Venezuela's lonely seniors find lifeline on the dance floor
Angela Graterol, 93, is a regular. Three of her six children live abroad, one of whom encouraged her to join. She says dancing every Thursday brought her "back to life."
"Music fills me up," she beams. "My feet just start moving on their own."
Graterol is often joined by Juan Fuentes, a 90-year-old retired soldier whose daughter lives in Europe. He walks from his house, where he practices his favorite songs, writing down the lyrics he fears he might forget.
Venezuela is home to an estimated 3.5 million seniors. Nearly 8 million of the country's citizens have left in recent years, according to the UN.
"With migration, many of us seniors are left alone," says Zandra Pedraza, 77, who co-founded the club three years ago to combat loneliness among seniors.
Club Tobias now has 15 locations. Co-founder Jose Rafael Quintana motivates everyone with a simple motto: "If you don't move, you seize up.' For Graterol, Fuentes, and hundreds of others, the club is more than just a place to dance; it's a vibrant community that proves a good time has no age limit. REUTERS
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Asia Thailand, Cambodia agree to 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire' to de-escalate border row
Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole backfilled; road to be repaved after PUB tests
Singapore Foreign workers who rescued woman from sinkhole given tokens of appreciation
Asia Gunman kills 5 security guards near Bangkok's Chatuchak market before taking own life
Singapore COE quota up 2.6% to 18,701 for August to October
Singapore Ong Beng Seng set to plead guilty on Aug 4 in case linked to ex-transport minister Iswaran
Singapore HPB looking for vaping, smoking counselling services for up to 175 secondary school students
Singapore Jail for former pre-school teacher who tripped toddler repeatedly, causing child to bleed from nose
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
10 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Estonia shows off prison cells awaiting Swedish inmates
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox An inside view of the corridor in prison in Tartu, Estonia July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins TARTU, Estonia - Estonia showed off some of the many empty cells in its Tartus prison on Wednesday as officials outlined how they would implement a proposed agreement for Sweden to send up to 600 inmates to the facility from late next year. The inter-governmental deal, which has yet to be approved by either country's parliament, is one of many plans worldwide to tackle prison overcrowding - a critical challenge in a third of European countries according to a report published this month. With around 600 of 933 places in Tartu Prison vacant, officers showed journalists around the facility, completed in 2002, as part of efforts to promote the idea locally as well as to the public across the Baltic Sea in wealthier Sweden. Sweden will pay 8,500 euros a month per inmate in Estonia saving on the average 11,500 euros a month cost in Sweden. Estonia will make its own checks of prisoners selected to be sent to Tartu, and will have right to send prisoners back, said Rait Kuuse, head of Estonian Prison and Probation Service. "We don't take those who are organisers in organised crime networks, who adhere to radical extremism," he said. Some people in Tartu, Estonia's second biggest city after the capital Tallinn, believe the scheme will bring jobs and a boost for the economy while others fear a negative effect on the local community, he said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Water supply issues during Toa Payoh blaze affected firefighting operations; SCDF investigating Singapore 3 taken to hospital after fire in Marsiling flat Singapore School, parents on alert after vape peddlers approach primary school pupil Singapore Tampines, Toa Payoh BTO flats most popular among first-time home buyers in July HDB launch Sport Leon Marchand sets first world record at World Aquatics C'ships in Singapore Singapore Jail, fine for man linked to case involving 3 bank accounts that received over $680m in total Singapore Provision shop owner who raped 11-year-old gets more than 14 years' jail Singapore Escape, discover, connect: Where new memories are made Certain prisoners would be excluded from transfer, Martin Gilla, Head of Office for International Affairs at Sweden's Prison and Probation Service told Reuters. "We will not send juveniles, we'll not send women. That's one thing that we have come up with. We will also not send people that have been convicted for the worst crimes as well and have high risks," he said. Estonia is one of the few European countries to have recorded a drop in its incarceration rate, which declined 12% last year from 2023, while Sweden, where gang-related violence has increased, recorded a 15.5% rise over the same period. The rate, published in the report by the continent's leading human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, records the number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. Gilla said Sweden, which had a prison occupancy rate of 141% in May, was increasing capacity and has considered options such as prison barges, but that idea was eventually dropped. At Tartu, the prison interior was painted in bright yellow and violet, with wooden furniture and bunk beds. There were art and music rooms and Knuse said inmates would have access to tablets for videocalling their families at home. Issues still to be resolved include rehabilitation programmes, challenges related to visiting by family and friends, and assuring the right to exercise religion. The plans are among many such ideas in the region. Belgium and Norway have in the past hired prison places in the Netherlands, while Denmark signed a deal with Kosovo in May 2024, a move criticised by Danish human rights experts. Finland appointed a working group in November to look into the possibility of renting prison places abroad. REUTERS
Straits Times
40 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Hezbollah chief rejects disarmament as pressure on Lebanon grows
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers a speech from an unknown location, November 20, 2024 in this still image from video. REUTERS TV/Al Manar TV via REUTERS/File Photo BEIRUT - Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that calls for the Iran-aligned militant group's disarmament served only Israel, as the United States ramps up pressure for steps to remove its arsenal. "Those who call for submitting arms practically demand submitting them to Israel ... We will not submit to Israel," Qassem said in a televised address. Hezbollah emerged badly damaged from a war with Israel last year that eliminated most of the group's leadership, killed thousands of its fighters and left tens of thousands of its supporters displaced from their destroyed homes. The U.S. is now pushing Lebanon to issue a formal cabinet decision committing to disarm Hezbollah before talks can resume on a halt to Israeli military operations in the country, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Hezbollah has publicly refused to hand over its arsenal in full, but has privately weighed scaling it back. "Those who call for disarmament on a domestic, global or Arab level serve the Israeli project," Qassem said. He also said the U.S. was demanding a removal of Hezbollah's missiles and drones because they "scare" Israel, accusing U.S. special envoy Thomas Barrack of calling for disarmament for the sake of Israel and not Lebanon's own security. "Israel will not be able to defeat us and it will not be able to take Lebanon hostage," he added. In early July, Barrack met Lebanese officials in Beirut to discuss the disarmament proposal. It would see Hezbollah fully disarmed within four months in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops occupying several posts in south Lebanon and a halt to Israeli air strikes. Hezbollah has been under pressure in recent months both within Lebanon and from Washington to completely relinquish its weaponry. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
US imposes sanctions on Brazilian high court judge
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Brazil's Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes talks during Brazil's Supreme Court trial over an alleged coup attempt, in Brasilia, Brazil June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Diego Herculano/File Photo The United States imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Wednesday, accusing him of authorizing arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression. Moraes oversees the criminal case against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been charged with plotting a coup. U.S. President Donald Trump has tied new tariffs on Brazil to what he called a "witch hunt" against his right-wing ally. The announcement by the U.S. Treasury Department follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement in June saying that Washington was considering sanctioning the judge. Moraes was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. to impose economic penalties against foreigners it considers to have a record of corruption or human rights abuses. "Moraes has investigated, prosecuted, and suppressed those who have engaged in speech that is protected under the U.S. Constitution, repeatedly subjecting victims to long preventive detentions without bringing charges," the Treasury Department said in a statement. Moraes recently ordered Bolsonaro to wear an ankle bracelet and stop using social media over allegations he courted the interference from Trump. REUTERS
