The document provides an overview of Venezuelan culture including its history, art, literature, music, dance, and cuisine. It notes that Spanish influence strongly shaped Venezuelan culture following the conquest. Traditional Venezuelan dishes include pabellon criollo, arepas, and pabellon a caballo. Popular musical styles originated in the llanos region, and the cuatro is the national instrument. Notable Venezuelan artists, writers, and intellectuals are also mentioned.

1. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela By B Lukas History 141 # 71154 Instructor: Dr. M Arguello Part 2 Nation Report

2. Venezuela Culture In the years that followed the conquest, the Spanish colonists came to entirely shape the national culture of Venezuela. The influence of the native, pre-Hispanic communities was marginal, as they were soon assimilated by the strong cultural and political unity of the Spaniards. The culture of Venezuela is a melting pot which includes mainly to three different families, the indigenous, African and Spanish. The first two cultures were in turn differentiated according to the tribes. Acculturation and assimilation, typical of a cultural syncretism, conditioned to arrive at the current Venezuelan culture, similar in many respects to the rest of Latin America, although the natural environment means that there are important differences. Art Venezuelan art was initially dominated by religious motifs, but began emphasizing historical and heroic representations in the late 19th century, a move led by Martín Tovar y Tovar. Modernism took over in the 20th century. Notable Venezuelan artists include Arturo Michelena , Cristóbal Rojas , Armando Reverón , Manuel Cabré ; the kinetic artists Jesús -Rafael Soto and Carlos Cruz- Díez ; and contemporary artist Yucef Merhi .

3. Literature Venezuelan literature originated soon after the Spanish conquest of the mostly pre-literate indigenous societies; it was dominated by Spanish influences . Following the rise of political literature during the Venezuelan War of Independence , Venezuelan Romanticism , notably expounded by Juan Vicente González , emerged as the first important genre in the region. Although mainly focused on narrative writing, Venezuelan literature was advanced by poets such as Andrés Eloy Blanco and Fermín Toro . Major writers and novelists include Rómulo Gallegos , Teresa de la Parra , Arturo Uslar Pietri , Adriano González León , Miguel Otero Silva , and Mariano Picón Salas . The great poet and humanist Andrés Bello was also an educator and intellectual. Others, such as Laureano Vallenilla Lanz and José Gil Fortoul , contributed to Venezuelan Positivism . Indigenous musical styles of Venezuela are exemplified by the groups Un Solo Pueblo and Serenata Guayanesa . The national musical instrument is the cuatro . Typical musical styles and pieces mainly emerged in and around the llanos region, including Alma Llanera (by Pedro Elías Gutiérrez and Rafael Bolívar Coronado ), Florentino y el Diablo (by Alberto Arvelo Torrealba ), Concierto en la Llanura by Juan Vicente Torrealba , and Caballo Viejo (by Simón Díaz ). The Zulian gaita is also a popular style, generally performed during Christmas. The national dance is the joropo . Teresa Carreño was a world-famous 19th century piano virtuosa. In the last years, Classical Music has had great performances. The Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra , under the baton of its principal conductor Gustavo Dudamel , has hosted a number of excellent presentations in many European concert halls, notably at the 2007 London Proms , and has received several honors. The orchestra is the pinnacle of El Sistema , a publicly financed voluntary sector music education program now being emulated in other countries.

4. Food Venezuela Food is an assortment of scrumptious dishes that are authentic to Venezuela. Due to its location in the world, its diversity of industrial resources and the cultural diversity of the Venezuelan people. The traditional food of Venezuela consists of premium quality fish and shellfish. Most of the Venezuela native food contains a marine flavor. Pabellon Criolo is the national dish of Venezuela which is composed of stewed and shredded beef together with rice, black beans and banana. Arepas , which is a type of bread is The other most admired food in Venezuela . It forms a part of an exclusive dish, consisting of corn flour, water and salt. It can be savored with nearly anything, such as cheese, ham, jam, or chicken. The Arepas is a very popular food in and around Venezuela. It is to be found in most of the restaurants of the country. Pabellon A pabellón a caballo ( a caballo is Spanish for horseback riding ) means with a fried egg on top, as though the egg were "riding" the dish. The shredded beef can be replaced by chigüire ( capybara ), caiman shredded meat or even freshwater fish, depending on particular tastes, region or time of the year (beef consumption is prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church during Lent , however capybara and fish are approved). Arepas