La NUEVA VENEZUELA se está forjando en el SUR DE MÉRIDA 🇻🇪 Valen de Viaje

00:00 - The Return to Pueblo Nuevo (30 Years Later) 01:37 - The Secret of Lemongrass and Andean Health 03:22 - The Truth About Venezuelans: Generosity 04:50 - The Journey to the Village of Macedal 06:20 - Tasting the Strange Red Pineapple 07:45 - Why Does Nobody Suffer from Stress Here? 09:40 - Food Independence: Eating from the Land 12:15 - Aunt Ramona's Treasure: The Hat of Mucutuy 14:50 - San José del Sur: The Town of Closed Houses 16:44 - Irrigation Ditches: The Town Where Everything Is White 19:15 - The Man Who Reads Lips and Makes Art 21:00 - Mucuño: The Ruins We Let Go to Lost 25:40 - Camping at 3,400 Meters in Southern Mérida 28:50 - A sunrise that will make you cry in southern Mérida. 33:05 - The mystery of Laguna de Las Lajas in southern Mérida. Distant villages, solitary and proud, emerge to announce themselves from afar with pride and a sense of belonging. They resist their minimal presence on the map. The ruins of Mucuño rise up, a symbol of permanence, of how nature reclaims what is hers to gaze at the sky and let in the sun and rain. Prayers are no longer heard, but the murmur of faith of its inhabitants remains, those who stay on their lands and endure the hardship of oblivion. We choose to enter through Pueblo Nuevo del Sur, its determined church presiding over it, earthen architecture with white facades and cobblestone streets. Mucuchachi and Mucutuy, forgotten villages tasked with preserving the identity we lost in the cities. Roads transformed into characters that unite them and bring us all closer to discovering how they survive, what sustains them, where their strength comes from. Paths that lead us to Laguna de Las Lajas, enchanted waters like all those that surprise us in the Andean highlands. Landscapes that bring us closer to the clouds. Waters with legends of enchantment, sacred spaces that are respected. Living beings with temperaments. It is said that the lagoon "gets upset" if visitors arrive shouting, laughing loudly, or throwing stones into the water. When the lagoon feels invaded, the sky suddenly closes. A thick, black fog ("el tapao") descends from the peaks in seconds. Travelers lose their way, become disoriented, and can walk in circles for hours until the lagoon "decides" to release them, or worse, it is said that some have been sucked into its waters, never to return. To be able to camp and for the lagoon to grant you permission to see its reflection, the old muleteers recommend speaking in hushed tones and greeting the mountain. Some say you should throw a silver coin or a bit of chewing tobacco into the water as a peace offering. It is said that in Las Lajas, you don't come to talk, you come to listen. If you come with a troubled heart, it envelops you in its mist until you calm down. But if you come with respect, it gifts you this silver mirror where you can see, for a second, the purity of what we were before so much noise. It is a lagoon that compels humility: here, water and wind rule; we are merely guests. It was a camping trip under stars, at dawn, and with bitter cold. I came seeking abandonment and found perseverance. The silence became voices that tell stories. This is the Venezuela that is never in the news. High plains and stone. People who cultivate their lives in the land. Royal roads where the liberators passed, laden with dreams of freedom. Today, asphalt reigns, but the dream of freedom persists. 🗺️ Places we visited: Mérida State. Its capital is Mérida. A journey to the southern towns, entering through Pueblo Nuevo del Sur and passing through Mucutuy, Mucuchachi, San José del Sur, Acequias, and Laguna de Las Lajas. SUBSCRIBE:    / @valendeviaje   Instagram:   / valendeviaje   📌Journalist/General Production: Valentina Quintero - @valendeviaje 📌Digital Media Manager: Adeimar Bastidas - @adeimarbl 📌Director: Post-production: Gustavo Mendoza - @el_tasto 📌 Cinematography / Drone: Gustavo Mendoza - @el_tasto Gabo Cárdenas - @gabo_cardenas 📌 Graphic Design: Stephanye Cuellar - @stephanye._ 📌 Motion Graphics: Andrés Ungaro - @gazoo69 📌 YouTube Optimization Team: Barbara Mongou - @barbaramongou Ricardo Miranda - @popinteractivo