Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Fond Memories of Venezuelan Women

The friendly, pleasant demeanor of Venezuelan women was one of the most memorable part of my trip.




It was Thursday, December 1, 2011, when I stepped off the plane in Caracas, Venezuela; got cleared by security and immigration, and made it onto the main floor of the Maiquetia International Airport. It was so refreshing to notice how friendly, conversational, and relaxed the women are as one had no qualms about asking me about my luggage. Mind you, there is not a city in the United States that comes close to the crime statistics of Caracas, and that includes Detroit, St. Louis, and Oakland. In fact, I have a co-worker from Caracas who feels “safe” in Oakland.

As I passed through the airport, I noticed a Black Venezuelan woman looking at me intently. I gave her a joyful smile, not out of flirtation, but out of happiness to see a sistah (a soul sister). Because of my smile, she looked at me even harder seemingly thinking we might know each other. I didn't have time to stop and chat because I was looking for someone who arranged to pick me up.




While I was riding the metro train, a white Venezuelan woman overheard me speaking English with my friend and guide, María, and I couldn't help noticing this woman watching me with a delightful smile. I immediately greeted her in Spanish and made lightweight conversation of which she seemed very pleased. “Buenas días, buenas tardes, buenas noches,” I would say to various women in my presence, and they would all respond with genuine warmth; not lust, not romantic interest, simply warmth. Almost every time I'd smile at a woman, she'd give me a happy, enthusiastic smile in return; not in a come-on kind of way, but out of friendly enthusiasm. The last time I smiled at a woman in San Francisco, CA, where I work, she immediately picked up the pace of her stride, and created as much distance from me as possible.




In the predominately Black Region of Barlovento, one woman referred to me as primo when I greeted her on the street. Primo literally means cousin, but in Venezuela, it is a colloquial expression suggesting familiarity. As I was heading back to the airport to catch my flight to Miami, a woman who doesn't know me from Hugo Chávez sat next to me on the bus and made conversation with me until she reached her stop. 

During my whole trip to Venezuela, I encountered no negative attitudes, defensiveness, nor the paranoia that I'm so accustomed to experiencing in the United States of America. The friendly, pleasant demeanor of Venezuelan women (next to eating empenadas) is the most memorable part of my trip.

9 comments:

  1. Hey !
    I'm sorry for my bad english... i'm a french mixed student, 17-aged and i'm just starting a blogspot about afrolatino : http://sueno-latino.blogspot.com
    do you speak spanish currently ? it will be more easy for me :p

    I love your post even if they are in english. You have such a lot of chance for travelling around latin america. It's my dream !

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  2. Hola SignaraCaro,
    Usted puede hablarme en español. ¿De dónde es usted?

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  3. Wow the Afro-Indigena at the top is Pretty and the middle Afro-Indigena is cute but the Afro-Venezuelana at the bottom has all the good chocolate flavor that I like. Sabor Chocolate or Hot Chocolate and she has a very nice body. Now you got me wanting to take a trip to Venezuela. :)

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  4. Vivo en Francia y soy muyy fanatica de latinoamerica. A mi me encanta todo lo que se refiere a este. Estoy feliz ver alguien interesarse en los Afrolatinos. Aqui, son muy desconocidos. :)
    Y usted, de donde es en UUEE ?

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  5. Ok, why I am just now discovering your blog?!

    Anyway, I feel the same about Afro-Venezuelans. For some reason, their kindness - or kindred spirit - doesn't come off as contrived. Even lighter-skinned Venezuelans are always complimenting my kids and their skin color.

    Glad I found you!

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  6. Thank you so much, DDD. Feel free to “Follow.” Where in Venezuela did you go?

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  7. I'm Venezuelan and I'm so happy to have read your thoughts about venezuelan women, it's actually the second time i've heard someone saying venezuelan smiles at people in a very friendly way. :-)

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  8. I hope you got yourself some culo.

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