Annotations for Uncategorized: Rural

Carmen's dad Julián: Character & Work

Julián Bernal is portrayed as a womanizer (enamorado) who enjoyed parties; but also as orderly, reliable, and a man of business. He was notably industrious, working long hours—including nights—engaged in selling lumber, producing charcoal, and cultivating crops such as corn and tobacco.

Tales of Properties in Los Valles del Tuy

Machete-Military Colonel Juan Crisóstomo “Juancho” Gómez (brother of Juan Vicente Gomez, Venezuela's military ruler since 1908) was the wealthiest landowner in Los Valles del Tuy. His hacienda Mendoza was an empire of seven states, producing coffee, sugarcane, meat, milk, and bananas.
In the region, authoritarian colonel-caporales acted on his behalf to control the peasant workforce, enforcing the repressive motto “Union, Peace, and Work” associated with his brother’s dictatorship.
After General Gómez’s death in 1935, the nation expropriated these lands. Under President López Contreras, the Mendoza Colony was settled by Canary Island families brought from Cuba through the Immigration and Colonization Institute. From 1937 onward, thanks to the irrigation system sourced from the Tuy River, it became a major agricultural supplier for Caracas, with strong production and improved living conditions for its settlers.

Julián, Carmen's father, did not invest in land but in the charcoal mining, in the era of the Industrial Revolution. Alongside agricultural expansion, new transportation infrastructure, particularly railroad stations, was developed to connect the valley towns with Caracas.

Carmen Andrea's Early Interests and Schooling (Part II)

She enjoyed whistling "like men" and singing songs she learned from family friends.
Throughout much of the 20th century, whistling by women was strongly discouraged and considered inappropriate or "unladylike" while it was widely accepted as a normal masculine behavior for men. The reason for this disparity was Gender Norms and Etiquette.
Voice and Power: Some feminist interpretations suggest that the interdiction was a way to keep women "voiceless," metaphorically and literally, reinforcing a paradigm of female silence and subservience.

Access to education in Yare was limited since there was only one teacher for boys and girls. Carmen' schooling was interrupted because she cried when separated from her mother.
She later received private instruction from Ana Graciela Francia while living in Los Añiles. Her school routine consisted of attending classes in the morning, returning home at midday to assist her mother with domestic tasks—such as pounding grain with a "pilón"—and then returning for afternoon lessons.
After several months, another teacher arrived at the school, but not all of the children got seats. So she took classes with Ms. Blanca Lovera Houtman for a time; but her schooling ended permanently when her father moved the family to Caracas.
Carmen learned half-writing, simple math, embroidery, and memorized national hymns (like those dedicated to Sucre and "Mi General") and received PE class, which had been incorporated into the Venezuelan school curriculum by 1919. She had good conduct and applied grades.

Pilón (Mortar and Pestle): In some cases, a mortar (a hollowed-out stone or tree stump) and heavy wooden pestle were used to pound the grain into a coarse meal.

Education History in Venezuela

Formal education in Venezuela emerged with the arrival of the Spaniards and developed under strong religious and elitist influence for much of the colonial period.
Andrés Bello and Parra León documented that in 1591, the first institution in Caracas taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Since the 17th century, Jesuits have promoted multi-class education with missionary objectives and clerical orientation. According to the Hispanic perspective, education should be provided to whites and white Creoles (blancos criollos); Indigenous people and mixed-race individuals ("pardos"), considered socially inferior, received an education focused on social skills to "civilize" them.
Until 1821, primary schools were private and religious.
In that year, the Escuelas de Primeras Letras para Niños y Niñas (Schools of First Letters for Boys and Girls) were decreed, making instruction compulsory for all children between the ages of six and twelve.
The successive struggles for independence and political conflicts of the 19th century prevented the real expansion of education.
By the middle of this century, the prestigious bachelor’s degree was awarded by the National Colleges. In primary schools, only one in every 114 children received an education.
Although public instruction for all levels, including primary, was decreed in 1863, no progress was evident until 1870 when funds were allocated to implement the decree.
The country's social (class-based) and economic structure—with limited urbanization, a predominantly rural population, agricultural dependence, and scarce public resources—profoundly conditioned access to and quality of education outside privileged contexts.
From the beginning of the 20th century until 1936, some progress was made in educational legislation, although it was limited. Mass public education was not yet consolidated, and significant inequalities in access persisted based on social class, race, or region.

Another Customs and Curiosities

October Festivities in Yare
St. Francis of Paola has been honored in Yare every April 2nd since 1726, when he was declared the town’s patron saint. This date often fell at the beginning of Lent, a period that did not coincide with harvest season, making the celebration difficult. In 1928, the parish priest, Father Gregorio Vicandy, together with the civil leader Santiago Sanoja, changed the celebration to October 28th. However, this date also proved unsuitable, as it coincides with the feast of Saints Simon and Jude Thaddeus. Therefore, by Decree No. 6007/95, signed by the Bishop of Los Teques, Pío Bello Ricardo, on September 13, 1995, the feast was changed a second time—this time to October 27th, where it remains today.
For the rest of the world, the feast of St. Francis of Paola continues to be celebrated on April 2nd.

"Bombache" (Baggy) Fashion of the era
In early 20th-century, the Venezuelan elite followed the fashions of Paris and London. Formal women's clothing adopted long dresses and corsets whereas elaborate hats, and three-piece suit for men.
However, in popular and rural clothing, for men the traditional outfit was the liqui liqui (trousers and a closed-collar jacket), commonly paired with the straw hat in the countryside and at informal events; while the wide skirts and blouses with ruffles were worn by peasant women, a confortable clothing suited to their daily labor. These styles were not considered part of "haute couture" fashion.
The loose and bombacha-style garments in popular and traditional clothing reflected a socioeconomic and cultural reality different from that of European capitals.

Attend the "Retreta" in Plazas
At the beginning of the 20th century in Venezuela, the "retreta" was a popular outdoor evening concert offered by musical bands (military or from local institutions), which served as an important social gathering and recreational activity in public squares, mainly in plazas Bolívar and other important parks and promenades in Caracas and other cities of the country.
The repertoire included a variety of genres, from national anthems and military marches (which was its original function) to popular and dance music such as waltzes, joropos (folk Venezuelan and Colombian music from Los Llanos), and boleros. This mix attracted different social strata.