Back then, the Venezuelan motto was Está barato; dame dos -- "It's cheap; give me two."
It's that level of affluence and the pride Venezuelans have in their country -- beautiful beaches, beautiful mountains, beautiful women -- that contributed to the perception of Venezuelans as the most arrogant of Latin Americans. And it's their recent history -- soaring crime, inflation, poverty, a crippling strike, a failed coup -- which has deflated that conceit.
"We were the paradise of Latin America. Now we're just another third-world country struggling economically and politically," Rodriguez said. "It's very hard for Venezuelans to deal with that."
...........For the expatriate community of Venezuelans in Orlando, paradise became a prison under Hugo Chavez.
"You don't feel safe in the streets. You don't want your kids playing in the streets or they might get kidnapped," Roche said.
About a fifth of the nation is unemployed. An estimated 80 percent are poor. In the first quarter of the year, the economy shrank 29 percent. Inflation is approaching 35 percent.
And so they come here, a place where Venezuelans can earn a living, raise their children, walk the streets without fear, and live inside houses with glass doors. ***