Colombia and Venezuela

[Music] in the cool Highlands of the Andes that reach North colia and Venezuela The Farmer's life is simple and hard the old ways the old tools have scarcely changed in 400 years and Spanish conquerors took this land and the people on it dividing it among themselves into feudal estate grain is still harvested by hand Yi is low for much of this ancient land is no longer fle to separate the husk from the grain the farmers make their horses trample on it then they win it by they know of no other way in some areas along the Caribbean coast the people turn to fishing particularly where the land is too arid for farming like the farmers these Coastal fishing folk have Chang their ways little over the centuries Market to bar and haggle over the price of a fresh fish or dish of ma is a daily ritual with no refrigerators to protect perishables from the Tropic heat Shoppers insist on freshness the best way to keep chicken fresh is to buy it live the old ways are slow to go in the market the villages in the rural communities throughout these lands and yet as neighbors get together you may hear them talk and wonder if perhaps there isn't a different way A Better Way in the cities of colia and Venezuela A revolution is clearly apparent in cities like Caracus there are modern streets factories and skers these republics are determined to bring about in a few years economic and social changes that took centuries to develop in the nations of Europe and North America these neighboring republics of South America share much of the same geography and history colia is larger both in area and population than Venezuela their combined land area is about one quar that of the United States the population of Venezuela is only about 7 million people that of New York City Columbia's population is about 14 million these nations have in common the main surface features of this part of the continent as well as the Caribbean Coastline the Caribbean lowland region was first to know the Spanish conqueror the conistor who came seeking the legendary wealth of elor the old forts like this one at CA were built to protect Spanish plunder from the raids of pirates the Spaniards never found elor but they did find another kind of we in the land they established a large Plantation using both Native Indians and African Negroes as slave labor slavery has gone but sugar can still flourishes in these hum tropical lowland it has long been the L land's most valuable crop today other tropical crops are also important the main highways are still the rivers like the Melena in colia this is the route conistor took as they press Inland in search of elor go in the quiet Villages along the way are some of their descendants many married with people of Indian and negro origin most of the villagers work on the plantations but here and there along the river you will find men panning for gold still seeking elor in both colia and Venezuela the Andes mountains and their surrounding Uplands extend North to the Caribbean coast splitting into separate ranges in col the Western Central and Eastern cordier dominate the land while the cordier de Merida extends into Venezuela because of the temperate climate more people live in the Uplands than in the other parts of the two countries Columbia and Venezuela share the problems of Transportation imposed by geography four centuries ago when the Spaniards first travel to the interior of Columbia the journey was long and arduous the roads are better now but transportation is still difficult in many places in the interior Uplands and valleys the land was the conqueror's greatest source of wealth they divided the land into large Estates and established many towns and Villages here in the cool basins of the Eastern cordier the conquistadores found Indians whom they could use as laborers for the past half century the principal crop of the central Corda region has been coffee and coffee is still the largest export crop of both countries in many parts of the coffee Highlands the land is divided into small farms or seor Hoffman a German immigrant is an independent coffee grower working with a few helpers and his family seor Hoffman harvests and dries the coffee beans on his own think seor Hoffman is one of the many immigrants from Europe who have made their home in this part of Latin America with their skills their ideas and their energy they are enriching the life of their adopted country as he spreads his coffee beans to dry in the sun seor hofman wonders what price they will bring on the market his son toito was born here and thinks of himself as a Colombian he's proud to help his father on Thea seor Hoffman's wife is part Indian a woman wise in the ways of the country young Papito is getting his schooling by way of radio a special radio School teaches the children in remote regions to read and right seor Hoffman is happy that his son can get an education in this Modern Way seora Hoffman never had such an opportunity she can neither read nor right but she will learn with her children if the coffee prices are good seor Hoffman will be able to send his sons to high school in town all depends on coffee he tells them indeed in colia almost everything depends on World prices of coffee to the south in the Eastern Corda region is bot Columbia's capital established four centuries ago by the Spanish conquerors many of its monuments and buildings were built in colonial days there are many churches where the Spaniards brought the Catholic faith to the new world Colombians have always been a religious people the quiet residential streets of colonial houses and tranquil Gardens are reminders that Bogota is also a city of a cultured aristocracy established here under Spanish rule early in the 19th century revolutions shattered goo's Tranquility through the leadership of Simone Bolivar Spanish rule was ended in South America yet the people saw no change even then with the support of the Army and the great land owners aristocratic rulers preserved the Spanish system that gave priv to the few Revolution bloody Civil War and oppression have all occurred within a century the people most affected have been the Indians and the msos msos are the people of mixed blood who form the largest group of laborers the mysos are also the knife sharpeners the pedlers the businessmen of the city myso boys often sell papers and run errands or shine shoes for a century the laboring classes have lived shadow of dictatorship and oppression only recently have they held any hope of change today change is all around them in Bogota bustling streets reveal that Commerce and Industry are developing quickly in Colombia the bot airport is headquarters for Columbia's extensive Airline system first in Latin America the airplane like the radio now reaches the remotest regions in this part of South America the large area that lies to the east of the mountain region is called the yanos this is a region of grassy Plains and scrub Woodland not many people live in the yanos European settlers have been discouraged by the drought which burns the yanos for half the year and by the insects which are always there plaguing man and Beast the few who live here are mostly nomadic Indians but the region can be prod as cattle range land millions of cattle have been raised by the yanos yanos are Indian Cowboys who work for the cattle Barons each year about April they round up the cattle and drive them to high ground for worse than the drought they fear the rainy season that swells the streams and floods The Villages and plains making communication by Road almost impossible the yanos are flooded by heavy rains from April to October each year this simple cable car is one solution to the problem but what the region really needs is a vast program of flood control and irrigation projects some are already underway and more are being planned the region truly productive beneath the sometimes flooded sometimes parched surface of the yanos lies another source of wealth oil farther north tremendous reserves have already been developed by companies from North America and Europe in the Lake maribo Region both colia and Venezuela are rich in oil and natural gas at present Venezuela produces much more than colia here a new class of trained industrial workers and technicians is being developed the foreman seor mendosa belongs to this new class A group unknown before in Columbia or Venezuela seor Mosa's crew are all Venezuelans like himself their oil field is under the waters of Lake maribo to get to and from work they must travel in the oil company's launch here near the eastern shore of the lake is the third largest oil field in the world the flow of oil from the lake maribo field is an important source of tax revenue for the government of Venezuela it is also helping to create a small but growing middle class seor mendosa and his men work all year round earning regular wages a man like seor mendosa can afford adequate housing his wife's labor saving devices give her Leisure and she can feed her family well most important seor mendosa has time to read and think about the development of his country he is proud that his daughter is doing well at the University his sons go to school regularly Pedro wants to be an oil company Foreman like Papa Emiliano wants to be an engineer in some Far Away Place Venezuela and Colombia both will need Engineers for there are vast regions yet to be developed particularly in the Gana Highlands to the South this is a region of hilly Upland covered by thick forest in some parts and grassland in others some parts of the Guana Highlands have not yet been explored recently high grade iron or was discovered here A whole mountain of it called the S bolard just on the edge of the Guana Highlands to penetrate deeper into these Highlands will require more costly roads and railroads it will require a great deal of planning but the resources are much of the ore from the C Bolivar is now shipped to Mills in the United States from loading points on the oronoko river but new steel mills have been built in both colia and Venezuela these process nearby ores into steel for industry and construction skilled and trained industrial workers are increasing in number from the highly specialized Emerald Cutters to the machine who work in the hug Tex Mills industrial cities are growing in both countries in kakas particularly the many new buildings indicate the rapid economic development that is taking place but here in their Capital City Venezuelans will also show you their University for Latin Americans know that education and culture are important to the growth of a Nation dris is a professor of Economics at the University in karacas he represents a new group in Latin America a group of educated professional people Dr Paris lives in one of the new apartment buildings with his small family like her husband seora Paris is concerned about the kind of country their children will grow up in they take a lively interest in the political Affairs of their country for they want it to be land where all children can share good health and the opportunities to become useful citizens in karacus as in other cities of columia and Venezuela Latin Americans are constantly confronted with change they see in the news stores factories and expressways symbols of their countes leap into the indust age there are new jobs and the farm laborers flock to the cities abandoning the land they could never hope to own but they can bring little to the cities an animal to sell on the market perhaps or handicrafts too often they do not have the skills needed by factories and offices and they become jobless derel in Caracas the Venezuelan government is continually tearing down slums and moving the slum dwellers into new public housing beond the Bold new apartments are still more shanties of the Jo there are problems ahead here as elsewhere in Latin America there is a great contrast between the very rich with their Splendid homes and high living standards and the very poor with their mud huts and meager diets yet more and more people can see the promise of a better way of life more and more people are becoming impatient for a greater share of their nation's wealth for education for better opportunities they will wait no longer they are determined to realize their hopes how will they do so will it be through desperate acts of violence or will it be Democratic processes the next few years will tell