La Vida de Nos

To Honor the Conversations We Never Had

An ailing father, bitter because of the limitations ill health imposed on him; a son, yearning for the solitude he had long chosen for himself and trying to have an identity of his own; the memories of a relationship that was marked by estrangement and reconnection. Such is the thread of this story.

A Tally Sheet, a Testimony, and a Proof of Life

That of July 28, 2024 was not just another election. Organized citizens, in defense of their votes, proved that Venezuela has a robust social fabric. This text weaves a thread into three testimonies of the gearwheel that was set in motion that and the following days by the citizens themselves to collect the tally sheets printed by the voting machines and make them available for the world to see. But there are more than three, for sure.

The True Value of Living in a Community

On April 30, 2019, the day when the final phase of the so-called “Operation Freedom” was set in motion in Caracas, Luisana Escobar and her neighbors were forced to leave their homes in Valencia, Venezuela, after a teargas canister exploded in one of the apartments of the building where they lived, setting it on fire.

Taking Action for the Parishioners Instead of Just Worrying About Them

There is no official data available, but it is estimated that about seven thousand people in Venezuela are bitten by a snake each year. Aware of the nationwide shortage of snake antivenom, that is, the anti-venom treatment for snakebites, Priest Johnny Arias came up with the idea of creating an antivenom bank funded by his own community.

Your Theatrics Won’t Get You Out of Here

On April 15, 2020, residents of Churuguara town, a two-hour drive from Coro, state of Falcón, took to the streets to protest over gasoline shortages. They were repelled with tear gas. Edgar Flores, a 30-year-old lawyer and psychiatric patient, was among them. Several days later, law enforcement officials broke into his house and took him away.

Gregoria Díaz

Ultimately, I stopped Asking Myself All Those Questions

For years, Nora dedicated herself to giving private lessons in physics, chemistry, mathematics and English to the young people of her community in Carúpano, state of Sucre, including Zoila Hernández’s kids.

Zoila Hernández

I Was No Mutant, as I Feared

Psychologist Gloria Pino —very tall and very thin, like no one else in her family— lived in pain and with fatigue and a pounding heart. She consulted with many doctors, but none would arrive at an accurate diagnosis. Until one doctor took her time to study her medical history thoroughly. That was the day Gloria first heard about Marfan syndrome, a rare disease that affects one in five thousand people.

Gloria Pino

That Lake that He Marveled At When He Was a Little Kid

The loss of a trove of scientific documents —and the risk that may others could meet the same fate— led Pablo Emilio Colmenares and a group of specialists to create a digital repository with more than 75,000 titles related to Lake Maracaibo and its basin. They were driven by the conviction that if memory is preserved, the future can change.

Francisco Rincón

She Can Only Think of the Moment When She Will Open the Door

Ten months after having migrated to Perú, she received the news that the woman who raised her had died in Caracas. From that moment on, she has made sure that her grandparents, who have had to overcome the hurdles imposed by an ever-worsening economic crisis, are doing well. At night, Pierina Sora prays to God that she will soon be reunited with them.

Pierina Sora

There Is Nothing in There of What We Lived Through

This story takes place in one of the so-called “Peace Zones”, which are designated areas that cannot be entered by state security forces as long as the gangs operating there agree not to engage in criminal activities.

Rubi Guerra

Follow us