“With the little bit that the Venezuelans have left in Caracas, they are trying to find distraction,” says Alejandro Cegarra. NRC working photographer had flown to Venezuela a few weeks ago to visit family.
Due to military pressure from the United States, almost all airlines flying to the country decided to cancel their flights. Since then, Cegarra has been stuck in his native country and has seen daily life continue as normal, despite the troop build-up in the waters off Venezuela.
On the beach, in the nightlife or playing in the streets of the Venezuelan capital: Venezuelans are looking for distraction and relaxation, captured by Cegarra.
People dance salsa in the Tasca Asunción in Caracas on November 21.
Image Alejandro Cegarra
A clandestine aid organization feeds children in a soup kitchen.
A child looks out over the slums of San Agustín.
Photos Alejandro Cegarra
People on the beach of Camurí Chico in the Venezuelan town of La Guaira on November 23.
photos Alejandro Cegarra
The state media use the usual anti-imperialist rhetoric, but they report nothing about the current situation off the coast and the military pressure on Maduro himself, by telephone from Caracas. “All media are controlled by the regime. But through social media we can read what is really going on,” says Cegarra. He gets up to close the window of his room. You only talk about the reality in Venezuela indoors, where no one can hear you.
A dance competition between students from different schools in Caracas.
Photo Alejandro Cegarra
Children play baseball on the street in Caracas.
Photo Alejandro Cegarra
A child threads a shoelace through a plastic bag as part of her work.
A boy plays with a soccer ball in the San Agustín slum in Caracas, December 2.
Photos Alejandro Cegarra
Maduro is not hiding
There are large gatherings and rallies of Maduro supporters in the city at least three times a week. Much more often than before, says Cegarra. “These are government employees and party members of the president who are forced to be present. With this, Maduro wants to show that nothing is wrong.” The photographer is struck by the fact that he was able to attend such a rally just a few meters away from Maduro, who has a prize of 50 million dollars on his head.
“It is of course tightly orchestrated and there is a lot of security, but Maduro wants to show that he is not worried and that everything is still as usual,” says Cegarra. Maduro is said to have been told in a direct telephone conversation by Donald Trump that he must resign and everything indicates that the American troop build-up around Venezuela is intended to force him to do so. Although almost everyone in the country would rather get rid of the authoritarian president, there are also concerns about Venezuela after the leader, who has been in power for almost thirteen years.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro takes part in a government-organized civil-military march in Caracas, November 25.
Alejandro Cegarra
Venezuelan militia members walk in a government-organized civil-military march in Caracas, November 25.
Photo Alejandro Cegarra
Soldiers participate in a civil-military march in Caracas, November 25.
photos alejandro cegarra
Police cadets form a formation during a student demonstration called by the Venezuelan government in Caracas, November 21.
Photo Alejandro Cegarra
“What will the army do, or what will the security police do when he is gone?” Cegarra wonders. Partly due to this uncertainty, there are currently few demonstrations against the regime in Venezuela, he says. “In addition to the fact that there is almost no opposition left in Venezuela to organize protests, people are afraid that after Maduro there will be someone who comes from the same system. And who will tackle us just as hard.”
According to Cegarra, it explains why Venezuelans, while foreign media are full of articles about tensions between the US and Venezuela, continue to do what they have always done. “And that is survival. Venezuelans are well aware that this conflict is mainly between two governments, and that they have no influence on the outcome. So it is best for them to continue to seek distraction and enjoy the small moments that Caracas still has to offer.”
Lilimar Cedeño and her son in the San Agustín slum, November 20.
A dog sniffs a wall with graffiti by Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, November 20.
Photos Alejandro Cegarra
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