Culture Night – July 8Th 2006 Venezuela

ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Venezuela

Presented by Marco Chacín マルコチャシン Strasbourg, July 8th 2006 ISU SSP06 Culture Night Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

Central America

South America

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

VenezuelaVenezuela isis divideddivided inin 2323 states.states.

Maracaibo,Maracaibo, CaracasCaracas andand ValenciaValencia areare thethe biggestbiggest andand mostmost Marcoimportantimportant Chacín citiescities – http://www.mindspages.net inin thethe country.country. ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Venezuela

• Area: 912,050 sq km (slightly more than twice the size of California) • Population : 26 million • Religions: Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%. • Capital City: Caracas • Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds.

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Oil Industry

• Venezuela is one of the five founding members of OPEC. • Venezuela has one of the largest proven hydrocarbon reserves, ranking fifth in the world. The Orinoco Belt reserves possess the largest accumulation of liquid fuel on the planet. • Venezuela is a major petroleum exporter, the state- owned petroleum company PDVSA completely purchased the gasoline brand Citgo from Southland Corporation in 1990. • Venezuela provides approximately 15% of US crude oil and from 2007 will provide 30% of China's oil.

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Gasoline Price in Venezuela

• Japanese Yen – 1 lt = 5 ¥ – Japan’s Price= 135 ¥ • American Dollar – 1 lt = $ 0.04 ($ 0.15 /gal) – US Price= $ 3 • Europe – 1 lt = 0.034 € – Strasbourg Price= 1.319 €

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Natural Gas Price in Venezuela

Almost free

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Lake Maracaibo which is the dominant feature of the oil-rich Maracaibo Basin

Coro

Maracaibo (I was born here!) Cabimas

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

Lake Maracaibo at dawn

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge is made of concrete, it spans 8.7 kilometers.

Maracaibo is right this way

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

Kukenantepui

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

The steep rock wall of Roraimatepui Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

Roraimatepui as seen from Guyana

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

Auyantepui is one of the largest (but not the highest) tepui of the Guiana Highlands. The Angel Falls or Salto Angel is 979m high, and has uninterrupted descent of 800m. Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Great People (1/3)

Simón Bolívar (1783 - 1830) • Credited with leading the fight for independence in what are now the countries of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia, he is revered as a hero in these countries and throughout much of the rest of Latin America. • On August 6, 1825, at the Congress of Upper Peru, the Republic of Bolivia was created in honor of Bolívar.

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Great People (2/3)

Francisco Miranda (1750 -1816) • Fought along Bolivar for independence in what are now the countries of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia. • In the American Revolutionary War, he commanded Spanish troops aiding American insurgents in Florida and Mississippi. While in the United States, he met with, among others, George Washington, Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. • From 1791, Miranda took active part in the French Revolution. In Paris, he befriended the Girondists Jacques Pierre Brissot and Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve, and briefly served as a general in the section of the French Revolutionary Army commanded by Charles François Dumouriez, fighting in the 1792 campaign in the Low Countries. • He conceived the name "Colombia“ (in honor of Columbus).

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

StatuesStatues ofof SimónSimón Bolívar Bolívar andand FranciscoFrancisco MirandaMiranda inin LondonLondon Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Equestrian statue of Bolívar on Bolívar Square (Caracas)

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Great People (3/3)

Humberto Fernández Morán (1924 - 1999) • He contributed to the development of the electron microscope. • Inventor of the diamond scalpel. • He worked at NASA for the Apollo Project. • Taught in many universities, such as MIT, the University of Chicago and the University of Stockholm.

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Sports

• Luís Aparicio – 10 times All-Star, 9 AL Gold Gloves, 9 time Stolen bases leader and the first Latin-American player ever to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1984). • Ozzie Guillen – 1985 ROY, 2005 AL Manager of the Year, first Latin-American Manager ever to win a World Series (2005), AL All- Star Manager (2006). • Omar Vizquel – 1993 ~ 2001 and 2005 (10) AL Gold Gloves. • Andres Galarraga – 1996 and 1997 NL RBI leader, 1996 HR leader, 6 times All-Star, 1993 NL BA leader (.370) • Johan Santana – 2004 AL Cy Young Award. • Bobby Abreu – Set a record in the Home Run Derby with 41 (2005). • Carl Herrera – 93-94 and 94-95 NBA Champion with the Houston Rockets.

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Miss Universe (1/3)

• As of 2005, Venezuela is the 3rd ranked country with most number of crowns. • As of the 2005 contest the United States have won the event the most times, with seven Miss Universe crowns, followed by Puerto Rico and Venezuela with four each. • The countries that has made the semi-finals most often is the USA, who have only missed the cut three times and Venezuela (33).

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Miss Universe (2/3)

Maritza Sayalero (1979) Irene Lailin Sáez Conde (1981) Barbara Palacios Teyde (1986) Alicia Machado (1995)

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Miss Universe (3/3)

• In terms of successive placements, Venezuela has performed the most successfully overall during the last two decades: for 21 years, from 1983 to 2003, its representatives placed in the semifinals without interruption, nearly beating the United States' 22-year streak between 1977-1998. In the last decade every Miss Venezuela who has made the finals progressed to the top five or top six. • Although Venezuela has won fewer crowns than the USA, it has had a far superior record in terms of overall placement. While Alicia Machado has been the only Venezuelan Miss Universe in the last decade, of the nine pageants that have followed her victory, four have seen Venezuela's representative place first runner-up (1997, 1998, 2000, and 2003).

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006 Space-related Activities

• In late 2005, as part of a energetic/technological treaty in which Venezuela will provide 30% of China’s oil, the first Venezuelan satellite (Satélite Simón Bolívar) is to be launched by China in early 2008. • In early 2006, the congress approved the creation of the Venezuelan Space Agency. • In July 2006, the president is expected to sign an agreement with Russia to take the first Venezuelan astronaut to the International Space Station.

Marco Chacín – http://www.mindspages.net ISU SSP06 – Culture Night – July 8th 2006

ThankThank youyou veryvery muchmuch forfor youryour timetime

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