Wino Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 I guess you cannot blame Chavez for renaming the world's tallest waterfall. What's your opinion? CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that the world's tallest waterfall has been called Angel Falls too long and should revert to its original indigenous name instead of commemorating the U.S. pilot who spotted it in 1933. He called for renaming the Venezuelan falls Kerepakupai-Meru, saying during his weekly television program that Indians had a name for the majestic waterfall long before adventurer Jimmie Angel flew over it. How can Venezuelans could accept the idea that "the highest waterfall in the world was discovered by a man who came from the United States in a plane?" Chavez asked. "We should change that name, right? With all respect to that man who came, who saw it." He initially said the name should be Churun-Meru, but then corrected himself after receiving a note from his daughter Maria pointing out that the Pemon Indian name of the waterfall is Kerepakupai-Meru. "That's the name ... the name of the Indians," Chavez said. The waterfall, which is among Venezuela's most famous tourist destinations, is the world's tallest at 3,212 feet (979 meters), with an uninterrupted drop of 2,648 feet (807 meters). It plunges from one of the tabletop mountains, Auyan-Tepui, in the rugged, forested landscape of Canaima National Park in southern Venezuela. Angel's quest to find a cloud-shrouded, flat-topped mountain where he had previously discovered gold led him to become the first outsider to spot the waterfall in 1933. The Missouri-born pilot died at age 57 in a 1956 plane crash in Panama. "One could say he was the first one to see it from a plane," Chavez said. "But how many millions of indigenous eyes saw it, and prayed to it?" Chavez has renamed various places and institutions during his nearly 11 years in office, including successfully pushing to change the country's name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, after South American independence hero Simon Bolivar. "No one should refer to Angel Falls anymore," Chavez said, adding that at least his supporters shouldn't — even if his opponents prefer to keep using that moniker. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091221/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_angel_falls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted December 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 Mr. Angel's neice is saddened by the name change in the famous waterfall in Venrzuela. Here is what she had to say. ARCATA, Calif. – The niece of adventurer Jimmie Angel says she is saddened that Venezuela President Hugo Chavez wants to go back to using the indigenous name for the world's tallest waterfall. The waterfall, known as Angel Falls, was named after the American pilot who saw the natural wonder from his plane in 1933. But Chavez said Sunday he wants the falls to be called by its Pemon Indian name: Kerepakupai-Meru. Karen Angel, Angel's niece who runs the Arcata-based Jimmie Angel Historical Project, says the name should remain because he was the one who made the falls known to the world. "Jimmie Angel loved Venezuela and its people. He flew missions of mercy for the indigenous Pemon of the Kamarata Valley," she said in an e-mail. "My position has always been that Jimmie Angel made the waterfall known to the world, and thus he 'discovered' it in that context." The waterfall, one of the country's most popular tourist attractions, is 3,212 feet (979 meters) high. Chavez said Angel may have been the first to eye the waterfall from the air. "But how many millions of indigenous eyes saw it, and prayed to it," Chavez said. Karen Angel says the Pemon who live next to the site don't even use the name Chavez has selected. She says current research works use the Angel Falls name or another indigenous name, Churun-Vena. "(Chavez) should want people from the 'outside' to come to see the waterfall," she wrote. "Tourism to the waterfall is the Pemon's primary source of money." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20091222/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_venezuela_angel_falls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Seems legitimate to me for Venezuela to decide how to name its own landmarks. Any country ought to have that prerogative. On the other hand, Hugo Chavez is a twisted nationalist seemingly bent on harming his own country and Venezuela, in my view, will be much better off when he is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvdkeyes Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Shows how uninformed I am on some subjects, I never knew that Angel Falls was named after a person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Shows how uninformed I am on some subjects, I never knew that Angel Falls was named after a person. I didn't either, figured it was some religious symbolism or the like. And I'm uninformed about a lot of subjects! I still always get a kick about hearing how Columbus (or the Vikings or whoever) "discovered" America. I do believe the natives are still scratching their heads over that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Chang Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Can't blame them for the rename but more tourists would want to visit Angel Falls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted December 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Quote: "Can't blame them for the rename but more tourists would want to visit Angel Falls." Chavez can call it whatever he wants but for tourism, I would think they would keep the same name. I guess with oil revenue, Chavez does not have to worry about the tourists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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