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 Tourist calendar of Venezuela |
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| January |
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Date: January 1
Celebration: Paradura of the Holy Child
Place: all of Mérida State
Description: A family feast centering on the image of the Christ Child. Special foods and beverages. Christmas carols and gifts bring joy to the celebration.
Date: January
Celebration: Saint Sebastian International Fair
Place: San Cristóbal (Táchira)
Description: Bullfights featuring the world’s best bullfighters. Agricultural and industrial exhibits. Handicrafts. International bicycling. A variety of shows. Dances in stalls and small temples. Country music festival. Typical regional foods and beverages.
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| February |
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Date: Carnival Tuesday
Celebration: Dance of the Hammock
Place: Puerto Cabello, Patanemo (Carabobo)
Description:This dance, which comes from Curacao, is performed in the San Millán neighborhood of Puerto Cabello. It depicts the jealousy of a black at a funeral ceremony, who discovers that his wife was unfaithful to him –precisely with the deceased.
Date: Carnival
Celebration: Sun Fair
Place: Mérida (Mérida)
Description: Bullfights. Exhibits. Several shows. Popular dances. Tailed bulls. Handicrafts. Regional foods and beverages.
Date: during February
Celebration: Carnival
Place: the whole country
Description: Parades. Floats. Costume contests. Popular dances. These dates are more important in some cities.
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| March |
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Date: March – April
Celebration: the Nazarene of San Pablo
Place: Caracas
Description: A religious festival in honor of the image of the Nazarene, which is worshipped at the Basilica of Santa Teresa. This tradition dates from the colonial period and is celebrated on Holy Wednesday. The faithful, in payment of promises made, dress in purple habits, like the Nazarene.
Date: March – April
Celebration: International Theater Festival
Place:Caracas
Description: Every two years (always on even years), Caracas becomes the world theater capital. Companies from Europe, the United States and Latin America participate. Theaters, squares, boulevards, and so forth all serve as backdrops for the performances.
Date: March 4 – 14
Celebration: Calabozo Fair
Place: Calabozo (Guárico)
Description: Agroindustrial exhibits. Bullfights. Miscellaneous shows.
Date: March 16 – 25
Celebration: Saint Joseph’s Fair
Place: Maracay (Aragua)
Description: The fair is held during the week of Francisco Lazo Martí’s birthday. There are agricultural and handicraft exhibits. Bullfights. Tailed bulls. Concerts of Venezuelan music. A variety of cultural events.
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| April |
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Date: the preceding month and April
Celebration: Holy Week
Place: the whole country
Description: Different religious acts take place in all of the towns of Venezuela, as in the rest of the Catholic world: masses, processions, living ways of the cross, and the sale of typical foods and beverages, religious articles, handicrafts, and so forth. On Easter Sunday, the final day of the Holy Week, the traditional burning of Judas takes place in almost all of the towns and cities in the country.
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| May |
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Date: All of May
Celebration: Wake for the May Cross
Place: the whole country
Description: Feast corresponding to the Summer solstice that is held particularly in eastern, central and western Venezuela. It consists of the worship of the Holy Cross, which is decorated with flowers and garlands; praying; and the singing of ballads. The music and other elements of the celebration vary from region to region.
Date: All of May
Celebration: Dancing Devils
Place: San Francisco de Yare (Miranda), Patanemo (Carabobo), Chuao (Aragua), and Nalguatá (Vargas)
Description: Folklore festival held on the Thursday of Corpus Christi. Dressed as devils, the faithful pay their promises to the body of Jesus Christ, parading and dancing around the town square in front of the church. The attire, musical instruments and other elements of this celebration vary from town to town.
Date: May 3 to 5
Celebration: International Festival “Voice of the Range Soul”
Place: San Fernando de Apure (Apure)
Description: This festival is celebrated as part of the Agricultural, Handicraft and Industrial Fair. The most famous country music singers from both Venezuela and Colombia participate.
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| June |
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Date: June 13
Celebration:: Saint Anthony of Padua Patron Saint Feast Day
Place: San Antonio del Golfo (Sucre)
Description: Mass. Procession. Popular events and folklore demonstrations, including the typical dance “La Tintorera.” Fancy dress parades. Music festival of wind, string and percussion (drums) instruments. Typical dishes and beverages.
Date: June 24
Celebration: Saint John’s Drums
Place: Curiepe (Miranda)
Description: The typical instruments (mina, curbeta, round drum and culo e´ puya) resound. Villagers and visitors intermingle and take to the streets to dance rhythmically to the sound of the fulía, sung by the Barlovento people.
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| July |
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Date: July 5
Celebration: Independence Day
Place: the whole country
Description: The celebration commemorates the Congress of July 5, 1811, held in the Chapel of Santa Rosa de Lima, where Venezuela’s independence was declared. Civic acts take place throughout the country. The central events are held in Caracas: Floral offering before the Sarcophagus of the Libertador in the National Pantheon, a ceremonial session of the National Congress, opening by the President of the Republic of the chest containing the Act of Congress of July 5, 1811 to be shown to the public.
Date: July 21 – 29
Celebration: Founding of the city of Caracas
Place: Caracas
Description: Cultural events. Theater. Painting and sculpture exhibits. Concerts. Popular and sports events. All of these are held to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of Caracas on July 25, 1567.
Date: July 24
Celebration:: Birthday of the Libertador Simón Bolívar and Anniversary of the Naval Battle of the Lake
Place: the whole country
Description: Civic and military acts. The principal events take place in Caracas, Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello and the central coast.
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| August |
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Date: August 15 to 21
Celebration: Fair of Our Lady of Consolation
Place: Táriba (Táchira)
Description: Religious acts. Retreats. Bullfights with young bulls. Agricultural exhibit. Bolas Criollas Competition. Awnings are raised around the church and Bolívar square, where the inhabitants from the nearby villages exhibit their products for sale or raffling. Typical dishes and beverages. Handicrafts.
Date: the last week of August
Celebration: the Orinoco Fair
Place: Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar
Description: Previously known as the “Sapora Fair,” this celebration has to do with the return of this native fish upriver in the Orinoco to lay its eggs. The events include an industrial and livestock exhibition, tailed bulls, sapora fishing competitions, water sports competitions in the Orinoco River, popular dances and calypso songs and dances.
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| September |
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Date: September 5 to 11
Celebration: Feast in honor of Our Lady of Coromoto
Place: Naiguatá
Description: Religious ceremonies. Popular festivities. Cockfights. Sports competitions.
Date: September 7 to 11
Celebration: Patron Saint Feast Day of Our Lady of the Valley
Place: Espíritu Santo Valley (Nueva Esparta)
Description:This feast lasts for eight days. Processions. During the festivities, Isla de Margarita, and particularly the Espíritu Santo Valley, take on the flavor and color typical of the region. Sale of typical products from the Island. Creole orchestras and musical ensembles stroll through the streets. Popular dances. Handicrafts. Typical fish and shellfish dishes.
Date: September 23 and 24
Celebration: Dance of the Turas
Place: Mapararí (Falcón)
Description: Native celebration in which man renders homage to nature, thanking it for the fruits he has received and asking for a good harvest next year.
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| October |
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Date: Movable
Celebration: International Movie Festival
Place: Mérida (Mérida)
Description:Sample of short and long films from Venezuela and other countries. Prizes for the different categories.
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| November |
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Date: November 7 and 8
Celebration: National Classic Fishing Contest (Pesca del Rey)
Place:Paranguaná Peninsula (Falcón)
Description:Several national and foreign nautical teams participate, among them Punta Caimán and Punta Macoya. Practice of water skiing and underwater fishing, and sailboat regatta.
Date: November 15 to 22
Celebration: “La Chinita” Festival
Place: Maracaibo (Zulia)
Description: Originated in the Lady of Chinquinquirá’s Patron Saint’s Day Feast. Religious activities. Processions, lively songs in honor of “La Chinita,” as the Zulian people call the Lady of Chinquinquirá. Agricultural exhibitions. Artistic and sports shows. Bullfights.
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| December |
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Date: December 24
Celebration: the Shepherds of San Joaquín
Place: San Joaquín (Carabobo)
Description: A lovely tradition that is celebrated on the night of December 24. The Shepherds with their friends walk the streets toward the church, singing, dancing and portraying tableaux. They enter the temple, led by the star-guider, and sit on the floor, pretending to be sleeping. At the end of the Midnight Mass, an Angel appears before them, announcing the birth of the Christ Child. They then start singing and making offerings to the Holy Child and later go out to the square to execute their dances.
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