Brent Todys

Period 1
Literary Review-Cultural Literature Project
During this research project focused on Venezuela, the Poem of The Gifts From
Venezuela, written by E D Castaneda, really stood out to me because it was relevant to two
things that I had already pondered over while doing my research. The topics of the poem are
family and food. This poem expresses how much importance each of those play into the
happiness of being a Venezuelan.

With Castaneda only producing a nine line poem, it was still deep considering the fact
that food and family both mix together well in the Venezuelan culture. In the poem he had
mentioned the dish of Arepas, which are a thick pancake made from white corn flour that is fried
and baked; sometimes they are filled with butter, meat, and cheese. Next he mentions his wife
who is the ideal wife. Then he says he enjoys both, he enjoys the food because its valued in
Venezuela, and he enjoys his wife because shes ideal. Venezuela gave him both the gift of
arepas and his lovely wife making him satisfied with what he has received from Venezuela. The
name of the poem directly correlates the two values that were apart of the venezuelan culture
plus its effective emotionally since it is based on the cultures satisfactory values. Ultimately, the
poem is very touching and makes you appreciate not only the little things in one's culture, but the
little things in life, and is a good connection to the culture.