Last night, over 300 people filled the Bolivarian Hall, the cultural space of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the U.S., to celebrate the 201st anniversary of Venezuela’s independence with a special performance by the Venezuelan ensemble La Sardina de Naiguatá.
The audience marked the occasion by dancing in the traditional “Parranda” style to songs like “Woman del Callao,” “Tambores de Naiguatá” and “Guayana Es.”
La Sardina de Naiguatá, a band with a 50-year tradition that includes singers, trumpets, trombones, Afro-Caribbean drums, electric bass and keyboards, created an environment full of happiness, vitality and flavor, where children and adults danced for hours.
On display at the Bolivarian Hall was an exhibit of paintings depicting the events and heroes of Venezuela’s independence wars by U.S. artist Elizabeth Conroy Benatti.
Ambassador Roy Chaderton, Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the OAS, recalled the historical legacy of the independence heroes and mentioned some similarities between those struggles and the current Venezuelan reality.
“These days it’s appropriate to evoke our liberators, the legacy they gave us, the great sacrifice that the Venezuelan people made to achieve its political freedom,” Chaderton said.
“Those struggles are relevant today because we are being targeted by a campaign of aggression, blockade and isolation. Nevertheless, we are overcoming it and I am confident that the Venezuelan people will conquer and consolidate a great majority; we have a 100% natural candidate, while the opposition has a 100% polyester candidate,” Chaderton said in reference to the upcoming presidential elections.
The concert was the last of a series of events in the U.S. capital to celebrate the Venezuela’s independence. On Thursday morning, wreaths were presented at the monument to the Liberator Simón Bolívar in Washington, DC, by representatives of the Venezuelan Embassy, the Venezuelan Mission to the OAS, Ambassador Jorge Bolaños of the Cuban Interest Section, and Ambassador Francisco Campbell of the Republic of Nicaragua. Also present were diplomats from the Embassy of Ecuador and Venezuela’s representative to the Inter-American Development Bank, Adina Bastidas.
Click here to see a short video of the concert.
Press Office – Venezuelan Embassy to the U.S. / July 6, 2012
