9 years ago, I took a well-deserved week's vacation. The destination: the city of Merida, Merida State, Venezuela. The intention was to visit as many places as possible in the shortest time possible. Best of all, I was able to get to know and travel all over my country without leaving the city of Merida. How I did it, I'll tell you about it.
One of the mandatory sites was to visit the "Venezuela de Antier", a theme park, where you have the opportunity to see all the states of Venezuela in just one day, well maybe two days. The interesting thing about this park is that it is set during the dictatorship of the "Benemérito" General Juan Vicente Gómez.
Here comes the beauty of what I saw on my vacation. This theme park is a trip to the past, as it is set in the 1920s. From the moment I arrived at the bus station, that is, the ticket office to buy the entrance ticket to the park, everything changed.
The women wore long dresses or petticoats and the men had a very particular uniform. By the way, we were warned at all times not to speak ill of the "Benemérito" because we were in danger of being sent to "La Rotunda" the dreaded jail that awaited all dissidents of the regime and so, with that warning began my trip to the past.
During my visit to the park I had the opportunity to visit Margarita Island and its folkloric dances; the states of Barinas, Guárico and Apure and their meat on a stick; the state of Mérida and its Loca Luz Caraballo; the state of Zulia and the bridge over the lake; the state of Miranda and the dancing devils of Yare; the state of Aragua and a bullfight. In short, the park represents all the states of Venezuela and the traditions of each region. Magical, isn't it?
Finally and almost at the end of the tour is "La Pasapoga" the cabaret where dissidents of the time gathered to sing, dance and speak ill of the "Benemerito". I could not avoid the temptation and spoke badly, so you can imagine, I went straight to "La Rotunda". Thank goodness it was just a game, otherwise I would have had a very bad time.
This story was written for the #theweekend community for their Weekend-Engagement writing prompts: WEEK 139.
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