What should I write about. I have some new students and I passed from basico 3 to intermediate 1 in salsa...what else...I finally learned how to conjugate Spanish verbs in the present and discovered that Venezuela is a racist country after all.
One of the few things I read about Venezuela before coming here was that it is the most diverse country in the world, when it comes to the population. From the beginning of my stay here people have told me: here you have people of every color and everybody lives together in harmony, there is no discrimination based on skincolor. I didn´t quite swallow that since I didn´t have to say a word and people would classify me as American. I mean, people here say that there are Venezuelan blondes as well, and I actually met one girl in Caracas who is as blonde as me, but seriously speaking I am an odd bird here. In the street people (or "men", I should say) spak English to me and as I´ve said before, make jokes about dollars etc. So even if there are people of all colors in Venezuela still it is clear to me that blondes are regarded and treated as foreigners. Once some friends were going to the center to shop and said I couldn´t go with them cause then all the shopkeepers would put the prices higher. And it was not the first or last time I heard that.
About the racism: it exists. I mean, I think there is no country that would not be racist. Or help me define this. There are racists everywhere so I think everywhere is racist - including Venezuela. And last week I heard a story about racism in Venezuela: A black friend of mine was attending a kongress. In the evening a party was organized for the people attending the kongress in a famous night club. This friend of mine was not let in. First the bouncer said that it is a private party for people attending a congress. My friend showed her congress pass. Then the bouncer said that she is not dressed well enough. My friend went back to the hotel and changed (or something, to be honest I can´t remember her exact words) but was still not let in. And so on. Basically, it was clear that the bouncer was discriminating and that no matter what my friend did she was not going to be let in. And come on, this was not an individual telling a racist joke in a bar, this was the bouncer of a famous night club who was representing the policy of the night club, not his personal opinion. Racism - as far as I can tell.
One of the few things I read about Venezuela before coming here was that it is the most diverse country in the world, when it comes to the population. From the beginning of my stay here people have told me: here you have people of every color and everybody lives together in harmony, there is no discrimination based on skincolor. I didn´t quite swallow that since I didn´t have to say a word and people would classify me as American. I mean, people here say that there are Venezuelan blondes as well, and I actually met one girl in Caracas who is as blonde as me, but seriously speaking I am an odd bird here. In the street people (or "men", I should say) spak English to me and as I´ve said before, make jokes about dollars etc. So even if there are people of all colors in Venezuela still it is clear to me that blondes are regarded and treated as foreigners. Once some friends were going to the center to shop and said I couldn´t go with them cause then all the shopkeepers would put the prices higher. And it was not the first or last time I heard that.
About the racism: it exists. I mean, I think there is no country that would not be racist. Or help me define this. There are racists everywhere so I think everywhere is racist - including Venezuela. And last week I heard a story about racism in Venezuela: A black friend of mine was attending a kongress. In the evening a party was organized for the people attending the kongress in a famous night club. This friend of mine was not let in. First the bouncer said that it is a private party for people attending a congress. My friend showed her congress pass. Then the bouncer said that she is not dressed well enough. My friend went back to the hotel and changed (or something, to be honest I can´t remember her exact words) but was still not let in. And so on. Basically, it was clear that the bouncer was discriminating and that no matter what my friend did she was not going to be let in. And come on, this was not an individual telling a racist joke in a bar, this was the bouncer of a famous night club who was representing the policy of the night club, not his personal opinion. Racism - as far as I can tell.
posted by Larubia at 10:28 AM
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