18 Homicidios during carnaval 2009 in Venzuela

In 2009 Julian and I went to Venezuela. We planned on having a tropical holiday, on staying on one spot and enjoying beach, surfing and good food. Things turned out differently: No wind, no food, too much rain and a deserted village. We decided to keep moving on to Puerto Colombia, where we celebrated Carnival. Puerto Colombia is a lovely town with lovely people. A refugee for artists, businessmen and locals, Puerto Colombia had lots to offer. We had a great time hanging out with the locals.

Carnival in Venezuela is serious business. As a club or restaurant owner you risk being closed for Carnival if you do not pay for military "protection". People celebrate carnival on the beach with their cars with gigantic ghetto blasters and a lot of beers. Swimming is the nr. 1 dead cause. Puerto Colombia during Carnival became hectic. These photos represent for me the contrasts of Venezuela, tropical oasis & unrest. As you can read on the news paper in the photo, 18 people died during Carnival that year.