BEHIND THE LENS
CARACAS, VENEZUELA BY EDUARDO IZAGUIRRE
What brought you on this trip?
I always want to go back to Caracas. I can’t imagine any other personal demonym than being Caracas-born. After coming and going, I spent seven years away.
One never quite finds a clear reason to return to where you feel a natural attraction, but it was the surprise of Natalia Lafourcade’s concert in Caracas that made me buy a ticket at once. Later I came to realize that, in reality, I returned for my father, to return to my nooks, and to introduce the city to my love.
What might surprise a foreigner about the city?
Caracas is a city of movement. You can feel it everywhere. That’s why our artistic transcendence is identified with the kinetic. Everything moves here: the facades’ enclosures open up to you, the shadows of the buildings, the murals by the masters that are a city trademark, even the macaws grab your attention. However, those who come for the first time, find a balance in that urban overstimulation with the Ávila in the background, which always gives peace.
What was your first memory of architecture in Caracas?
My amusement parks were the integrated shopping centers in the city, designed in the 1960s and 1970s, where everything was open, urban, with breeze and ramps where you could run freely, and the soda fountain that appeared in the courtyard where you could look up at the sky… That was my ‘wow’ moment.
Over time, I understood that all of this which caught my attention as a child, eventually defined my vocation for architecture. It’s what my inner child still seeks: solid constructions in exposed concrete with an apparent lightness, floors of polished granite and accents with unique tile coverings on certain walls.
Do you remember the first building that impacted you?
The first complex of buildings that impacted me was the Caracas cable car system and the Humboldt Hotel, located at the top of Ávila.
From the moment I’d start climbing at the Maripérez Station, I was struck by what seemed like a giant origami. Now I know they were the prismatic shells, folded into diamonds and inverted umbrellas. But reaching the Ávila Station, made of glass and aluminum, where the clouds crept inside and only looked at my little feet, was like being in another world.
I think discovering the Humboldt Hotel behind the mist was like seeing a place that everyone talks about, like the tower of that world of enchantment.
Do you have a favorite building? Why?
I don’t have just one favorite. I like several, a lot. The Torres del Centro Simón Bolívar was a gift that Cipriano Domínguez gave to the caraqueños. They represent an emblem of modernity in Caracas, of rationality, of something that dominates the landscape for a multiple use that still today is a flow of many things happening at the same time. It’s the forcefulness of the curves that create an underground garden with concrete and the lines that you then have in the square and buildings.
Another one I like is the Covered Plaza of the University City. From Villanueva’s design, I am captivated by its plasticity that hides the formal and functional rationality, and that connects the Library, the Rectorate, the concert halls, and the Aula Magna in a space of unique beauty.
Then there is the Villa Planchart. There are so many things happening in that house from the moment you arrive– I feel it encompasses the imagery of a Caracas that wanted to be modern and still lives within there.
Describe a perfect day in Caracas.
These days I’m a visitor in Caracas. I wake up in an apartment in Los Palos Grandes, I search calmly for a coffee, then start walking and walking, revisiting old places, seeing new ones, hunting exhibitions that are happening, going to museums, galleries and cultural spaces that have something to say.
In between, I’ll have a delicious lunch, eat sweets or something enticing as a snack. At night, where I choose to eat must have a special beauty: like Aprile, with the coquí-coquí of the frogs, a garden and a climate that grounds me in gratitude to be in Caracas.
Can you name five buildings that define the spirit of the city?
The spirit of Caracas cannot be contained in the fingers of one hand. But I’ll mention five additional ones, as a bonus. The Hotel Ávila in San Bernardino; the Concha del Club Táchira; the Atlantic Building; the Altolar Residences, and, obviously, the Teresa Carreño Theater.
How do people in Caracas relate with the city’s landscape?
Ávila is our compass, like the sea for a port city. It’s almost like a companion. There are also the metropolitan parks, pocket parks, avenues, and even a tree in the middle of the street because the layout respects it. It depends on the area you’re in, obviously, but I want to believe, somehow, that someone always sees something green and makes use of it
Do you perceive any prevailing aesthetics nowadays due to the country’s situation?
The prevailing aesthetic is that of something that was very well done and that, despite the passage of time and neglect, maintains its greatness.
What is the most representative place in Caracas?
The Simón Bolívar Center.
You’ve photographed many destinations. What is one thing about Caracas that makes it unique? Something you haven’t seen anywhere else?
The color I see in its light.
If you only have a couple of hours to discover architecture in Caracas, where do you go?
If I have two hours, we would start from Los Caobos Park, head to the Teresa Carreño Theater, then to La Candelaria, Caracas’ Bolívar Square, and finish off at the Towers of El Silencio.
If you had to choose a favorite thing about the city, what would it be?
Let me loose in Los Palos Grandes.
An interesting fact?
Even more now as a migrant, I see the value of the cultural contribution of Spaniards, Italians, and Portuguese to the form and style of La Candelaria and Chacao, the new neighborhoods they helped build. I appreciate the scale of their low-rise buildings, the names with typography that one feels compelled to take with them, as well as the city’s focus on being close, with high-bar cafeterias for a standing snack, bulk sales, traditional trades, and an adapted cuisine as local, like lasagna or eating octopus in a tavern.
Share a local secret.
La Gran Pulpería de libros in Sabana Grande.
Is there something everyone should know before arriving?
That when someone is interested in you, they’ll smile at you on the street and ask, “Did you come back? Are you back or just visiting?” It’s literal.
If Caracas had a soundtrack, what songs would be included?
“Moliendo café” by Hugo Blanco.
“Caminando por Caracas” by Piero.
“Toy contento” by Mario Suárez.
“Así Así” by Billo’s Caracas Boys.
“Qué rico” by Los Amigos Invisibles.
“Anoche soñé contigo” by Kevin Johansen.
“Caminar bonito” by Natalia Lafourcade.
“Dance me to the end of love” by Misstrees Barbara Bernstein.
“Mambo de West Side Story” by Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.
Favorite word or slang.
“¡Todo fino!”
In search of local culture, where do you go?
Hacienda La Trinidad Parque Cultural, Centro de Arte Los Galpones, Galería GBG Arts, Trasnocho Cultural, Centro Cultural de Arte Moderno and the Museum Circuit of Caracas in Bellas Artes.
Where to stay?
Between La Castellana, Altamira, and Los Palos Grandes.
Where can you witness the best sunset?
From the 360 Rooftop Bar at the Altamira Suites Hotel. And at Villa Planchart, you reserve a sunset.
What is beauty to you?
“Genuineness.”
Images by Eduardo Izaguirre.
