El Joropo is declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
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Published at: 09/12/2025 11:19 AM

This Tuesday, December 9th, the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, celebrated this Tuesday the declaration of the Venezuelan joropo as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a decision adopted officially and unanimously during the meeting of the organization's committee in India.

“Today we received one of the best news a country can receive: a true world prize, a recognition of our identity, our people and Venezuelanism (...) a tremendous achievement of spirituality and national identity,” he said during a telephone contact with the program Café in the morning of Venezolana de Televisión.

He also conveyed his recognition to the country's cultural team, to the Minister of Popular Power for Culture, Ernesto Villegas; to the president of the Center for Cultural Diversity, Benito Irady; and to the Venezuelan diplomatic corps before UNESCO, for the “disciplined, loving and sustained” work that allowed the approval of the file.

He reaffirmed that today that the joropo, “ an energetic and beautiful dance born in the humility and depth of the Venezuelan plain”, becomes part of the cultural heritage of humanity. At the same time, he reiterated that this is great news for our “Homeland that is proudly advancing its identity”.

For his part, Minister Ernesto Villegas reported that the declaration was approved without objections or comments by the Committee of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, following a process initiated by presidential instructions within the framework of the Bicentennial of the Battle of Carabobo, with the direct participation of practicing and cultural communities from all over the country.

He also recalled that The file includes all the expressions of the Venezuelan Joropo, Llanero, Central and Eastern, among others, highlighting that Venezuela is the country with the greatest diversity of this genre, which expanded to South America during the independence struggles. “This recognition gives us identity, national cohesion and reaffirms the pride of our culture,” he said.

Mazo News Team

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