Culture

Urban Cemetery

28 May, 2015 | Phoebe Roth

PHOTO: MICHAEL DUNN CACERESWalking through the general cemetery of La Paz, I was astounded at how strange and different it looked to anywhere I had seen before, with various blocks of what looked like...

Kilometre Zero

28 May, 2015 | Phoebe Roth

PHOTO: NIA HAFThe central station of the red teleférico line is situated next to what used to be La Paz’s only train station. It shut down in 1996 as the tracks had been deteriorating for years, along...

Día del Mar

28 May, 2015 | Emily Gray

PHOTO: MICHAEL DUNN CACERES Bolivia is one of two landlocked countries in South America, with a long, painful history regarding the sea. On March 23, 1879, Bolivia lost the War of the Pacific to...

Psalms and Skulls

28 May, 2015 | Emily Gray

PHOTO: AMARU VILLANUEVA RANCEIf you happen to be in La Paz in November, you’ll find yourself immersed in two Bolivian festivities for the dead: Todos Santos and Las Ñatitas. On the first of the month,...

Happy Aymara New Year!

28 May, 2015 | Emily Gray

PHOTO: ALEXANDRA MELEANThis June 21st marks the 5,523rd Aymara New Year, an annual celebration that attracts 50,000 attendees and is held at the Tiwanaku ruins. The event begins in the evening and con...

General Gina

28 May, 2015 | Emily Gray

While Bolivia's military remains a highly male-dominated institution, there is no question that Gina Reque Teran, the country's first woman to assume the rank of General of the Armed Forces, is breaki...

ENTERING: Little Bolivia, USA

28 May, 2015 | Emily Gray

PHOTO: DAVID CLOWFor nearly my whole life, I’ve lived in Boston, a city that captures the US’s image as a melting pot of religions, languages and cultures. Growing up, I didn't have to leave my hometo...

A Series of Unimaginable Purchases

28 May, 2015 | Emily Gray

Photo: Valeria WildeWelcome to El Alto Market, the famous open-air marketplace of La Paz’s looming sister city, where you can find just about everything you never knew you wanted. Like nearly everyone...

Alasita

28 May, 2015 | Emily Cashen

PHOTO: MICHAEL DUNN CACERESWhat is it you seek? Be it love, money, or even a new car, you are free to pursue your desires at the annual Alasita festival in La Paz. Each January, the chaotic city stree...

Flaviadas

28 May, 2015 | Emily Cashen

PHOTO: ALEX AYALAStrolling down Avenida Ecuador early on a Saturday evening, you may very well be greeted by the sound of a Bach melody floating on the breeze. Following this symphony will lead you th...

Fortune Tellers

28 May, 2015 | Emily Cashen

Here in La Paz, fortune telling is big business. Steeped in the city's history and rich in Aymara culture, this practice is revered by superstitious locals, many of whom would choose a consultation wi...

Mennonite Community

28 May, 2015 | Emily Cashen

PHOTO: CREATIVE COMMONS, THIS IS NATAHANIEL, TREY RATCLIFFReligion is a topic that has often graced the pages of the Bolivian Express, be it from examining the country's dwindling Jewish population to...

Familia Galán

28 May, 2015 | Emily Cashen

PHOTO: K-OS GALÁNWith the twirling skirts of the Kulluwada dancers, the booming backdrop of constant live music and the mile-long water fights along El Prado, Carnival in La Paz is always a vibrant af...

LEARNING TO LEARN WITH ICTs

27 Apr, 2015 | Nadia

"Could you research Simón Bolivar for me?" I'm looking after my family's Internet Center in El Alto, and a high school student is brandishing the silver coin with which he hopes to purchase my highly...

100 Bolivianos: The Journey of a Note Through La Paz

24 Mar, 2015 | Ali Macleod

Guards with guns, blood-dripping cow carcasses, and unwashed tourists—all witnessed through the journey of a hundred bolivianos, from the cashpoint as a crisp note to a roadside kiosk as a handful of...