Estimadas/os please circulate thisinvitation to other friends, and/or organizations in Chicago that you feel would be interested inattending this unique activity/We will be contacting you soon regarding thesame/gracias/

RobertoVargas

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Venezuela Matters Expo

With nearly $30 billion dollars intrade annually and 1.5 million barrel per day of oil and gas exports to the US,

Venezuela does matter in the United States. You may know that Venezuela hasthe hemisphere�s largest

proven reserves of petroleum --313billion barrels of oil and 343 trillion cubic feet of Natural Gas--, and you

may have heard that we arecurrently the fourth largest supplier of crude oil to the United States,but, were

you aware that the US-Venezuelan traderelationship is even larger than those of Spain,Saudi Arabia,

Belgium, Hong Kong, or even Australia?

We believe that the relationshipbetween Venezuela and the United Statesis very important, and we are very

proud to highlight thisrelationship and share our cultural traditions through a unique exposition,known as

Venezuela Matters.

Venezuela Matters is an excitingbusiness, cultural, and social experience, highlighting Venezuelan music,

food, art, and politics to the United Statesin an innovative multimedia exposition. The idea is to share our

homeland�s rich culturalhistory, to highlight our long and important friendship with the United States,and to

encourage continued tourism,cultural exchanges, trade and investment between our two countries.

Touring six cities over the courseof four months, Venezuela Matters will include a multimedia exhibit

highlighting everything from Venezuela�snatural landscape to our diverse musical traditions; from our oil

economy to our proud baseballlegacy; from our tourist hotspots to our innovative social programs to empower

our citizens.

In each city along our tour, weare arranging a variety of events, including academic panels on Venezuelan

politics, round tables with localbusiness communities, and diplomatic meetings with the local political

leadership.

In addition, Venezuela Matters will culminate with a large cultural festival, where we invite thepublic to

celebrate with us in a night oftraditional music, dance, food and speakers.

We are proud of Venezuela�srich culture, and we look forward to sharing our diverse heritage with ourNorth

American friends in the monthsahead.



Venezuela Matters KicksOff in ChicagoOctober 13-14, 2005

We are very pleased to announcethat Chicagowill be the inaugural city for Venezuela Matters.

Venezuela has had strong economic and cultural ties to Chicago. The country invests heavily in thearea

through the oil refinery in Lemont, ILoperated by CITGO Petroleum Corporation, a subsidiary of Venezulela's

national oil company PDVSA. Dozensof Venezuelans have played Major League Baseball in Chicago teams,

with Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio,shortstop Alfonso �Chico�Carrasquel, and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen

being the most prominent. Venezuela Matters seeks to reinforce these ties and raise awareness of the

presence of Venezuela inthe everyday lives of Chicagoans.

We have a number of excitingevents lined up for October 13 and 14, 2005. We hope you can join us for one

or more of the following:



Venezuela Matters Exposition

Multimedia exposition ofVenezuelan culture, baseball, oil, tourism, trade and investment.

River East Art Center

401 East Illinois Street

Grand Opening: October 13 at 8:30a.m.


Ongoing: October 13-14 from 8:30a.m. to 6:00 p.m.



Addresing Poverty and Healthcare in Venezuela

Academic Panel Discussion withVenezuelan and U.S.professors.

Rubloff Auditorium, Loyola University(Water Tower Campus)

25 E. Pearson Street

Thursday, October 13. 12:00 p.m.



Civil Rights and the Afro-Venezuelan Movement

Lecture by Jes�s Garc�a, presidentof the Afro-Venezuelan Network.

Rainbow/PUSH Coalition NationalHeadquarters

930 East 50th Street

Thursday, October 13. 4:00 pm



Citizen Participation and Venezuelan Politics

Academic Panel Discussion withVenezuelan and U.S.professors.

Student Center East. University of Illinoisat Chicago.

750 S. Halsted St.

Friday, October 14. 9:00 a.m.



Venezuela-US Strategic Relations and InvestmentOpportunities

Luncheon of Chicago business leaders with Venezuelangovernment officials.

River East Art Center. (Invitation only).

Friday, October 14. 12:00 noon



Venezuela's Social Programs

Personal testimonies of empoweredVenezuelan citizens.

River East Art Center

400 East Illinois Street

Friday, October 14. 5:00 p.m.



Venezuelan Cultural Festival � Closing Ceremony

Featuring live Afro-Venezuelanmusic, food and crafts.

River East Art Center. (Invitation only. Contact us for tickets).

400 East Illinois Street

Friday, October 14. 6:00 p.m



For inquires,contact:

In Chicago:

Martin S�nchez

Consul General of Venezuela in Chicago

Office: (312) 236-9655 / 9659

Cell: (319) 331-4648

Fax: (312) 580-1010

sanchez6060 (at) yahoo.com

In Washington DC:

FadiKabboul

Minister Counselor for EnergyAffairs in the Embassy

of Venezuelain the U.S.

Cell: (202) 374-7319

Office: (202) 342-6814

fkabboul (at) embavenez-us.org