Culture

A Country of Poets

23 Aug, 2017 | Rosie Collier

Bolivian poetry is recognised in a new collection – and finds its voice in the streets, bars and cafés.Mónica Velásquez is the general researcher and coordinator of La crítica y el poeta, a collection...

Sebastiana Returns

23 Aug, 2017 | Raquel Diaz

Photo: Iván RodriguezA classic of Bolivian cinema receives new life as a graphic novel Flipping through the pages of one of the two copies in existence of ¡Vuelve Sebastiana! Los Chipayas, a graphic n...

The CEDIB Crisis

23 May, 2017 | Alex Walker

Photo: Nick Somers The Past, Present, and Future of a National ArchiveTwo months on and the noise has not yet died down. On March 21 this year, Juan Ríos, the newly appointed rector of Cochabamba’s st...

THE SIXTH SENSE

16 Apr, 2017 | Alex Walker & Caroline Risacher

Illustration: Hugo L. CuellarA pilgrimage to discover what lies withinOur quest to understand what the sixth sense means in Bolivia began with a series of visits to La Paz’s curanderos and yatiris, it...

PALO SANTO

15 Apr, 2017 | Sophie Hogan

Photo: Sophie HoganThe miracle tree and its usesThe smell seeps easily into my nostrils as we light the wood and put it in the holder. The smoke begins to flurry out of the holes in the cup and the fr...

LIFE BEYOND ATAJO

28 Mar, 2017 | Alex Walker

Photos: William WroblewskiNew beginnings after the break-upThe adage, ‘It’s never too late to try new things’ is often one reserved for parkour pensioners or grandmothers getting to grips with what th...

A Smuggler’s Loot

17 Feb, 2017 | Marianthi Baklava

Photo: Marianthi BaklavaA new investigation into Andean heritageAt the National Museum of Archaeology in La Paz, historian Alvaro R. Fernholz Jemio is opening cardboard boxes labelled with stickers fr...

Boat-Building in the Andes

17 Feb, 2017 | Julia McGee-Russell

Photo:  Julia McGee-RussellA Workshop with Lake Titicaca’s Master Reed-WeaverBringing with me the skills of finger-knitting, hair-braiding, and a solitary workshop in willow-weaving, it is clear...

Dance of the Devils

17 Feb, 2017 | Julia McGee-Russell

Photos: Nick SomersThe changing traditions of the DiabladaThe bells on the spurs of each man’s left shoe sound in time with the boisterous music of the band. The Urus, a comparatively young Diablada d...

Feria of Alasitas

17 Feb, 2017 | Julia McGee-Russell

Photo: Nick SomersThe Little Fair Where Big Dreams Come TrueWalking around the Feria of Alasitas, crowds move together and street vendors shout ‘¡Dólares! ¡Dólares!’ as the smell of palo santo smoke f...

Languages in Contact

29 Dec, 2016 | Jet de Kort

Photo: Jet de KortCode-switching between Aymara and SpanishIn the blazing sun, about 150 inhabitants of Wichi Wichi, a village on the banks of Lake Titicaca, gather at the local plaza. Every Saturday...

Humor with a purpose

29 Dec, 2016 | Eleanor Henderson

Photo: Iván Rodriguez PetkovicLas Mentes Ociosas and their brand of musical comedyThe Palacio de Comunicaciones in La Paz is not as imposing as a theatre can be. Imagine your high school auditorium wi...

Tinku

21 Nov, 2016 | Karina Guzman

Illustration: Hugo L. CuellarA Festival of Ritualized ViolenceEven in Bolivia, a country well known for its many folkloric dances, the Tinku stands out. It is a dance that immediately catches your eye...

Muslims in Bolivia

21 Nov, 2016 | Jet de Kort

Illustration: Hugo L. CuellarBehind the Walls of a Local Mosque“Allahu Akhbar” (Allah is the Greatest) sounds through the prayer room of the As-Salam mosque on Friday afternoon, the holy day for Musli...

Cochabamba and Chrome

21 Nov, 2016 | Toby Clyde

Photo: Matt ColemanClassic bikers in sharp suits raise awareness of men’s healthLike a sea captain with an expensive taste in motorbikes, Nicanor Calderón arrives, dressed not so much to impress as to...