SAN ANTONIO \u2014\u00a0For San Antonio\u2019s Venezuelan population, Zulia\u2019s Kitchen is more than a restaurant. It\u2019s a gathering place where those in the diaspora can connect\u2014exactly what owner Morelys Diaz always wanted it to be.<\/p>\n
First opened as a food truck, Diaz has spent the last seven years building her business. They serve food from the northeast Venezuelan state of Zulia, where her family emigrated from 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the spot for Venezuelans,\u201d Morelva Ramos said. \u201cThis is where we get together for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Jan. 3, they knew where to go. People flowed into the restaurant all day long to celebrate the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro with music, traditional food and many chants of \u201cVenezuela libre.\u201d<\/p>\n
They know a lot more must be done to stabilize the country, but it was a moment, Diaz says, that deserved to be recognized.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is redemption for the many people who have died in the streets of Venezuela trying to achieve liberty and for all the political prisoners,\u201d Diaz said through tears.<\/p>\n
She knows the pain of political persecution well. In Venezuela, Diaz and her family were outspoken against corruption. When the government arrested her brother, she and her husband had no choice but to leave. \u00a0<\/p>\n
For families like hers, the ousting of Maduro is hope they may one day be able to return. We asked Diaz if that was a possibility for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not welcome right now,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cAt least not for a few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the reality for many. With other members of the Maduro government still in place, she says simply coming from America puts a target on her back, especially as someone who publicly sides with the opposition.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy political activism did not stop when I left Venezuela,\u201d she said. \u201cZulia\u2019s Kitchen has been the center of the Venezuelan opposition in this city since day one.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the 2024 Venezuelan elections, Diaz helped those with family living in the country confirm their voter registration\u2014information many in Venezuela did not have access to, she said. The election results remain widely disputed.<\/p>\n
Diaz says that although she\u2019d love to return to Venezuela one day, it\u2019s not safe yet. And after 10 years in Texas, she\u2019s not ready to leave the life she\u2019s built\u2014again. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWherever I am in the world, I\u2019ll fight for my country,\u201d she said. \u201cI love my country. But now, this is my home. San Antonio is my home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014\u00a0For San Antonio\u2019s Venezuelan population, Zulia\u2019s Kitchen is more than a restaurant. It\u2019s a gathering place…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3645,2160,1570,30720,52760,223,287,82,84,83,6293,27,1569,2053,835],"class_list":["post-121341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-app-national-politics","tag-app-top-stories","tag-ctv","tag-lily-celeste","tag-national-and-international","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-san-antonio-what-you-need-to-know","tag-texas","tag-texas-what-you-need-to-know","tag-top-stories","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}