Belén Clarisa Velutini

Belén Clarisa Velutini Pérez-Matos (March 18, 1924 – April 26, 2023) was a Venezuelan French cultural promoter, social leader, businesswoman and banker. She was also the founder of Trasnocho Cultural, a cultural center in Caracas, Venezuela. She was also a major shareholder of Banco Caracas and various financial organizations in America and Europe.^[1]

Belén Clarisa Velutini Pérez-Matos was born on March 18, 1924, in Paris, France, to Julio César Velutini Cotourier and Belén María Pérez-Matos. She attended university at the Central University of Venezuela, where she graduated as a computer engineer. She died at the age of 99 in Caracas, Venezuela.^[1]

Velutini is best known for founding the Trasnocho Cultural, a complex for the development and promotion of the arts, literature, culture and artistic education. Located in the Paseo Las Mercedes shopping center, of which Velutini was also an investor and founder, this space includes a cinema, an exhibition hall and several areas for literary and educational activities.^[2][3]

In addition, Velutini created Fundación Centro El Portal, which provides "educational, nutritional, medical, psychological and sports services for children and adolescents" in La Pastora Parish of Caracas.^[4] The foundation currently operates under the name of Asociación Civil Sin Fines de Lucro Centro de Educación Inicial Ramón Pérez Marcano. Paseo La Castellana, a postmodern real estate development project in Caracas, is another of Velutini's initiatives.^[5]

She was part of the first generation of female computer engineers graduated from the Central University of Venezuela. She simultaneously developed her career as a real estate investor, cultural promoter, and banker for more than 60 years. She held management positions in different financial institutions, such as Banco Caracas, of which she was the main shareholder.^[4]

Belén Clarisa Velutini Pérez-Matos is a descendant of an influential family in the history of Venezuela.^[6] She is the daughter of Belén María Pérez-Matos and Julio César Velutini Coutourier, president of Banco Caracas, founded in 1890, the first to establish an independent national currency.

Her great-grandfather, banker Manuel Antonio Matos, led the Liberating Revolution against dictator Cipriano Castro and was later appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. Matos was also founder of Banco Comercial de Venezuela, which later became Banco de Venezuela. Her grandfather, General José Antonio Velutini Ron, was "vice-president and president in charge of the Republic of Venezuela at the beginning of the 20th century".^[4]