Venezuelans 🇻🇪 Tell Me Immigration Stories (and We Eat Arepas) in Buenos Aires 🇦🇷

Two paths from Venezuela to Buenos Aires 🇻🇪🇦🇷 Argentina is a country built by immigrants, but while the old waves came from Europe, the newest chapter is being written by its Latin American neighbors. Since 2010, the Venezuelan community in Argentina has grown by over 2400%, fleeing instability to find a new sense of home and rapidly making their mark on Buenos Aires. In this video, I sit down with two friends who took completely different paths from Venezuela to Argentina: Rebecca (an old friend): A software engineer who moved from Caracas after university to build her career in a new city. Ángel (a new friend!): The owner of Meraki who started as a line cook and built a culinary hub that serves as a sanctuary for the diaspora. We talk about classic Venezuelan dishes, the growth of the Venezuelan community in Buenos Aires, and how food makes them feel at home so far away from it. [TIME STAMPS] 0:00 - Intro 0:36 - Rebecca’s story + food: patacones, arepa pabellón, and asado negro 5:22 - Ángel’s restaurant founder story 8:30 - How Ángel thinks about serving the community 12:45 - Ángel’s thoughts on what makes Venezuelan food so unique 14:30 - Ángel’s reflections on life and cuisine 15:38 - Outro Topics covered: Why Venezuelans are moving to Buenos Aires The reality of the Venezuelan diaspora in 2026 Building a business as an immigrant in Argentina What food means to them as Venezuelans and how they use it to engage with their homeland