Williams/James: ‘We had a wonderful experience

Acuzena and Pearl had the time of their lives in Venezuela.

The sisters arrived in Venezuela, the land of their birth, on May 17, a trip facilitated by the Venezuelan Embassy in St Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}

Acuzena Williams and Pearl James, who were born in Venezuela to Vincentian mother Irene James, lived in Venezuela until they were 2 and 5 years respectively, following which their mother brought them to St Vincent.

They, however, longed to return to Venezuela, and would often keep up to date with news and other reports coming out of the country.

It was earlier this year that the sisters were granted their Venezuelan passports, a gesture of the Venezuelan Embassy.

Acuzena, the younger sister, smiled as she recalled her trip to Venezuela during an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday. Pearl sat quietly and listened.

The sisters, who flew to Trinidad and Tobago first, had a reunion with family members there.

The sisters spent the entire day on Thursday, May 17, in Caracas, where they saw several sites. However, it was on Friday, May 18, that they visited the city where they were born.

“We left for Maracaibo. That is the town where we were born and that is where we really wanted to see,” Acuzena said.

The sisters, who both related that they were extremely happy to be in Maracaibo, added that they also visited the church where they were christened, the Chinquinquira.

“It’s a very large church. The building was very pretty; the ceiling of the church was very, very pretty. And the pews were out of this world, as if they were made from ivory, not wood…” Acuzena explained.

The sisters also offered prayers in the Cathedral.

Acuzena and Pearl also visited the “impressive” lake in Maracaibo, did shopping at the Indigenous Peoples Land and saw the statue of Santa Lucia. They also visited the Simon Bolivar Square.

They also saw paintings by young artists at the PDVSA Cultural Centre and went to Bella Vista where they were born. They could not, however, see the building where they were born, as the older buildings hd been demolished.

The sisters also visited the building where their mother had worked, The Largo Petroleum Corporation. The building, however, is now owned by an oil company from Holland.

The women, who stated that they had a wonderful experience, said that they managed to bring back souvenir items from the land of their birth.

They added that the Venezuelan people they interacted with were very friendly and hospitable.

The sisters thanked God for taking them to Venezuela and bringing them back safely. They also expressed gratitude to the Venezuelan Embassy, Ambassador Yoel Perez Marcano, the people and President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez and their chaperone and translator Ideisha Angela Jackson for making the trip a success. They wished Chavez a speedy recovery.(OS)