Headlines, Latin America & the Caribbean

/ARTS WEEKLY/VENEZUELA: Ciudad Bolivar Aspires to Heritage of Humanity

Humberto Márquez

CARACAS, Feb 18 2003 (IPS) - Ciudad Bolívar, formerly known as Angostura and temporary capital of Venezuela as of 1817, will be proposed as a cultural heritage of humanity site under the auspices of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

The city will be presented in the cultural landscape category, which would include not only the historic district of the city – founded in 1762 along the Orinoco River, 500 km southeast of Caracas – but also the natural formation of the Guayanés mesa that serves as its backdrop.

The flat-topped mountain is one of the most ancient orographic formations on earth.

The protection afforded a UNESCO-designated landscape would also encompass everything ranging from the archaeological sites with petroglyphs to the philosophy of South American Liberator Simón Bolívar, for whom the town is named.

"We realised that the historic centre of Ciudad Bolívar by itself would be very difficult to promote for heritage of humanity status because UNESCO tries to maintain a balance in each category, and there are already several Latin American cities under the historic designation," María Eugenia Baci, of the Venezuelan Institute of Cultural Heritage told IPS.

"Ciudad Bolívar’s historic district, with buildings 200 years old that have porches, façades and balconies made of wood, is but another landmark in the history of Angostura on the Orinoco," she added.

The site’s principal merit "is its value as a whole, because it is a city located in a rocky area, which forced humans to make concessions to nature. It includes its relationship with the Orinoco River and the influence of the Antilles on its architecture," Baci said.

The application process for Ciudad Bolívar to be considered a cultural heritage of humanity site began in February 2001, and the Venezuelan authorities are hoping that the paperwork will be completed this year so that the candidacy can be formally presented in 2004.

"The final result, getting the city included on the UNESCO list, isn’t the important thing. What is important is the process that helps us discover and appreciate the cultural wealth we have," commented Baci.

So far, Venezuela has three sites recognised as heritage of humanity: the northwestern city of Coro, founded in 1527, the University City in Caracas, a gem of modern architecture designed by Carlos Raúl Villanueva in the 1950s, and the Cainama National Park, a jungle area on the border with Brazil and Guyana.

Nevertheless, Venezuela is considered poor in architectural heritage in the context of Latin America as a whole.

Critic Graziano Gasparini, author of several books about Venezuelan colonial architecture, says the country’s pre-Colombian and colonial heritage is not much compared to that of Mexico or Peru, "because constructions march in parallel with the economy."

In Mexico and Peru, "they had their mining economies, while here, there was only subsistence farming," Gasparini explained in a conversation with IPS.

"Venezuela also suffered a terrible fate. No other country in Latin America had a 19th century as violent as ours. During the Federal War (the 1858-1863 civil war), entire cities and towns were destroyed," said the expert.

He noted that natural disasters also took their toll on Venezuela’s architectural wealth. "In the earthquake of 1812 alone, 20,000 people were killed in Caracas – half the population of the time. Nearly all the churches were destroyed."

But Venezuela was an important Spanish colony, stresses Gasparini, because of the coastal system of forts. Of 50 that originally existed, the ruins of some 27 are preserved, compared to eight such sites in Mexico.

As far as Ciudad Bolívar, the critic points to the unique quality of the historic city centre, "which has strong Caribbean influences in spite of being located far inland."

"It is reminiscent of the southeastern U.S. city of New Orleans, with its wrought-iron columns, an influence made possible by the navigability of the Orinoco, allowing easy passage from the island of Trinidad and Tobago," he said.