Today, 210 years ago at Coro

On August 1st 1806 a liberating expedition led by Franciso de Miranda landed at the port of La Vela de Coro.

Francisco de Miranda did not defeat the Spanish army nor did he get support from the local population. But his arrival is considered a precursor to the following wars for Independence of Venezuela and it´s neighbours from the colonial rule.

(Iglesia de San Francisco)

Santa Ana of Coro has a history much older. The  city was founded in 1527. In 1529 a German General landed, representing the Welser, an Augsburg banking and trading family. The family received the Province of Venezuela (as Klein-Venedig) from the emperor Charles V for exploration. The government of the Welsers ends in 1545 for breach of contract and conflict of interests between them and the Spanish conquistadors. In 1578 the Spanish moved the political capital from Coro to Caracas.

The three pictures show the Iglesia de San Clemente.It has its origins in a church commanded to be built by the founder of the city in the 16th century. It is a cruciform building where each end pointing towards a central point. It is one of the few examples of colonial architecture in the form of a cross in Venezuela.

Following pictures Balcón de los Arcaya.

The city has inherited a monumental architecture of the colonial times. The architecture features elements typical of Southern Spain,, with materials and techniques used by Native Americans based in the mud, like adobe. Equally characteristic has a certain pattern that combines traditional Spanish checkerboard layout with an irregular shape typical of medieval German cities, product of the period in which the city was the seat of the domain of Welser. In the central town is common will find yourself with streets that end abruptly, breaking the regularity of the Spanish checkerboard.

The historic centre remains characteristics typical of a city of 18th and 19th centuries, with cobbled stone streets and colonial buildings. This is an important colonial city resort and the largest complex of colonial temples in Venezuela. . For these reasons UNESCO declared in 1993 Coro, along with its nearby port of La Vela de Coro,  a World Heritag Site.

Since 2005 Coro has been officially listed as an “endangered” World Heritage Site  Climate change in Venezuela, in particular heavy rains, have caused significant damage to its rich architecture. Coro’s traditional buildings were built with techniques based on the use of earth (adobe, and earth reinforced with a plant structure in a technique called “bahareque”). Many of these buildings are vulnerable to heavy rains, as in its natural state earth is a material of low resistance to moisture.

Following pictures Casa del Sol. It is one of Venezuela’s oldest houses, its construction dates from the 17th century. Its name comes from the sun located above its door, symbolizing God. And the Portal of Casa del Tesoro.

The reason to visit Coro was actually not to celebrate the arrival of F. Miranda but the donation of piano to the Falcón Symphony Orchestra. With the donation Goethe Institute Caracas and the German Embassy wants to support the ever growing enthusiasm of classical music. Coro has 6 orchestras and I was able to see some of the music school, under the guidance of Maestro Guiseppe Maiolino Conte and Maestro Ruben Capriles.  Maestro Maiolino started music educacion in Coro already in the 50´s in this little “auditorium”. It has been expanding ever since. The lates extension is the conversion of an old prison into a conservatorium 3 years ago. Painting of prisoners are still on the wall. What a perfect conversion of peace. It will take a lot of music to clean out the negative energy of nearly 90 years of torture.

Because of school vacations the music schools were empty that Saturday morning, only a few gathered without teachers to practise.

Friday night I attended the concert for the celebration of donation. A marvellous concert! I was asked to the stage for a brief address. As it is tradition both National Anthems were sung.  The German National Anthem was sung in three verses which irritated me. Later I talked to both Maestros and it turned out that they had taught all three verses to the choir. When passing through the old “auditorio” I found verse I still on the board. Time for a short history lesson…

Outside the historical centre protected by the UNESCO the city remains colonial for some more streets.

Finally, I visit to Coro would not be complete without a visit to the Médanos de Coro National Park. The Park covers 91square km of desert an coastal habitat. The massive sand dunes, known as Médanos, spread over an area of approximately 5 by 30 km (3.1 by 18.6 mi). They can reach 40 m (130 ft) in height and are constantly transformed by the unrelenting wind.

In the ollowing a small selection,  sometimes giving abstract impressions of the dunes. Enjoy.