was designed by architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva and it was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2000. The Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas, as the main Campus is also known, is considered a masterpiece of architecture and urban planning and it's the only university campus designed in the 20th century that has received such recognition by UNESCO.

Simón Bolívar University

(Universidad Simón Bolívar in Spanish) or USB, is a public institution located in Caracas, Venezuela with scientific and technological orientation. Its motto is "La Universidad de la Excelencia" ("University of Excellence"). Both nationally and globally, Simón Bolívar University is a well-known school with a high reputation in scientific and engineering careers. Its graduates are known for achieving high professional standards.

Other universities

Universidad Católica Andrés Bello

Universidad Metropolitana

Universidad Nacional Experimental Simón Rodríguez

Universidad Santa Maria

Universidad José María Vargas

Universidad Monteavila

Universidad Nueva Esparta

Universidad Experimental Politécnica Antonio José de Sucre

Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador

Universidad Alejandro de Humboldt

Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela

Sports

Most notably football and baseball teams are located in Caracas. Several other sports also have Caracas as their home. The baseball teams Tiburones de La Guaira and Leones del Caracas have like seat the Estadio Universitario de la UCV, of the Central University of Venezuela, with a capacity of 25 000 spectators. Another baseball team founded in Caracas, the Navegantes del Magallanes, even though it was moved to Valencia, Carabobo continues to have a following in the capital because of its historic rivalry with local teams.
Between the most important soccer stadiums we have:

Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, with capacity of 30 000 spectators (but is being extended to 40 000 for the Copa América 2007 and seat of the Caracas Fútbol Club and Deportivo Italia)

Brígido Iriarte stadium, with a capacity of 12 000 spectators (old seat of the Caracas Fútbol Club and Deportivo Italchacao, and seat of the Estrella Roja FC). The Caracas Football Club opens its own stadium in August 2005, called Cocodrilos Sport Park. Caracas for being the capital of Venezuela, has the seat of the National Institute of Sports and the Venezuelan Olympic Committee as well as of many clubs and national federations of a great diversity of disciplines. Bodybuilding, in particular Female Bodybuilding has become popular in Caracas as well. The most famous names being Betty Viana and Yaxeni Oriquen, who is also a Ms. Olympia champion. Both women are also natives of Caracas.

Caracas hosted the 1983 Pan American Games

Sports teams

Baseball: Leones del Caracas B.B.C.

Soccer: Caracas Fútbol Club, Estrella Roja Futbol club, Deportivo Italia

Basket: Cocodrilos de Caracas B.B.C..

Culture

Caracas is Venezuela's cultural capital, boasting several restaurants, theaters, museums, and shopping centers. The city is also home to an array of immigrants from but not limited to: Spain, Italy, Portugal, the Middle East, Germany, China, and Latin American countries. Caracas has the reputation as being one of the most dangerous cities in Latin America. (External Link

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Museums, libraries and cultural centres

Caracas, has been a city with great cultural aspirations throughout the course of its history. Institutions such as the old Atheneum bear witness to this awareness. The National library holds a great amount of volumes, and affords abundant bibliographic information for the student of the discovery and independence of Venezuela. The museum of Colonial Art has on show an interesting exhibition of Venezuelan art from the periods previous to its independence with fountains, furniture, colonial courtyards etc. In the Fine Arts Museum are kept some archaeological finds with some good examples of precolombine pottery. Since 1974, Caracas has had a Contemporary Art Museum, containing works representing the most important tendencies in contemporary art, and since 1982, counts with a Children's Museum, a privately managed museum foundation, with the propose of teaching children about science, technology, culture and arts. The Natural Science Museum, has a rich collection os archaeological pieces from the primitive native cultures, in these collections and in other no less important galleries (Raúl Santana Creole Museum, Transport Museum, the Coin Museum, Bolivarian Museum, Jacobo Borges Museum, Carlos Cruz-Diez Museum, Alejandro Otero Museum, Sacred Museum, etc.) the cultural aspirations of Caracas are more than evident.

Gastronomy

Caracas has a rich gastronomical heritage due to the influence of immigrants, leading to a wide choice of regional and international cuisine. There are a great variety of international restaurants including French, Italian, Spanish, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican. The district of La Candelaria is well known for its Spanish restaurants, due to the number of Galician and Canarian immigrants that came to this area in the mid-20th century. Typical dishes include: Pabellón Criollo, empanadas, arepas, hallaca, black roast beef and chicken salad. Chicha, guarapo, carato and tizana (mixed beverage with fruits) are typical drinks.

Notable natives

Caracas has been the birthplace of many politicians and artists that notably shaped the country's history and culture:

Simón Bolívar

Simón Rodríguez

Andrés Bello

Manuel Blum

Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi

Teresa Carreño

Rómulo Gallegos

Carlos Cruz-Diez

Pedro Gual

Antonio Guzmán Blanco

Francisco de Miranda

Armando Reverón

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez

Tito Salas

Juan Antonio Pérez Bonalde

Juan Bautista Plaza

Juan Vicente Torrealba

Carlos Eduardo Machado

Aquiles Nazoa

Alfredo Sadel

Transportation

The Caracas Metro has been in operation since 1981. With 04 lines and more than 50 stations, it covers a great part of the city, it also has an integrated ticket system, that combines the route of the Metro with those offered by the Metrobús, a bus service of the Caracas Metro. The Metro system works from 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Buses are the main means of mass transportation. There are two bus systems: the traditional system and the Metrobús. The traditional system runs a variety of bus types, operated by several companies on normal streets and avenues:

Autobus; large buses.
Camioneta; medium size buses.
microbus or camionetica; vans or minivans.

IAFE; train services to and from Tuy Valley cities of Charallave and Cúa.

The Simón Bolívar International Airport, the biggest and most important in the country is located outside the city, roughly 20 miles from the downtown area. Taxis and Buses are available at the airport to provide transportation to the city.

Sister cities

Cities twinned with Caracas are:

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Tehran, Iran

San Francisco, United States

New Orleans, United States

Istanbul, Turkey

Madrid, Spain

Damascus, Syria

Ecatepec, Mexico

Guadalajara, Mexico

Managua, Nicaragua

Havana, Cuba

Minsk, Belarus

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Districts

Caracas Districts
Northwest	Catia • 23 de Enero • Propatria • Lomas de Urdaneta • Casalta • El Atlántico • Caño Amarillo • Los Magallanes de Catia • Alta Vista • Ruperto Lugo • Lídice • Gramoven • Manicomio
Center	El Silencio • Capitolio • La Hoyada • Altagracia • La Pastora • Cotiza • Quinta Crespo • Guaicaipuro • La Candelaria
Southwest	Artigas • Vista Alegre • Bella Vista • Colinas de Vista Alegre • La Yaguara • Zona Industrial de La Yaguara • El Algodonal • Carapa • Antímano • Washington • Las Fuentes • El Paraíso • El Pinar • La Paz • El Paraíso • Montalbán • Juan Pablo II • La Vega • Las Adjuntas • Caricuao • Mamera
Centereastern	El Conde • Parque Central • San Agustín del Sur • San Agustín del Norte • Simón Rodríguez • Maripérez •La Colina • Las Palmas • Las Lomas • San Rafael • Los Caobos • Quebrada Honda • San Bernardino • La Campiña • La Florida • Alta Florida • Chapellín • Los Cedros • El Bosque • Chacaíto • Sabana Grande • Bello Monte
South	Cementerio • Los Carmenes • Los Castaños • Prado de Maria • La Bandera • Las Acacias • Colinas de las Acacias • Los Rosales • Valle Abajo • Los Chaguaramos • Ciudad Universitaria • Santa Mónica • Colinas de Santa Mónica • Colinas de Bello Monte • Cumbres de Curumo • El Valle • Los Jardines de El Valle • Coche • Delgado Chalbaud • La Rinconada
Eastern	Country Club • El Pedregal • San Marino • Campo Alegre • Chacao • Bello Campo • El Rosal • El Retiro • Las Mercedes • Tamanaco • Chuao • Altamira • Los Palos Grandes • La Castellana • La Floresta • Santa Eduvigis • Sebucán • La Carlota • Santa Cecilia • Campo Claro • Los Ruices • Montecristo • Los Chorros • Los Dos Caminos • Boleíta • Los Cortijos • La California • Horizonte • El Marqués • La Urbina • Terrazas del Ávila • El Llanito • Macaracuay • La Guairita • Caurimare • El Cafetal • San Román • Santa Rosa • San Luis • Santa Sofía • Santa Paula • Santa Inés • Los Pomelos • Palo Verde • Petare
Southeastern	Valle Arriba • Santa Fe • Los Campitos • Prados del Este • Alto Prado • El Peñón • Baruta • Piedra Azul • La Trinidad • La Tahona • Monterrey • Las Minas • Cerro Verde • Los Naranjos • La Boyera • Alto Hatillo • El Hatillo • Los Geranios • La Lagunita • El Placer • El Guayabao • El Volcán • La Unión • Sartanejas

Panorama

Further Information

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