The very first months of 2019 were quite eventful in my home country of Venezuela, not only did it start off with deeper sociopolitical turmoil, very well known to us Venezuelans, but it also deepened the worsening of the infrastructure of basic services such as water and power. On March 7th of that year, the country suffered an unprecedented blackout where more than 70% of the country went over 5 days without power, leaving its citizens both in big cities like Caracas and Maracaibo as well as small towns, completely on their own day and night to endure their daily lives as they'd fit. Needless to say, this was a catastrophic event that added up to the ongoing social crisis the country has been through over the past decade making it an extraordinary complex standpoint to move forward whatsoever.
While you're reading this, many big cities and small towns in Venezuela keep facing daily blackouts and has unfortunately become a new normal.
This small piece of animation intended to "shine a light" in the darkness that many Venezuelans have to endure back home, including my family and friends. The picture represents the Guaraira Repano mountain in the back, a portrait of my family still back home, and one of the many beautiful macaws you can come across in such unusual scenery like the city of Caracas.
The following are links for information I find reliable and accessible to those interested in these happenings:
(Video) How Maduro Keeps Power in Venezuela, Even With the Lights Out- New York Times
(Article) Venezuela’s historic blackout, in 17 photos- Vox
(Article) 'This Is Going To End Ugly': Venezuela's Power Outage Drags On - NPR
Here's how you can help:
GoFundMe Venezuela: a lot of Venezuela-based NGO's have GoFundMe campaigns or you can also choose any other campaign set up by Venezuelan individuals who have particular cases, mostly health-related.
© Valentina Figueroa 2021 Instagram LinkedIn WorkingNotWorking
