The Guaire River initiative seeks to redeem the value of the river in people's imagination. Many cities once had polluted rivers that have been recovered. It's time to start reversing the narrative and the facts that have buried, denied, hidden and humiliated the Guaire River as the most enigmatic non-place in the city.

Enlace Arquitectura and Ciudad Laboratorio, together with a multidisciplinary group of people organized several activities to encourage people to rethink the way they understand the river´s presence in the city. Archival research led to the accumulation of documents that mentioned the river beginning in the 16th century all the way to the present, which revealed how the narrative has shifted from a distant and wild river, to a close and domesticated one, to once again a distant but wild and marginal river. Articles from different disciplinary fields reveal the many perspectives and meanings associated with the river. We also organized 8 walking tours along the river´s edge which provided people with the opportunity to discover and experience the wonder of its landscape, its flora and fauna. The possibility of occupying the edge of the river, crossing from one bank to another, and contemplating the birds that live there, helped generate a new way for people to related to bodies of water, vegetation and fauna in the city.

The archives, articles and findings from these tours are registered on the website www.rioguaire.org It begins with the manifesto to the river, which encourages citizens to question their own relationship with the river, to dare to become its steward and to desire its utopian transformation into a vibrant, healthy and democratic public space corridor accesible to all. We are also working with school children in the barrio Petare on a game focused on analyzing the river´s adversaries and detractores, and strategizing in collaboration with one another to save the Guaire River from the evils that have condemned it.

More information on the website www.rioguaire.org

Team: Enlace Foundation and Ciudad Laboratorio | Photography: Régulo Gómez