With Great Pleasure

Everyone working in the Embassy of Venezuela is aware of our duty to promote Venezuela within Malaysian society in many different ways. So when the time comes to organize the Venezuelan Week in Malaysia, which this year reaches its eighth edition, everyone rushes to execute their specific task, followed by moments of tension, race against time and obstacles and the mess that comes along with the coordination process.

But not all is done in the name of duty and work, because at the same time, whatever we do for the people of this beautiful country to learn more about Venezuela and this gives us great satisfaction. Especially during the concerts, exhibitions, conferences and dinners with typical Venezuelan food, we noticed the Malaysian public shown sincere interest in the cultural diversity of Venezuela.

We are pleased that our musicians get a chance to travel to places this far from their everyday lives to deliver their productions. We also love to serve as hosts and take the opportunity to show them interesting aspects of Malaysia.

After the Venezuelan Week has ended, when we meet to evaluate the tasks done, it can be seen on the faces of the entire Embassy team that all the effort was worth it. The people and the Governments of Malaysia and Venezuela become closer in harmony.

Due to the difficult situation experienced in Venezuela earlier this year, with the illness and demise of our President, the tireless Commander Hugo Chávez; and then followed by the new presidential elections which prompted us to move this year's Venezuelan Week in Malaysia to the second half of the year. Thus we can now appreciate the different activities prepared for this eighth version between late September and early October.

Among other events, we proudly present Nelson González, a young musician and winner of the “Venezuelan National Cuatro Competition”. The cuatro is the key instrument in the implementation of traditional Venezuelan music.

We also have a photography exhibition of Venezuela’s "Dancing Devils of Corpus Christi", a popular festival that filled the colorful streets of Yare for more than 300 years, and which has been declared as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

In collaboration with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), we will be inaugurating Bolivar’s Public Lecture Series in honor of Simón Bolívar, one of the greatest heroes in the struggle for freedom for the people. The seminar will be presented by Venezuelan historian, Alejandro López who comes all the way from Venezuela to lecture on the life of Bolívar in the current struggle of the people for a new international order.

And in a country where we really enjoy the makan-makan, we could not exclude the Venezuelan Gastronomic Festival which will be held at Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur with acclaimed chef, Tamara Rodríguez.

I would like to express my profound gratitude to our artists, sponsors and partners. To all who read these lines, do enjoy this Eighth Venezuelan Week in Malaysia. For this event we have put in all our efforts, and we have done so with great pleasure.

Manuel Antonio Guzmán Hernández

Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Malaysia