Each second Saturday of September, World Arepa Day brings together chefs, families, and communities inside and outside Venezuela to pay tribute to this culinary symbol of corn that unites the diaspora and those who remain in the country.
En Caracas, a large contingent of motorcyclists and volunteers organized the “on wheels” edition with the aim of producing nearly 20.000 arepas and distribute them in hospitals, nursing homes, homes and among homeless people, as the initiator of the operation explained to EFE, Mari Love (54).
Solidarity distribution in Caracas
The logistics started on Friday with the preparation of stews for fillings and continued on Saturday with the stoves at full capacity: in the kitchen some worked 80 people with rhythms that hover around 80 arepas per hourUsing hundreds of kilos of meat, fresh cheeses and sausages to supply the delivery points.
At the same time, groups of motorcyclists and private drivers mobilized for Caracas and La Guaira with coolers and thermal boxes to collect and distribute the rations; not only bikers participated, there were also companies and collaborators who provided supplies and transportation to cover the largest number of vulnerable areas.
A project that grows year after year
The idea was born three years ago with an initial plan of 2.000 units that ended up doubling; in 2024 the figure was around 8.000 arepas and, when adding the aftershocks in other states, the number of deaths was exceeded 15.000With the accumulated experience, the organization has set a new milestone: to achieve 50.000 arepas in an upcoming edition in Caracas.
A celebration with global reach
The anniversary was promoted in 2012 with the organization's “World Arepazo” Venezuelans in the World (VenMundo) and a year later the official hashtag became popular. Since then it has been commemorated in more than 80 cities of the planet every second Saturday of September, as a space for cultural integration and support for Venezuelan diaspora.
Cultural recognition and media projection
In the institutional field, the Government of Venezuela presented in 2023 the application for the arepa to be recognized by the UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, a file whose response is expected for 2027 according to the evaluation schedule.
The arepa has also gained media attention thanks to the “World Breakfast" from the Spanish content creator Ibai Plains, where the version pepiada queen reached the final and competed against Peruvian pork rind bread, reinforcing its visibility on social media and digital platforms.
Flavors that star in the day
During celebrations, classic and regional fillings are multiplied: from the Queen Pepiada (chicken, avocado and mayonnaise) And Pelua (shredded meat with yellow cheese) until the Domino (beans with cheese); local variants also appear such as Arepa Cabimera from Zulia or the wheat arepa from Mérida, as well as proposals with fried pork, fish or dogfish in the eastern strip.
Beyond the bite, the date underlines the solidarity, the identity and the capacity for community organization: from massive distributions in Caracas to activities in dozens of cities around the world, World Arepa Day continues to consolidate itself as a tradition that combines flavor and social commitment.
