Fascinating Contemporary Portrait of a Megacity
While Venezuela's leader, Hugo Chavez, is frequently in the news, little is reported about life in the capital city of Caracas. This visual diary and commentary provides a fascinating contemporary portrait of the living conditions in Caracas. While squatter settlements, known as "barrios" in Venezuela, have been around for decades, the extent to which the formal, planned urban areas in Caracas have been surrounded and overtaken by the informal city is astonishing. In the 60's there were many ambitious plans to develop and redevelop major parts of the city, but these have, on the evidence presented here, not materialized. Instead, people have continued to migrate from the rural areas, drawn by the allure of the big city and the possibilities for a better life. Breathtaking.