Why does President Chavez of Venezuela want Angel Falls renamed?
The falls, which drop nearly 1km (0.6 miles) from a flat-topped mountain in the south of Venezuela, are currently named after a 1930s US aviator. Jimmy Angel is believed to have been the first outsider to see them. Mr Chavez said they should be called Kerepakupai-Meru, the name used by the indigenous Pemon people of the area. Mr Chavez, who accuses the US of plotting against his country, said that thousands of indigenous people had seen the falls before Jimmy Angel “discovered” them. Angel Falls at least partially inspired Paradise Falls, the fantasy Latin American waterfall in the recent Disney/Pixar animated film Up.
The falls, which drop nearly 1km (0.6 miles) from a flat-topped mountain in the south of Venezuela, are currently named after a 1930s US aviator. Jimmy Angel is believed to have been the first outsider to see them. Mr Chavez said they should be called Kerepakupai-Meru, the name used by the indigenous Pemon people of the area. Mr Chavez, who accuses the US of plotting against his country, said that thousands of indigenous people had seen the falls before Jimmy Angel “discovered” them. Angel Falls at least partially inspired Paradise Falls, the fantasy Latin American waterfall in the recent Disney/Pixar animated film Up. Sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8423857.
