I've Found a Treasure

Venezuela is a country that is characterized for the love that its people feel by it. Since I had to leave the country five years ago, it is impossible not to feel homesick. As a result, people love ways to represent Venezuela and their Venezuelan culture. Using these t-shirts that talk about the characteristics that shape Venezuelan people is an excellent, magnificent way to take the representation of this culture to the next level. The shirt summarizes in few words what Venezuelans are through a content table. It says: “Venezuelan facts” and underneath of it, there is a box that is exactly the same format as a nutrition facts label. The label lists with Venezuelan slangs the components that Venezuelans are made from. It also says the percentage of each component that Venezuelans have. They are listed in Spanish, but the translation of the components to English would be something like: Joker, Nice, Party-Animal, Clever, Hard-Worker, Gossiping, TV-Novels lover, and Cool. Each component has its own percentage, just like in a regular nutrition facts label. This shirt has engaged me in a very particular way, which I will discuss in the following paragraphs.

As I have mentioned several times in previous posts and papers, being a Venezuelan in Miami is an exciting, motivating fact because you feel in your own land, even though you are in a foreign country. I always tell my friends and anybody I feel comfortable with: “Miami is like a first-world Venezuelan city.” There is a lot of Venezuelan food near me, for example. You literally find the same that you would find if you go to Caracas, but in Miami you are safe and you don’t see the necessity that you see in Caracas and the rest of Venezuela. Unfortunately, right now Venezuela is going through an economical and political crisis that puts us in a matter of life or death. People are starving to death, unemployed and with not enough money to have a decent quality of life. You can find these Venezuelan news in English. All of this is thanks to a government that the only thing that it has worried about is for making Venezuelans poorer and poorer. For this reason, having and wearing this shirt in a “Venezuelan” / foreign city like Miami, makes me feel proud and excited. Why? Well, first of all, it’s obvious that a lot of people (Venezuelans) will notice it in Miami for reasons that I have mentioned above. As a result, they will probably feel thrilled as well, which will create a sense of union and identity. In other words, I like using this shirt abroad because it is a way of representing my country. But not only am I representing it, I’m also exhibiting the shirt to fellow Venezuelans. By the way, it says "Women Venezuelan facts shirt" but it's also for men, Just click and you'll se the men's version.

Part of the shirt

One of the things I love about this shirt is that it is very accurate about what Venezuelans are. I agree that we are 200% “jodedores” (jokers). We are always in a good mood. We find a joke for everything, literally everything. Even in our worst situation, like nowadays, we make jokes of our own disgrace. That’s why we are among the happiest countries in the world. Another fact that I think is a 100% true is “rumbero” (party-animals). If you have a Venezuelan passport, you probably love going-out to drink, dance and meeting new people. That’s just how we are. We always find an excuse to drink or celebrate. These two characteristics that I just mentioned are two of my favorites, but all the qualities that the shirt lists are very accurate as well.

Finally, this shirt is an excellent way of representing ourselves in Venezuela and abroad. It is hilarious and I can’t wait to wear it for the first time. I will keep you all updated of my experience with this treasure.