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CURRENTS
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Country Overview: VENEZUELA
PEOPLE: 67% of the population is mestizo, 21% are of European descent (mainly Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and German), 10% are of African descent and 2% are considered indigenous. LANGUAGE: The official language is Spanish, but numerous local dialects, such as Castilian, are spoken. RELIGION: 96% of Venezuelans are Roman Catholic, while the other four percent are Protestant and other religions. CLIMATE: In Venezuela there are no "seasons" as such, but rather "periods": one rainy, from May to November; and the other dry, from December to May. The average annual temperature is 69F. Many sights, such as Angel Falls, are more remarkable during the rainy season. CURRENCY: Venezuela's monetary unit is the bolivar (VEB).
FOOD: Venezuelan cuisine is extremely varied because of the diverse cultural influences the country has been subjected to over four centuries. At Christmas and national celebrations the hallaca is paramount as Venezuela's national dish, it's a stew of chicken, pork, beef and spices used as a filling in a pie-like dough of maize, which is then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in boiling water. Another favorite, pabellon crillo, is a combination of rice, black beans, shredded beef and tajadas (sliced and fried ripe plantains). A typical and popular Venezuelan dish is mondongo, a soup-like stew which uses specially processed tripe as a main ingredient. Arepa is traditional Venezuelan bread made from maize and served either fried or baked. Dinner is usually eaten late, around 9:00pm. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Located
on the north coast of South America, with 3,200 kilometers of littoral facing
the Caribbean Sea, Venezuela has a surface of 916,700 square kilometers and
an estimated population of nearly 21 million. It is a democratic and representative
Republic whose territory is politically and administratively divided into 20
States, two Federal Territories, a Federal District, and 72 islands forming
the Federal Dependencies. 
