On 5 July the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Bulgaria - H. E. Ms. Orietta Caponi,

and her husband Mr. Juan Miguel Diaz Ferrer gave a reception in Sofia Hotel Balkan on the occasion of the national holiday of the country. On this date in 1811 was proclaimed its independence from the Spanish colonizers. Then, as Her Excellency said in her speech at the reception, "the Venezuelan people clearly expressed their will to turn the country into an autonomous, independent and sovereign state that is not dependent on a foreign power and free to determine its own destiny.

Two hundred and five years later we, Venezuelans, continue to fight hard to preserve the free and national spirit, to defend the sovereignty bequeathed to us by our heroes, following the example of the Liberator - Simon Bolivar."

The proclamation of independence of Venezuela on July 5, 1811 marks the beginning of the prolonged Venezuelan War of Independence. Uprisings, the collapse of the First Republic of Venezuela, declaring the Second Republic of Venezuela... Independence was achieved only after Simon Bolivar, with Antonio José de Sucre and Jose Antonio Paez, won the Battle of Carabobo on June 24, 1821 and the  subsequent events led to the creation of an independent state.

The photos are provided by the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Bulgaria.