BOLIVAR’S AND URDANETA’S CENTENNIAL (1883-1888). ZULIA’S PEOPLE’S ANSWER TO THEIR STRUGGLE TO RESCUE THE STATE POLITICAL AUTONOMY.

Abstract

Simon Bolivar and Rafael Urdaneta were the most outstanding heroes of Venezuela
Independence War, which took place between 1880 and 1888. Bolivar’s and
Urdaneta’s one hundredth birthday anniversary was used to strengthen the notion
of Venezuelan Nation. This celebration was held within a political crisis during
which the elite and the people of Maracaibo struggled to consolidate a feeling of
nation by a sense of belonging both locally and regionally. This struggle was the
answer to Guzman Blanco’s government against Zulia’s autonomy. The organization
of the centennial made it possible to create an image of progression of the region
and it also gave it the necessary merits to make a living as an independent entity.