El Recreo Celebration of ‘Knowledge and Flavours’

Different members of the various community organisations that form part of the ‘Popular Committees for the Bicentenary’ in El Recreo, Caracas, come together in a cultural day promoting  typical Venezuelan food and drinks.

In the sixth annual ‘Knowledge* and Flavours’ celebration,  members of the community share their knowledge of popular culture, rooted in Venezuelan customs and traditions, as an alternative to capitalism and in order to combat the alienation occasioned by it.

“The idea is to bring along what each person knows and to put this knowledge at the service of the community in order to reproduce that knowledge” said Alix Márquez, community spokesperson.

Events such as the ‘Knowledge and Flavours’ celebration aim to encourage community integration and participation, and challenge the logic of capitalism, which allocates value to material ‘things’ as opposed to knowledge.

The many regional drinks and desserts on display included ‘chicha’ from the Andes, plantain sweets from Zulia and traditional coconut sweets from the Venezuelan coast.

* The word ‘saber’ in Spanish means both knowledge and taste, the original title in Spanish is a pun based on this double meaning.