Caracas is a busy, hard to explain, yet beautiful city. It lies on the valley of mount Avila. The city is divided into two parts: a red part and a colorful part.

Red are the people who support the socialist government that has been in power for 15 years. Red is the violence; Caracas is now the most dangerous city in the world. Red are typically the houses poor people live in. Some hills in Caracas are completely red, they are covered with slums. These houses are called “ranchos” and they are built with red bricks. Red are the fires that burn on mount Avila during the drought period. Red is the sun every morning.

But Caracas is big and spread out. Green is the city all year long. Bright blue is the sky. Pink, yellow and purple are the flowers that lie on mount Avila, especially orchids. Yellow is the Venezuelan tree, ”Araguaney”, that blooms in May. In the afternoons the sun shines on mount Avila and creates a beautiful bright green. Orange, pink, purple, and blue are the sunsets each evening. Colorful are the flags of Europeans that migrated during World War 2. Bright is the Venezuelan humor.

I live on a hill from which you can see the whole city. Colors overwhelm the viewer. When I look at Caracas in the colorful parts all of my childhood and good memories lie, yet the red remains.