The sky over Caracas had been warning it for hours. On Saturday, November 1, the weather forecast and the assistance forecast seemed to be at war: a thunderstorm against the expectation of 40,000 souls willing to take the historic center of Chacao.
At 04:00 pm, official start time of the ninth edition of Nocturneandothe weather won the first battle. A cold, persistent drizzle fell on the empty asphalt.
Sucre, Páez and Urdaneta streets, already closed to traffic, looked empty. There was tension in logistics circles. “It’s Halloween fatigue,” organizers whispered. “People either don’t come, or they will arrive very late.”
But the machinery of 400 simultaneous activities did not wait for the sun. The event started weakly, defying the humidity. In the Plaza El Indio, the Hallaca Festival He lit his stove, releasing the first great sensory stimulus of the afternoon: a dense vapor with the smell of Christmas stew that refused to be overshadowed by the rain. A few blocks away, at the intersection of Sucre and Mohedano, they were settling in to begin the Rap without rudenessa stage where neat – and unpretentious – lyrics attracted the first young people.
Thus, little by little, Chacao became a labyrinth of fragmented experiences.
Art dominated the scene in Nocturneando
One of them, that of Caracas Design Institute (IDC) which, celebrating its 43rd anniversary, took over its street. It wasn’t just an exhibition. It was a universal take on the space that included textile art performances, DJs and even the direct intervention of the pedestrian striping on Miranda Street.
Art was atomized in all its forms. Near the new Chacao Market, the Pineco Itinerant Gallery (the paint brand) offered a visual refuge with 19 works by established and emerging artists. Meanwhile, on the sidewalks, caricaturists and portraitists worked at speed, and on José Félix Ribas Street, the activity “Painting Actively” invited free strokes.
The most unique experience, however, was the line in front of the Full Dome 360 Mobile Planetarium. It was almost a human snake of hundreds of people, and a lot of patience, waiting for a 20-minute dive between planets, stars and comets. A cosmic pause in the midst of earthly chaos.
Nostalgia also had its coordinates. A busy fair for vinyl, CDs and cassettes attracted collectors. While on another street, Ribas, an impeccable exhibition of Vespa motorcycles offered a visual feast for lovers of classic design.
The city of fury
Sound was another of the common threads of Nocturneando. In one corner, K-pop and cosplay had their niche. In another, the Thriller Experience Dance paid tribute to Michael Jackson. Samba was heard, and strangers were encouraged to dance in the middle of the street, fueling a collective energy.
Near Plaza Bolívar, the Creole Flooring It vibrated with the Afro-Venezuelan Ensemble and the voice of Rummy Olivo. And there was even room for the word: the Reading Festival on Bolívar Street it offered a silent oasis, broken only by an intense recitation of Romeo and Juliet that managed to gather an attentive crowd.
The comedy had its own stage on Monseñor Juan Grilc Street, while the Geek experience celebrated video game culture. On Mohedano Avenue, for its part, the focus was familiar: story-telling, theater and drawings for the little ones.
And then, at nine at night, the city really woke up.
As if an invisible dam broke, the crowd collapsed the historic center. The seven o’clock question: “Will people come?” became a certainty two hours later when, physically, it was almost impossible to walk.
There were two centers of congestion in Nocturneando. The first, on Cecilio Acosta Street, where the graphic intervention of the artist Badsura merged with a dense gastronomic offer and the old Chacao market. The human tide moved by inertia, not by will, in a collective warmth that erased the cold of the afternoon.
Meanwhile, the sponsoring brands displayed their own staging: games, technology and gifts that gathered curious crowds.
Alternative music also had its space on the corner of Ávila and Miranda. Maleh, The Other Pole and Cayiao They attracted an audience that, although aware of the festive hurricane around them, concentrated on the musical proposal with attentive listening.
The second point, and the most critical, Elice Street. The Tropical Platform. Attendees described it as a “war zone.” Thousands of people gathered, not only in front of the stage, but in all the surrounding areas, waiting for the musical climax of the night.
The sky, which had remained in lull, began to show lightning. Silent sparkles crossed the sky while artists like Juan Miguel and the Latin Caribbean Orchestra warmed up the main stage. Around eleven, Diveana came on stage and the response was a roar.
Around midnight, the merengue legend was still on stage, and that was when the rain appeared in the form of a drizzle. But no one moved.
Going at night united thousands of Venezuelans
With the clock ticking at 1:00 am on Sunday, under a much firmer rain, the crowd continued dancing, soaked, smiling. The smell of ozone and wet asphalt mixed with the energy of the dance. It was the absolute triumph of civility over the climate.
Behind the party, the logistics worked. A deployment of 700 Polichacao, Civil Protection and Chacao Health officials, along with medical care posts and a newly inaugurated parking lot right in part of the structure of the old Chacao Market, managed the chaos.
Two paramedics, veterans of eight previous editions, confirmed the phenomenon. “This year it’s busier than ever,” one commented. “But the incidents are almost zero. People are behaving. “Not even people who are drunk put on shows.”
In this way, Nocturneando was consolidated not only as a festival, but as a platform for citizen encounters. A demonstration that, with the right security infrastructure, 40,000 people can take over the city to celebrate culture, gastronomy and identity, even in the rain.
For more information about Nocturneando, go to the social networks of Chacao Culture. Likewise, it is important to highlight that the mayor, Gustavo Duque, declared to the press six days ago the expectation of between 30 and 40 thousand attendees at the event. Until now, there is no exact number of attendees, but the figure is expected to be published by the Chacao Mayor’s Office in the next few hours.
More photos of the novel edition of Nocturneando
