Today we’d like to introduce you to Ingrid Caribay Valero Rivero.
Ingrid Caribay, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story begins in Venezuela, to be more specific in Caracas, the city where I was born on February 25, 1986. I come from a beautiful Catholic family, humble and hard-working, I do not remember any other way of having lived that was not next to Gladis and Argenis (my parents) and my two brothers; Pedro (my twin) and Javier, in our apartment located in La Pastora, one of the most popular and oldest areas of Caracas.
Since I was a child, I have had a strong character, within my defects, I consider pride as the worst of all, always respectful, simple, humble, kind, persevering, willing to help whoever needs me and determined to achieve everything set out to do.
For ten years, I have formed a family with my husband Denis, also Venezuelan, with whom I had the joy of bringing my most precious treasure to the world: Camila.
My academic training began in a Catholic school and when the time came, I attended the Universidad Católica Santa Rosa where I graduated with a degree in Social Communication, a profession that gave me the privilege of dedicating myself to my great passion: journalism. Before graduating, that’s how I grew up in the media in my country, where by the way, being a journalist is one of heroes; it’s not easy being the eyes and voice of a people that has been condemned for the last quarter of a century to survive submerged in the worst political, economic and social crisis that has hit my beloved Venezuela.
That same situation and the ethical commitment not to remain silent in the face of the injustices of those who govern has led many journalists, like me, to make the hard decision to emigrate from the country for fear of reprisals for thinking differently and for wanting to go in search of a better future. This is how the humanitarian tragedy that millions of Venezuelans are experiencing today is born, exiled and scattered all over the world in search of a country that will open its arms to us, that will adopt us and that will give us the confidence to be able to start over again, I arrived in the United States and luckily I found Austin.
Arriving in another country that is not yours is like starting over, so here I have had the opportunity to put into practice things that I had never worked on. It fills me with pride to say that, along with my role as mother and wife, I have also cleaned other people’s houses with the same dedication as if they were mine. I got to know a good part of the city as I walked from end to end, carrying and distributing boxes and boxes of Venezuelan food. Thanks to Arepadealers, I was able to feel at home and revived the passion I have for making “arepas” (traditional Venezuelan food). This has undoubtedly been one of my best work experiences, although the project ended, I gained a family from them and also the drive to take the risk of practicing my profession again and succeed, I currently work as a multimedia journalist for Telemundo Austin. God definitely rewards perseverance.
This month I celebrate three years in this, which I consider my new home, working honestly to help the part of my family that remains in Venezuela but also to give our daughter the opportunity to have a better future.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No path is free of problems, not even being in your comfort zone, making the decision that has led me to where I am has been, with total honesty, the hardest and most difficult of my life, I clearly remember how I was collecting the few things that can you bring me, while I was crying convinced that it was impossible to pack 33 years of life in a suitcase. Leaving everything behind, especially my affections, my parents, brothers and nephew, without knowing when I would see them again and hug them, has left a void in my heart that nothing can fill, and that is why you will surely hear from many Venezuelans migrants a phrase that is totally real: “We exchange some problems for another.”
Without a doubt, it is a huge impact to arrive at a place you do not know and to which you do not belong, where many things limit you, weather, language, food, customs, in the case of my daughter, school and seeing her cry because she did not understand anything, that it terrifies anyone, but later you realize that it is part of what you have to accept and assume in order to feel part of that new house.
Barely six months after arriving, the coronavirus pandemic began, only my husband worked, we had just rented an apartment, we lived from day to day, but the blessings overcame the anguish and these are the situations that life confronts you to put you in a better place.
This path has also been a challenge to myself, to perseverance, to faith, there have been many times that I have thought about giving up and if all this is really worth it, but hope has always been greater, so It has forced me to learn to control the impatience that characterizes me, and I think that has been one of the great reasons why I have not deserted.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
You need to always remember where you come from. Since 2007, I began my career in the Venezuelan media, I was part of Radio Rumbos, one of the oldest radio stations in the country, and since 2008 I was dedicated to information in front of television cameras, working as a reporter and news anchor. For seven years, I was part of the channel of the National Assembly and I specialized in legislative coverage, however, the political discrepancy led me to look for other options, and I found the opportunity to work in Globovisión, the main news channel in Venezuela, there I managed to being the main anchor of the daily broadcast of the news until 2019, a date in which the political and economic tension in the country was so great that the directive imposed self-censorship on its journalists, many like me decided to report what was really happening, this brought as consequently weeks of harassment and threats until I was finally fired. This is the sad reality of the exercise of journalism in Venezuela, today there are many colleagues and friends who are still fighting to spread the truth.
This was another of the reasons that prompted me to make the decision to migrate, so it was also a difficult process professionally because I knew that leaving behind my journalistic career in my country, where I had built a name in journalism, to go to a country where he would arrive as a nobody.
Today I am proud to say that after two years away from my profession, I made it today I am a Venezuelan journalist who, due to her preparation, professionalism and career, managed to receive a vote of confidence from a group of people who, without knowing her, bet on her to become part of one of the few Spanish-speaking social communication media in this city: Telemundo Austin.
It is an opportunity and a great commitment to show what Venezuelan journalists are made of.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
From my childhood, my favorite memory is to have always been with my parents and siblings, there are so many things that I treasure in my mind, perhaps the most unforgettable are the family trips that year after year we made to Valera – Trujillo (one of the most beautiful Andean states that Venezuela has) is the birthplace of my father, but also where his whole family lives, so going there was having the opportunity to share with my uncles and cousins, but above all to be pampered by my grandparents.
Without a doubt having a twin brother, it has been everything, he is my other half and I think that thanks to his company, my childhood had better adventures, none compared to being older brothers, I will never forget the emotion of the birth of my brother Javier, he came to finish completing the joy in our home.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ingridcaribay/?hl=es
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ingridcaribayvalerorivero
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ingridcaribay
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ingridcaribay
Image Credits
Rafael González Instagram: @rphaelgonzo
