Caracas Residents

Like any other developing city in Latin America, Caracas contains a rich mix of ethnicities. Its residents come from diverse national origins and backgrounds, and speak a variety of languages, eat an assortment of cuisines, and indulge in a wide range of cultural, intellectual, and social activities.

Mestizos, who are people of mixed European and indigenous Indian descent, constitute about 70% of the population of Caracas. They usually speak Spanish and one or more local languages, but many are also familiar with Italian, German, French, Portuguese, and a bit of Arabic.  Around 20% of the people are of Caucasian origin, usually employed as the educated workforce brought in from North America. The remaining 2% are authentically true-blood Indian, most of them rural immigrants.

But regardless of their origin, once in Caracas, all citizens pride themselves in being called Caraqueños. As the city is Venezuela’s commercial and economic capital, citizens usually dress more formally than in other regions around the country. However, where you can see smartly dressed young men and women scurrying off towards towering office blocks with polished glass facades, you can also witness a large number of people, including servants, manual laborers, and unemployed persons, residing in slums lining the hillsides, struggling, and often failing, to keep up with the pace of the city.

Most of the population follows Roman Catholicism. The rest is made up mainly of Protestants. Small numbers of Muslims and Jews are also present.

Although you are at a great advantage if you can fluently speak Spanish, you will get along pretty well with the local crowd in restaurants, hotels, and most public places if you have a good grasp over spoken English.