Venezuela in the context of Pink tide

A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function.

The Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex (Complejo Cultural Teresa Carreño), also known as Teresa Carreño Theatre (Teatro Teresa Carreño), is the most important theatre of Caracas and Venezuela, where performances include symphonic and popular concerts, opera, ballet and plays. It is the second largest theater in South America after the Néstor Kirchner Cultural Centre at Buenos Aires.

The theatre was built on a 22,000-square-metre (240,000 sq ft) lot and named after the Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño. It is located in the cultural district of the city: Bellas Artes. It houses two concert halls: the José Félix Ribas and the Ríos Reyna (named after José Félix Ribas and Pedro Antonio Ríos Reyna, respectively).

A failed state is a state that has lost its ability to fulfill fundamental security and development functions, lacking effective control over its territory and borders. Common characteristics of a failed state include a government incapable of tax collection, law enforcement, security assurance, territorial control, political or civil office staffing, and infrastructure maintenance. When this happens, widespread corruption and criminality, the intervention of state and non-state actors, the appearance of refugees and the involuntary movement of populations, sharp economic decline, and military intervention from both within and outside the state are much more likely to occur.

Originating in the 1990s, the term was initially applied to characterize the situation in Somalia. The country descended into disorder following a coup that ousted its dictator, Siad Barre, in 1991, leading to internal conflicts among the country's clans. In the early 2020s, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen have all been described as failed states. There are concerns that Venezuela may be on path to becoming a failed state in the near future.

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east and northeast, Brazil to the southeast, Peru and Ecuador to the south and southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest. Colombia is divided into 32 departments. The Capital District of Bogotá is also the country's largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub. Other major urban areas include Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Villavicencio and Bucaramanga. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi) and has a population of around 52 million. Its rich cultural heritage—including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as a colony, fusing cultural elements brought by immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with those brought by the African diaspora, as well as with those of the various Indigenous civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is the official language, although Creole, English and 64 other languages are recognized regionally.

Colombia has been home to many indigenous peoples and cultures since at least 12,000 BCE. The Spanish first landed in La Guajira in 1499, and by the mid-16th century, they had colonized much of present-day Colombia, and established the New Kingdom of Granada, with Santa Fe de Bogotá as its capital. Independence from the Spanish Empire is considered to have been declared in 1810, with what is now Colombia emerging as the United Provinces of New Granada. After a brief Spanish reconquest, Colombian independence was secured and the period of Gran Colombia began in 1819. The new polity experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858) and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before becoming a centralised republic—the current Republic of Colombia—in 1886. With the backing of the United States and France, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, resulting in Colombia's present borders. Beginning in the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict and political violence, both of which escalated in the 1990s. Since 2005, there has been significant improvement in security, stability, and rule of law, as well as unprecedented economic growth and development. Colombia is recognized for its healthcare system, being the best healthcare in Latin America according to the World Health Organization and 22nd in the world. Its diversified economy is the third-largest in South America, with macroeconomic stability and favorable long-term growth prospects.

The Andes (/ˈændiːz/ AN-deez), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (Spanish: Cordillera de los Andes; Quechua: Anti) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is 8,900 km (5,500 mi) long and 200 to 700 km (120 to 430 mi) wide (widest between 18°S and 20°S latitude) and has an average height of about 4,000 m (13,000 ft). The Andes extend from south to north through seven South American countries: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.

Along their length, the Andes are split into several ranges, separated by intermediate depressions. The Andes are the location of several high plateaus—some of which host major cities such as Arequipa, Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, El Alto, La Paz, Mérida, Santiago and Sucre. The Altiplano Plateau is the world's second highest after the Tibetan Plateau. These ranges are in turn grouped into three major divisions based on climate: the Tropical Andes, the Dry Andes, and the Wet Andes.

The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 7,000,000 km (2,700,000 sq mi), or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, as well as the territory of French Guiana.

Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia. With a 6 million km (2.3 million sq mi) area of dense tropical forest, it is the largest rainforest in the world.

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba to Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles to the east from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago, South America to the south from the Venezuelan coastline to the Colombian coastline, and Central America and the Yucatán Peninsula to the west from Panama to Mexico. The geopolitical region around the Caribbean Sea, including the numerous islands of the West Indies and adjacent coastal areas in the mainland of the Americas, is known as the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas on Earth and has an area of about 2,754,000 km (1,063,000 sq mi). The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 m (25,217 ft) below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays: the Gulf of Gonâve, the Gulf of Venezuela, the Gulf of Darién, Golfo de los Mosquitos, the Gulf of Paria and the Gulf of Honduras.

South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus It has an officially stated population of just over 56,500 people (2022), who live in an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), with 33,000 living in the capital city, Tskhinvali.

As of 2024, five members of the United Nations (UN) recognise South Ossetia as a sovereign state – Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria. The Georgian government and all other UN member states regard South Ossetia as sovereign territory of Georgia.

The Saladoid culture is a pre-Columbian Indigenous culture of territory in present-day Venezuela and the Caribbean that flourished from 500 BCE to 545 CE. Concentrated along the lowlands of the Orinoco River, the people migrated by sea to the Lesser Antilles, and then to Puerto Rico.

Middle America is a subregion in the Northern Hemisphere tropics of the Americas. It usually includes Mexico, the seven countries of Central America, and the 13 island countries and 18 territories of the Caribbean. Together with Northern America, they form the continent of North America.

Colombia and Venezuela of Caribbean South America are sometimes included in this subregion. The Caribbean is occasionally excluded from this subregion while The Guianas are infrequently included.

The Southern Common Market (commonly known by abbreviation Mercosur in Spanish and Mercosul in Portuguese) is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Venezuela is a full member but has been suspended since 1 December 2016. Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, and Suriname are associate countries.

Mercosur's origins are linked to the discussions for the constitution of a regional economic market for Latin America, which go back to the treaty that established the Latin American Free Trade Association in 1960, which was succeeded by the Latin American Integration Association in the 1980s. At the time, Argentina and Brazil made progress in the matter, signing the Iguaçu Declaration (1985), which established a bilateral commission, which was followed by a series of trade agreements the following year. The Integration, Cooperation and Development Treaty, signed between both countries in 1988, set the goal of establishing a common market, which other Latin American countries could join. Paraguay and Uruguay joined the process and the four countries became signatories to the Treaty of Asunción (1991), which established the Southern Common Market, a trade alliance aimed at boosting the regional economy, moving goods, people among themselves, workforce and capital. Initially a free trade zone was established, in which the signatory countries would not tax or restrict each other's imports. As of 1 January 1995, this area became a customs union, in which all signatories could charge the same quotas on imports from other countries (common external tariff). The following year, Bolivia and Chile acquired membership status. Other Latin American nations have expressed interest in joining the group.

The West Indies are an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies in three archipelagos: the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Lucayan Archipelago.

The subregion includes all the islands in the Antilles, in addition to The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in the North Atlantic Ocean. The term is often interchangeable with "Caribbean", although the latter may also include coastal regions of Central and South American mainland nations, including Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname, as well as the Atlantic island nation of Bermuda, all of which are culturally related but geographically distinct from the three main island groups.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC /ˈoʊpɛk/ OH-pek) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize profit. It was founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The organization, which currently comprises 12 member countries, accounted for 38 percent of global oil production, according to a 2022 report. Additionally, it is estimated that 79.5 percent of the world's proven oil reserves are located within OPEC nations, with the Middle East alone accounting for 67.2 percent of OPEC's total reserves.

In a series of steps in the 1960s and 1970s, OPEC restructured the global system of oil production in favor of oil-producing states and away from an oligopoly of dominant Anglo-American oil firms (the "Seven Sisters"). In the 1970s, restrictions in oil production led to a dramatic rise in oil prices with long-lasting and far-reaching consequences for the global economy. Since the 1980s, OPEC has had a limited impact on world oil-supply and oil-price stability, as there is frequent cheating by members on their commitments to one another, and as member commitments reflect what they would do even in the absence of OPEC.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia are separatist regions of Georgia in the Caucasus. Most countries recognise them as part of Georgia, while Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria regard them as independent. Russia's initial recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia occurred in the aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War in 2008. The government of Georgia considers the republics to be Russian-occupied territories.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia were once recognised by up to seven UN member states, until Tuvalu withdrew its recognition of both in 2014, and Vanuatu clarified the status of their recognitions. Vanuatu reconfirmed in 2019 it supports Georgian territorial integrity including the two disputed territories. Abkhazia and South Ossetia recognise each other, and also have some recognition from non-UN member states.

Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi.

The political status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the Abkhazia conflict and Georgia–Russia relations. Abkhazia is recognised as an independent state only by five states: Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria; Georgia and other countries consider Abkhazia as Georgia's sovereign territory. Lacking effective control over the Abkhazian territory, Georgia maintains an Abkhaz government-in-exile.

Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several smaller islets. The capital city is Port of Spain, while its largest and most populous municipality is Chaguanas. Despite its proximity to South America, being on its continental shelf, Trinidad and Tobago is considered to be part of the Caribbean.

Trinidad and Tobago is located 11 kilometres (6 nautical miles) northeast off the coast of Venezuela, 130 kilometres (70 nautical miles) south of Grenada, and 288 kilometres (155 nautical miles) southwest of Barbados. Indigenous peoples inhabited Trinidad for centuries prior to Spanish colonization, following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498. Spanish governor José María Chacón surrendered the island to a British fleet under Sir Ralph Abercromby's command in 1797. Trinidad and Tobago were ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens as separate states and unified in 1889. Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962, and became a republic in 1976.

Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, that identifies with the Caribbean and was once part of the historic British West Indies. Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the country's largest city. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east.

With a land area of 214,969 km (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state by area in mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname, and is the second-least populous sovereign state in South America after Suriname; it is also one of the least densely populated countries on Earth.

Robinson Crusoe (/ˈkruːsoʊ/ KROO-soh) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. It is often credited as marking the beginning of realistic fiction as a literary genre, and has been described as the first novel, or at least the first English novel – although these labels are disputed.

Written with a combination of epistolary, confessional, and didactic forms, the book follows the title character (born Robinson Kreutznaer) after he is cast away and spends 28 years on a remote tropical desert island near the coasts of Venezuela and Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being rescued. The story has been thought to be based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway who lived for four years on a Pacific island called "Más a Tierra" (now part of Chile) which was renamed Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966. Pedro Serrano is another real-life castaway whose story might have inspired the novel.

Caracas (/kəˈrækəs, -ˈrɑːk-/ kə-RA(H)K-əs, Spanish: [kaˈɾakas]), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern part of Venezuela, within the Caracas Valley of the Venezuelan coastal mountain range (Cordillera de la Costa). The valley is close to the Caribbean Sea on the north, separated from the coast by a steep 2,200-meter-high (7,200-foot) mountain range, Cerro El Ávila. To the south there are more hills and mountains. The Metropolitan Region of Caracas has an estimated population of almost 5 million inhabitants.

The historic center of the city is the Cathedral, located on Bolívar Square, though some consider the center to be Plaza Venezuela, located in the Los Caobos area. Businesses in the city include service companies, banks, and malls. Caracas has a largely service-based economy, apart from some industrial activity in its metropolitan area. The Caracas Stock Exchange and Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) are headquartered in Caracas. Empresas Polar is the largest private company in Venezuela. Caracas is Venezuela's cultural capital, with many restaurants, theaters, museums, and shopping centers. Caracas has some of the tallest skyscrapers in Latin America, such as the Parque Central Towers. The Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas is one of the most important in South America.