Venezuela

Venezuela's name can be attributed to an Italian explorer who saw a Venezuelan settlement of stilt houses and called it "Veniziola", as the development was akin to Venice. Indigenous groups, like the one encountered in the aforementioned scenario, now inhabit the heavily forested south of Venezuela where road networks don't even reach. In the north, life is dominated by the city of Caracas. National hero and liberator Simón Bolívar has a famous plaza in the capital. The nearby Pantheon is home to his tomb and demonstrates Venezuelan's reverence for the historical figure. Venezuela's economy is driven by petroleum, being amongst the largest producers in the world and selling cheap gas to its populous. Still, the country is infamous for its rations and rampant inflation, eventually having to switch to the dollar, materialized by its absolutist ruler. Biodiversity is massive in Venezuela, with Tepuis, an elevated rock formation, facilitating the survival of species found nowhere else on Earth like white-eared possums. The most commonly found Venezuelan food is the arepa, which is typically consumed in the morning with a cup of hot coffee. Regarding demographics, the population of Venezuela is on a downswing given political unrest and economic instability in the country. 50% of the country is Mestizo, while 40% is Black or White in heritage. 88% of this population is Christian. A cornerstone of Venezuelan culture is sport. The biggest sport is baseball and hundreds of players have made it to the MLB. Soccer also has some popularity, but the national team has never qualified for a World Cup. Pageantry is also a sizable industry, with many women choosing a career in the field as schools and academies are run across the country. A large holiday in Venezuela is Diablos Danzantes, in which colorful devils are paraded around city streets. Venezuelan doctors have made many contributions to medicine, inventing vaccines for various diseases like leprosy. There is a diverse tapestry of Venezuelan music with Afro-Venezuelan and traditional roots. Simón Díaz is the most acclaimed Venezuelan singer. Education in Venezuela is mandatory from ages 6-15, and the literacy rate is 9 in 10 adults. A considerable portion of Venezuelans still don't have a secondary education though. In addition, upper-class families will often choose to send their children to private schools, as the schooling is of a higher caliber. Although free healthcare was an initiative that Venezuelans set out to achieve, economic crises prevented the country from doing so, and the urban poor were left to fend for themselves.