Caracas Chronicles

Every once in a while we come up with a little subheading for the chapter that we’re on as a country. Before the July 28th presidential elections we were in “Etapa Cumbre.” In Venezuelan telenovela-speak, Etapa Cumbre is a stage of heightened emotions and great revelations that feels like the end but it’s not quite the end. The end is left for the “Etapa Final.” While the Etapa Cumbre left us beat and battered, we expected that we would have enough energy to prepare for the next stage. The thing is that the next stage, that was supposed to come on inauguration day, was covered by every day beatings coming from every which way. We naturally started tagging our posts under #NowWhatVenezuela.

We promise to keep things light while talking about the heavy stuff, as always.

We thought it was playful and that it could encompass a bunch of things at the same time as in “what the heck happened now?” and “what the heck comes next?” The Spanish translation Y Ahora Qué works similarly well. I don’t know yet if this is a motto, like our classic and incoherent making Venezuela make sense (of course it doesn’t), or if it is just a series. But in the spirit of Now What we’re bringing in some new types of publications and events:

1. First, and most critical at this point, on Saturday, February 22nd we’re holding our first in person event in ages. It’s going to take place in Miami and it will be in Spanish, therefore it’s called: Y Ahora Qué, Venezuela. The idea it’s to try to piece together a conversation to understand where we are as a nation and as a people and where we’re going next. Piece of cake.
   
   It will be a great opportunity to get together with our Miami readers (and their friends) to air out our grievances. Or at least hear out some out of the box thinking on Venezuela, have coffee and a lovely morning.The panels have been changing because the conversation around Venezuela has been shifting rapidly, but we want to talk politics, the economy, journalism and we’ve built a panel around culture to remind ourselves that we are more than just the TdA. 
   
   If you want to join us, you can claim your tickets here. You’ll notice that we included suggested donations (and there’s a box where you can put in from 5$ to $5000). This will help fund independent journalism in Venezuela or the event. We’ve also left an option open for those who are not in a position to donate but wish to go.
2. We’ve launched our weekly Now What Venezuela digest, formerly the Local Dispatch. It’s bilingual and it includes the latest madness plus unreported stories from deep within Venezuela. We’ve got two dedicated Whatsapp channels and likely it will become a Newsletter soon.
3. We’re looking to revamp our voluntary subscriptions program. Up to now it has been one-sided in the sense that the only thing you get in return is the satisfaction of getting some Venezuela news to the world. Well, we’ll be reaching out to offer some new perks and to be able to get more direct feedback from our subscribers.

We promise to keep things light while talking about the heavy stuff, as always.