6th Venezuelan Week Press Release

6th Venezuelan Week Press Release

Fascinating Venezuelan dance, music, photography, gastronomy and more this April 20^th at the bicentennial celebrations in conjunction with Venezuelan Week 2011.

KUALA LUMPUR- Graceful movements, lyrical literature, passionate voices and gastronomic perfection await the Malaysian public this Venezuelan Week in April 2011.  This annual activity organized by the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, will showcase the arts and culture that is synonymous with Venezuelan heritage and traditions.

This year, as Venezuela commemorates its bicentennial celebration, marking two centuries of independence and freedom from colonial oppression, the Embassy has gone to great lengths to commemorate this special event by ensuring that Malaysians have an opportunity to participate in the various activities which include Venezuelan dance workshops, a charity Bazaar organized by Wisma Putra, and a phenomenal advantage to sample our cuisine through a ‘Gastronomic Festival’ to be held at the Samplings On The Fourteenth Restaurant at Berjaya Times Square from April 20^th till May 8^th.

The ‘Gastronomic Festival’, the highlight of Venezuelan Week 2011, held in joint partnership with Berjaya Group, will give Malaysians a chance to try authentic Venezuelan cuisine prepared specially by Chef Carmen Rawstron, a Venezuelan who recently launched her book entitled ‘My Venezuelan Cuisine’. Several cooking workshops have been set up at local universities for Malaysians to participate and learn to prepare Venezuelan food. A cooking contest has also been arranged to encourage healthy competition among the students and a special Mother’s Day Luncheon will be held at the Samplings Restaurant on the 8^th of May so that the public have an opportunity to enjoy that special day.

Music, an integral part of the local leisure time, has families and friends gathering around on various occasions to sing, dance and enjoy the special bond it brings. With the hopes of sharing this unique love of music and dance, the Embassy jointly with National Academy of Arts, Culture, and Heritage (ASWARA), have organized a Venezuelan –Malaysian music ensemble that will showcase Venezuelan songs performed with traditional Malaysian musical instruments featuring pieces from well loved musicians such as Otillo Galindez, Simón Diaz and Hugo Blanco. This activity will allow Malaysians to experience Venezuelan musical accomplishments and broaden their knowledge on the different genres of Venezuelan music that cover waltzes, serenades, bambucos and joropos.

A memorable photographic experience awaits the Malaysian public this year as the Embassy will exhibit the magnificent images  portrayed in ‘Enchanted Land, Faces, Traditions and Goddess’ by Lil Quintero is a series of images photographed over her travels around Venezuela. Theatric mysticism coupled with the richness and splendor of the people and places across Venezuela are characteristic of her works giving viewers a glimpse into the innocent simplicity of life in her homeland. Another exhibition by Rodrigo Benavides, a well respected photographer who specializes in landscape photography. ‘Beautiful Plains of Venezuela’ features the unusual terrains of Venezuela, encapsulating its natural beauty and rugged plateaus

Other activities to be held during Venezuelan Week include an evening of literature wherein Spanish literary works will be read and discussed followed by a screening of ‘South of the Border’ which provides a glance into life in Latin America, followed by a ‘Luncheon Talk’ jointly organized with the South-South Information Gateway with the aim of enhancing the understanding between the southern nations and to serve as a platform of communication and cooperation

For more information on these activities, please contact The Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela at 03-21633444 or 21633445.