Wayuu language in the context of "Guajira Peninsula"

Zulia State (Spanish: Estado Zulia, IPA: [esˈtaðo ˈsulja]; Wayuu: Mma’ipakat Suuria) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,704,404, making it the most populous state in the country. Zulia is also notable for being one of the few states in Venezuela where voseo—the use of vos as the second-person singular pronoun—is widespread. The state is coterminous with the eponymous region of Zulia.

Zulia is located in northwestern Venezuela, bordering Lake Maracaibo, the largest body of its kind in Latin America. The lake's basin holds some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the Western Hemisphere.

Maracaibo (/ˌmærəˈkaɪboʊ/ MARR-ə-KY-boh, Spanish: [maɾaˈkajβo] ; Wayuu: Marakaaya) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, located on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the capital of Zulia state and the largest city in Venezuela and is the second-largest city proper in Venezuela, after the national capital, Caracas. The city has an estimated population of 1,752,602, with the metropolitan area estimated at 2,727,957 as of 2019. Maracaibo is commonly nicknamed “Spanish: La Tierra del Sol Amada” (The Beloved Land of the Sun).

Maracaibo is considered the economic center of western Venezuela due to the petroleum industry that developed along the shores of Lake Maracaibo. It is sometimes referred to as "The First City of Venezuela" for being the first city in Venezuela to adopt various public services, including electricity. The city is also linked to the origin of the country’s name, as it is located near the lake from which the name “Venezuela” allegedly derives.

Cereus repandus (syn. Cereus peruvianus), the Peruvian apple cactus, is a large, erect, spiny columnar cactus found in South America. It is also known as giant club cactus, hedge cactus, cadushi (in Papiamento and Wayuunaiki), and kayush.

Cereus repandus is grown mostly as an ornamental plant, but has some local culinary importance. The Wayuu from the La Guajira Peninsula of Colombia and Venezuela also use the inner cane-like wood of the plant in wattle and daub construction.