Colonia Tovar - "European breath" in the middle of the Latin American wilderness

From afar, the sloping red tiled roofs and the brown-white wooden houses hidden in the morning mist make visitors to Colonia Tovar feel as if they are lost in the heart of faraway Germany.

Amidst the vast green expanse of Venezuela's coastal mountains lies a small town called Colonia Tovar.

From afar, the sloping red tiled roofs and the brown and white wooden houses hidden in the morning mist make visitors feel as if they are lost in the heart of faraway Germany. Like an exotic flower blooming in the middle of a tropical forest, Colonia Tovar is both strange and heartwarmingly familiar.

Colonia Tovar was born in 1843 when more than 300 Germans from Karlsruhe crossed the ocean to the new land. They brought everything with them: language, architecture, music , culinary flavors and deep memories of their homeland on the other side of the ocean.

Over nearly two centuries, what they sowed has taken root and blended with the Venezuelan soil to create a unique identity: both European in spirit and imbued with Latin soul.

Colonia Tovar is not simply a tourist destination. The architecture here is a crystallization of community memory, a testament to the German-Venezuelan cultural exchange. (Photo: Phi Hung/VNA)Latin

Walking along the cobblestone streets of Colonia Tovar, each house is like a page in a history book. The white walls, brown wooden frames, and red tiled roofs glowing in the afternoon sun tell the story of a resilient immigrant community, determined to keep its roots even when facing a strange sea. At night, when the yellow lights shine from the graceful windows, the whole town resonates with the sound of Bavarian brass, evoking the feeling that time suddenly stopped, bringing people back to ancient memories.

Colonia Tovar is also a place where German culture is preserved as an endless source. People here still speak German mixed with Spanish, still wear traditional costumes during the festival days, still raise glasses of golden beer to the bustling music of Oktoberfest. In the strong aroma of alcohol, in the jubilant dance, a vibrant Europe seems to exist right in the heart of passionate South America.

The cuisine in Colonia Tovar is a journey of memories and fusion. Fragrant grilled sausages, firm black bread, flavorful smoked hams, sweet kuchens or strudels - all remind us of the warm kitchens of Central Europe. But then, in the temperate climate at an altitude of 1,800m, the strawberry, peach, plum and pear gardens bring the breath of Venezuela. Holding a red strawberry in your hand or tasting the fresh sweetness right in the garden, you can clearly feel the simple yet sweet cultural integration.

A booth displaying products of a company specializing in producing chocolate and traditional German confectionery in Colonia Tovar. (Photo: Phi Hung/VNA)

Today, Colonia Tovar is no longer as closed as it was in the beginning. The town opens its heart to welcome visitors from all over, so that hundreds of thousands of people come every year to admire, enjoy and live in the unique atmosphere of exchange. Colonia Tovar is both a living museum and a symphony, where European rhythms blend with Latin American rhythms, where the past and the present speak together in rare harmony.

Leaving Colonia Tovar, the traveler’s heart still resonates with the sound of festive music, the fragrant smell of pastries, the rich taste of beer and the brilliant red of strawberry gardens under the afternoon sun. But above all, it is the feeling of witnessing a great meeting of cultures – a meeting that has created not only a town but also a symbol. It is a symbol of memory, of identity, of the power of fusion and of the human aspiration to find a common home in the vast world .

Colonia Tovar - "a corner of Germany" in the heart of Venezuela, is therefore not only a destination but also a lesson in cultural vitality: identity, if preserved with faith and love, will never fade, but on the contrary, can shine and enrich the very land that has nurtured it.
It is not only Venezuela that has a “European imprint” on Latin American soil.

In Argentina, Chile or Brazil there are also villages that breathe the atmosphere of the immigrants' homeland: Swiss towns on the Andean lakes, Italian communities in southern Brazil or small villages in Chile with an Austro-German flavor.

A peaceful small street with European-style shops, cafes and bakeries. (Photo: Phi Hung/VNA)

However, Colonia Tovar is different in that the town is not only home to a group of Europeans, but also a “cultural oasis” that has been preserved almost intact for nearly two centuries.

While many other immigrant communities soon dissolved into the native flow, Colonia Tovar still kept its appearance, rhythm, and soul of a pure German cultural region. That is what turned this place into a special testament to the vitality of collective memory and the ability to preserve identity in the vortex of global integration./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/colonia-tovar-hoi-tho-chau-au-giua-dai-ngan-my-latinh-post1062985.vnp