3) Eating

Much of the Venezuelan diet consists of hot foods, casseroles, meat pies, stews, and pasta dishes.
Rice is common, and maize is the basis of many dishes, including thearepa, a soft pancake
wrapped around soft cheese, and empanadas, which are pies filled with cheese, meat, or
fish. Punta-trasera is a tender steak dish. Pabellón criollo is made of black beans, rice, shredded
meat, and plantains. In most cities, open markets provide a large variety of tropical fruits and fresh
vegetables. Hot chocolate is almost as popular as coffee.

Out of respect for parents, the two ends of the dinner table are usually reserved for the mother
and father of a family. Some people eat with the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right.
Others eat with the fork in the right hand, unless the knife is picked up to cut something. In this
case, the tips of utensils not in current use are rested on the edge of the plate; the handle rests on
the table. When a person is finished, the utensils are placed together at the center of the plate. It
is generally considered inappropriate for adults to eat on the street.

Socializing

Among close friends and relatives men greet with an abrazo (a full embrace, while patting each
other on the back), and women greet with an abrazo and a kiss on the cheek. Otherwise a
handshake is usual. Common greetings include¡Buenos días! (“Good morning”), ¡Buenas
tardes! (“Good afternoon”), and ¡Buenas noches! (“Good evening”). Young people generally use
the more casual ¡Hola! (“Hi”). Greetings often include inquiries about a person’s health.
Venezuelans tend to stand close to one another and maintain eye contact when in conversation,
and to back away or look away may cause offense.

As a symbol of hospitality and a way of extending friendship, visitors to a home, a business, or the
office of a government official are often served un cafecito, a black, thick coffee in a very small
cup. General conversation usually precedes discussion of business matters. Venezuelans generally
invite only close friends to their homes, but they will often invite business contacts and other
visitors to dine at a restaurant. While gifts are not expected by hosts, they are appreciated as a
gesture of friendship.

Recreation

The most popular spectator sport is baseball—Venezuelan shortstop Luis Aparicio was elected to
the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Horse racing, bullfighting, and soccer are also enjoyed.
Venezuelans like to fish, hunt, swim, and play tennis, basketball, and golf. Private recreational
clubs are expensive and are generally open only to the wealthy. For entertainment, Venezuelans
like to go dancing, to movies, or to other cultural events. In rural areas, local festivals are
important occasions for recreation.

Holidays and Celebrations

Official public holidays include New Year’s Day (1 January), Carnaval (two days before Ash
Wednesday), Ash Wednesday, Easter (including Holy Thursday and Good Friday), Declaration of
Independence Day (19 April), May Day (1 May), Battle of Carabobo (24 June), Independence Day (5
July), Simón Bolívar’s Birthday (24 July), Public Officials’ Day (first Monday in September),
Columbus Day (12 October), Christmas Eve, Christmas Day (25 December), and New Year’s Eve.
During Carnaval, festivities include water fights, parades, and dancing in the streets.

La Quemada de Judas (“The Burning of Judas”) is a ritual that takes place on Easter night. Judas
Iscariot was the disciple who betrayed Jesus. On this night an effigy is made of a local or national
public figure and erected in a prominent spot. The townspeople kick, punch, and slap the effigy,
and a humorous list of grievances against the figure is read. Then the effigy is set afire and burned.
The celebrations afterward involve drinking, dancing, and fireworks.

On Christmas Eve in Venezuela, teenagers go roller-skating, then attend a special mass, and finally
roller-skate home for Christmas breakfast.

During each holiday, statues of the Venezuelan hero Simón Bolívar are decorated with colorful
wreaths.

The culture of Venezuela is a mixture of 3 different cultures: the European (in particular Spanish,
the Portuguese and the Italian), the indigenous and the African.

The cultural and assimilation society was conditioned to arrive at the current Venezuelan culture,
from where most of the settlers in the Caribbean area of the colonial era came from.

According to a 2011 poll (GIS XXI), 88 percent of the population is Christian, primarily Roman
Catholic (71%), and the remaining 17 percent Protestant, primarily Evangelicals (in Latin America
Protestants are usually called Evangelicos). The Venezuelans without religion are 8% (atheist 2%
and agnostic or indifferent 6%), almost 3% of the population follow other religion (1% of them are
of Santería).

There are small but influential Muslim, Buddhist, and Jewish communities. The Muslim community
of more than 100,000 is concentrated among persons of Lebanese and Syrian descent living in
Nueva Esparta State, Punto Fijo and the Caracas area. Buddhism in Venezuela is practiced by over
52,000 people. The Buddhist community is made up mainly of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans.
There are Buddhist centers in Caracas, Maracay, Mérida, Puerto Ordáz, San Felipe, and Valencia.

The Jewish community has shrunk in recent years due to rising antisemitism in Venezuela, with the
population declining from 22,000 in 1999 to less than 7,000 in 2015.

Throughout most of the 20th century, Venezuela maintained friendly relations with most Latin
American and Western nations. Relations between Venezuela and the United States government
worsened in 2002, after the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt during which the U.S.
government recognized the short-lived interim presidency of Pedro Carmona. In 2015, Venezuela
was declared a national security threat by U.S. President Barack Obama. Correspondingly, ties to
various Latin American and Middle Eastern countries not allied to the U.S. have strengthened. For
example, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki declared in 2015 that Venezuela was his
country's "most important ally".

President Maduro among other Latin American leaders participating in a 2017 ALBA gathering.

Venezuela seeks alternative hemispheric integration via such proposals as the Bolivarian
Alternative for the Americas trade proposal and the newly launched pan-Latin American television
network teleSUR. Venezuela is one of five nations in the world—along with Russia, Nicaragua,
Nauru, and Syria—to have recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Venezuela
was a proponent of OAS's decision to adopt its Anti-Corruption Convention] and is actively working
in the Mercosur trade bloc to push increased trade and energy integration. Globally, it seeks a
"multi-polar" world based on strengthened ties among undeveloped countries.

On 26 April 2017, Venezuela announced its intention to withdraw from the

OAS. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez said that President Nicolás Maduro plans to
publicly renounce Venezuela's membership on 27 April 2017. It will take two years for the country
to formally leave. During this period, the country does not plan on participating in the OAS.

Venezuela is involved in a long-standing disagreement about the control of the Guayana

Esequiba area.

4)Legal Requirements and facts:

PASSPORT VALIDITY:

6 months.

BLANK PASSPORT PAGES:

One page required for entry stamp.

TOURIST VISA REQUIRED:

You must get a Venezuelan visa before traveling to Venezuela. Visas are not available upon
arrival. If you are a dual-national, you must have a valid Venezuelan passport in your possession.

VACCINATIONS:

Yellow Fever

CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS FOR ENTRY:

USD 10,000 (or equivalent) or more must be declared.

CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS FOR EXIT:

USD 10,000 (or equivalent) or more must be declared.

Time zone: UTC−4 (VET)

Driving side: right

In Venezuela the power plugs and sockets are of type A and B. The standard voltage is 120 V and
the standard frequency is 60 Hz.