Caracas Chronicles

“Y vio que el hombre de la llanura era, ante la vida, indómito y sufridor, indolente e infatigable; en la lucha, impulsivo y astuto; ante el superior, indisciplinado y leal; con el amigo, receloso y abnegado; con la mujer, voluptuoso y áspero; consigo mismo, sensual y sobrio. En sus conversaciones, malicioso e ingenuo, incrédulo y supersticioso; en todo caso, alegre y melancólico, positivista y fantaseador. Humilde a pie y soberbio a caballo. Todo a la vez y sin estorbarse, como están los defectos y las virtudes en las almas nuevas”.

 

Coming back from a party, slightly drunk, as you see, crying my Venezuelan heart (I have no other) out! We Venezuelans aren´t perfect. We are, besides, in Global marketing terms, of no account. We used to produce oil. Then we started to produce GAS (unleaded, for First World use, yeah, and very beautiful women). Now, we are producing less and less gas. The women are still here, but it´s not a “production”. Osmel grew old, as so many other things.

But then, Gallegos´ description of what Llaneros are fits all of us (for, girls and guys, that was Gallegos´ Doña Bárbara). What is most amazing about this WRITER (´cause he was one, no matter what high school did and specialized “critics” did) is how precisely he chose his epithets. Read it again, and contrast your own personalities to the list of contradictions. Not one of them is an obvious contradiction. There is a slight break, a twist, something only WE have. Subtlety. And that was written about 70 years ago by a man despised by later “enlightened” critics . Shame on us who believed in them!