The Venezuelan journalist Alejandra Oraa, born in La Guaira, published an emotional video featuring images of the region before the earthquakes on her X account this Thursday, calling for her homeland not to be defined solely by the tragedy that made it global news.
The audiovisual material was recorded by Daril Jiménez, a Venezuelan photographer and creator of the project "Es La Guaira en Fotos," who documented the beauty of the coastal state for years without realizing that these images would become an invaluable archive. "This audiovisual material is thanks to Daril Jiménez, who, unknowingly at the time, has managed to leave in archives the most beautiful images of the state that we do not want to forget. Today, they are gold," Oraa wrote upon its publication.
In the video, the journalist —originally from Tanaguarena— nostalgically visits the places that shaped her childhood: Los Corales, Macuto, Caraballeda, Naiguatá, Catia La Mar, the port, and the Maiquetía airport.
"La Guaira is a unique strip in Venezuela. On one side, there's the Caribbean, and on the other, the Ávila, nearly dropping directly into the sea. It is one of the few places where you can see, in a single image, buildings, highways, mountains, and beach," the audio describes.
His message directly addresses the contrast between living memory and recent destruction: "La Guaira is Caribbean, mountain, port, airport, history, childhood. It was fried fish, hot sand. Sunday traffic, returning to Caracas with salt in the hair. It is a place that for many was a farewell, but for others will always be home."
On June 24, 2026, two consecutive earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, occurring just 39 seconds apart, shook northern Venezuela with epicenters in Yaracuy and Carabobo. La Guaira turned out to be the most devastated area: more than 250 buildings collapsed, including the José María Vargas Hospital, and in Catia La Mar, 158 of the existing 189 buildings were destroyed.
The Venezuelan government reported as of July 1 a toll of 2,295 dead, 11,267 injured, and 12,841 affected individuals, while the UN estimates that up to 50,000 people may be missing.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued a Red Alert and calculated a 42% probability that the final casualties could range between 10,000 and 100,000 people. Material damages are estimated at 6.7 billion dollars, equivalent to 6% of Venezuela's GDP.
Access to the state has been restricted by the Venezuelan regime since Friday, June 26, which has made it difficult to understand the true magnitude of the disaster. Since the main earthquakes, more than 130 aftershocks have been recorded.
This is not the first time that these communities have faced destruction on a historical scale. On December 15, 1999, the then-state of Vargas was devastated by what is known as the Vargas landslide, considered the deadliest mudslide in history according to the Guinness Book of World Records, with between 10,000 and 30,000 fatalities and around 75,000 affected individuals.
The same areas today in ruins —Caraballeda, Macuto, Los Corales, Naiguatá, Tanaguarena— had already been buried by mud less than 30 years ago.
Oraa concluded his post with a statement that encapsulates the spirit of the video: "That’s why it hurts so much to see it this way, because when a tragedy strikes a place like La Guaira, it's not just the buildings that crumble. The streets, routines, memories—especially pieces of life—shatter. This is the La Guaira I knew, and this is the La Guaira I never want the world to forget."
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