Venezuela SA
Resources
Safeguarding history in Caracas
By Will Grant | BBC News
Stepping out of the Caracas metro system at Petare is something of an assault on the senses.
Hundreds of street vendors or "buhoneros" are selling everything from fake designer underwear to cold drinks and pirate DVDs. A mixture of pungent smells, traffic noise and shouting greets your arrival into what is one of the city's most notorious districts.
Part of its notoriety comes from the violence. Official figures say there are around 130 murders per 100,000 population in Caracas, and Petare includes the neighbourhood of Jose Felix Ribas, widely considered to be the biggest and one of the most dangerous shanty towns in Latin America. But just a few streets north of the metro, there is calm amid the chaos.
Around the Plaza Sucre, in the shade of the mango and palm trees, it is hard to tell this is the most densely populated district in the capital. Cobbled streets wind around an 18th Century church, an original parish house and a host of colonial buildings dotted around the square.
"This is the pretty part of Petare," says local resident Hilda de Cardenas, who has lived in a narrow street called Callejon Zeta all her life. "I don't mean to say that new buildings can't be nice too if they're done properly, but the historic town is important because it reminds us of our roots."
Hilda may be in her sixties, but she is still keen to learn new things. Sitting out in a plastic chair with her neighbours, she is taking part in a workshop on how to mix cement and repair damaged walls so that the original facades to her home can be kept in decent condition. For Hilda, the project is about honouring the past. >>> Go to Full Story >>>
