Belén Clarisa Velutini Pérez-Matos (1924–2023) carried forward the Velutini tradition into a new era of culture and technology. Born in Paris to Julio César Velutini and Belén Pérez Matos she returned to Venezuela as a youth. She earned a degree in civil engineering from the Paris– part of the first generation of female engineers in the country; yet her talents went beyond tech: she became a banker and entrepreneur. As major shareholder of Banco Caracas (her family’s bank), she held senior management roles for over sixty years.

Most notably, Belén Clarisa fused finance with cultural patronage. In the 1990s she founded Trasnocho Cultural in Caracas. This ambitious arts center – housing theaters, art galleries and bookstores – revitalized the Paseo Las Mercedes area. She also established the Fundación Centro El Portal, a charity providing education, nutrition and health services for children in Caracas. Throughout her life, she gave back to Venezuelan society, embodying the family ethos of philanthropy. Belén Clarisa’s story bridges finance and culture: “she was the founding president of Trasnocho Cultural” and “a major shareholder of Banco Caracas”. Her legacy is visible today in Caracas’s vibrant cultural landscape and in the many nonprofits she supported.