Bolivia’s reaction to the coronavirus pandemic has been very different to other countries, and it made worldwide headlines when a patient diagnosed with COVID-19 was denied access to several Bolivian health centres for fear of contamination. People blocked access and argued that the hospitals in their neighbourhoods were not adequately equipped to deal with the disease. Whether or not they were making a valid point, these protests revealed a lack of empathy and civic duty that doesn’t reflect well on Bolivia and shows that the country is not ready for a major health crisis.
Bolivian doctors have been raising concerns over the preparedness of hospitals and asking for more and better equipment to treat patients as the country’s health system is not able to deal with an epidemic of large proportions. In fact, Bolivia – and in particular the east of the country around Santa Cruz – is already coping with its largest dengue epidemic, with at least 47,754 reported cases and 12 confirmed deaths. And there is also the matter of cultural traditions that would have to change (if not permanently, at least temporarily) such as sharing the same cup of beer at a party, kissing on the cheek and shaking hands to greet people, or licking your fingers to count money.
Because of the current pandemic, Bolivia has cancelled international flights, closed its borders to foreigners and imposed measures to limit social contact. The government has decreed that:
The work day, schools, universities will be stop it until April 15th;
Shops, markets, supermarkets will close at 12pm;
Urban public transportation are not available;
Interstate and interprovincial travel will be suspended.
These measures may seem extreme to people who make their living day by day, but they are still not strict enough for others who argue that a total lockdown is the only way to prevent the virus from spreading. Some Bolivian cities, such as Oruro and Sucre, are already under quarantine; undoubtedly, everything should be done to avoid an outbreak in Bolivia. However, the necessities of everyday life, and survival, for a large portion of Bolivians raises some very valid concerns on how best to protect the livelihoods of many. Self-quarantining is a luxury for some; being able to stock up for 14 days is not something that everyone can afford. The threat of an invisible disease is hard to fathom for people who may not have social-media accounts and/or a smartphone.
Saving lives should be the priority, and next month the world will have changed. Bolivia will have to face a new type of crisis and maybe (probably) the measures listed above will have already been updated by the time of publication. As we face the unknown and have time to reflect in our quarantine or self-isolation, we should keep in mind that everyone’s reality is different and that we could all use more empathy and a change of perspective once in a while.
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Illustration: Ema Hall
Connecting with menstruation through the cup
During their lifetime a menstruating person will use and throw away approximately 11,000 pads and tampons. These pads and tampons come wrapped in pink plastic wrappers, accompanied by plastic applicators and are disposed of in plastic bags for ‘hygiene’ and ‘dignity.’ In the face of global environmental crisis and growing consciousness about the lives of plastic waste and its threats to flora and fauna, some women in La Paz are considering an alternative to pads and tampons: menstrual cups.
In some ways, Bolivia is a relatively conservative society with a persistent taboo on menstruation making it difficult to find any data on usa. Menstrual cups are not widely used in Bolivia, with the majority of women and people who menstruate using generic pads and tampons. The cup can seem like a weird object to many who have used pads their entire lives, as well as the daunting prospect of getting up close and personal with one’s genitalia. The women who have begun using the cup are therefore mostly young and living in urban areas but are passionate about its potentials. And despite these cultural and logistic there is a new community of Bolivian cup enthusiasts importing cups and spreading information.
Menstrual cups sit inside the vagina creating a vacuum to collect blood and prevent leaking, and they can be worn for up to 12 hours at a time. At the end of the period, the cup is washed and sterilised and ready to use again the next month. The cups provide a reusable solution to menstrual management that Renata Lazcano, who imports cups into Bolivia, is incredibly enthusiastic about. Having become attracted to the product as a way to reduce waste and save money she found that using the cup has improved her relationship to her body and her period. ‘It was always something uncomfortable, I worried about leaks and smells,’ she says. ‘But since using the cup I have started to celebrate my period.’ Using the cup has fed a passion for discovering more about periods and the cycles that her body goes through; she started noticing changes in colours and textures in her blood that she has previously ignored. She has even experimented with feeding the blood to her plants engaging with indigenous Bolivian beliefs about the particularly strong connections that women have to the earth through their relationship to Pachamama. For Lazcano, what began as a way to reduce her plastic footprint became a way to connect with her body, and doing away with the discomfort of pads revealed a new path to menstrual knowledge. She is passionate about talking to others about the benefits of the cup.
""Bolivia is a relatively conservative society with a persistent taboo on menstruation.""
Lazcano began to import menstrual cups from Chile because she wanted to share her experience with other women and girls and make alternatives to disposable products available in Bolivia. The environmental and physiological impacts of disposables sold in Bolivia, many of which contain chemicals which give the pads particular scents and textures are of huge concern to her. For example, a 2013 report by the Women’s Voices for the Earth entitled ‘ChemFatale’, a New York–based organisation, revealed that the synthetic fragrances in pads can contain carcinogens, allergens, irritants and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Whilst these chemicals are usually found in micro-amounts, the absorbency of the vagina is a cause for concern by those who use these products every month.
Flavia Orozco is an avid user of the cup who, like Lazcano, first heard about it on social media and had animated conversations with friends who used it before becoming a convert herself. She chatted animatedly about the need to smash the menstrual taboo in Bolivia and her faith in the ability of young women to do so. Lazcano echoes these desires with plans to improve sexual health education for girls in La Paz by going into schools to teach them about menstrual cups and their bodies. Orozco thinks that the fires which have burned 4.2 million wild acres in the Bolivian Amazon are motivating more young Bolivians to consider their own personal impact on the planet as well as pressuring their government to act; ‘We have responsibility in the cities for the environmental disaster, with social media it is harder to ignore these facts,’ she says. Her close friend and fellow cup user Irma Zegarra combines her activism attempting to save the Amazon and promoting cup use amongst her friends. Orozco explicitly linked reducing other plastic waste, such as plastic bags. ‘I no longer use plastic bags, but they are everywhere,’ she says.
‘We have the potential to change things by talking to each other.’
—Flavia Orozco
Social media is a huge factor in changing the way that young Bolivian women are thinking about and managing their periods because the freedom to share information online is beginning to break down centuries old taboos. For example Warmi Yasi, a group of feminists in Bolivia, create posts on Facebook designed to inform young women about menstrual cups and other eco-friendly lifestyle initiatives. Whilst changing one’s monthly habits might seem like a small effort against the tide of climate change and the oppressive silence around women’s health, these Bolivian women are taking collective positive action to try and improve the lives of girls who come after them. Lazcano has found very positive reception from potential clients and friends, and the opening up of conversation about menstruation draws people’s curiosity even when they are apprehensive of the cup itself. Orozco is particularly optimistic, expressing that ‘we are not just individuals, we are a group and we have the potential to change things by talking to each other.’
Photos: Rinalda Aay, George Fearnley and Rhiannon Matthias
A new tour agency offers visitors a wealth of culture, food and natural beauty
Fifteen kilometres north of Tarija, the capital of Bolivia’s wine region, lies San Lorenzo, a quaint, colonial-era village with a population of around 3,000 people. In the late 18th century, it was home to Eustaquio Méndez, a prominent military leader in Bolivia’s war of independence. La Casa del Moto Méndez, the local museum, displays some of his weapons and personal belongings.
Chances are, though, if you’re a tourist passing through Bolivia, that small claim to fame will seem insufficient to draw you out to San Lorenzo. Maria Isabel Valdez Gutierrez, Nely Tinta Fernandez, Ramiro Pocoaca Torrez and Carlos Antonio Vasquez know this, but they also know that San Lorenzo and its surroundings have much more to offer. This is why they began a private, nonprofit tour agency, the Agencia de Turismo Encanto Mendeño.
Among this group of San Lorenzo locals (some have lived there all their life; some have moved there more recently) are housewives, mechanics, farmers, merchants and dentists, but all have one thing in common: they know and appreciate the beauty of San Lorenzo’s location, culture and people, and they want to share it with the world.
‘San Lorenzo is a town full of tradition and culture,’ says Nely Fernandez. ‘It has amazing tourist attractions such as natural landscapes and also warm people. But before us, there was no organisation to receive visitors comprehensively.’
I had the privilege of being a part of Agencia de Turismo Encanto Mendeño’s first tour group. Had I not been told that this was their first tour, I would never have known. From the minute we were picked up from our Tarija accommodation in a faded blue truck until we were seen safely onto a minibus back at the end of the day, the trip ran confidently and smoothly (although ‘smooth’ is not a word that could apply to the drive itself).
The agency offers a variety of tours around the San Lorenzo area, including but not limited to activities such as hiking, horse riding, sport fishing, camping, condor watching and seasonal berry tasting. My group selected a one-day hiking tour followed by a horse-riding experience, and it wasn’t a day we will soon forget.
Following breakfast in San Lorenzo’s markets, back at the tour agency, we were offered a traditional breakfast drink – a wine shake made of raw frothed eggs and wine. While this was undeniably a shock to my Australian senses, there was a sense of being included in something unique and personal.
To get to our next stop, we piled back into the truck with Nely and Ramiro and trundled off to see a waterfall called Chorro de Marquiri.
Located on a property named Reserva de Sama, the falls were our reward at the end of a 40-minute hike through stunning mountain vistas. Next came a lunch of fresh food cooked by Ramiro over open fire and coals.
‘In all our tours we offer local and typical food, traditional from San Lorenzo,’ says Nely. ‘At the same time, we consume the products that are cultivated near the town.’
Our guides also shared with us a wine handmade in the Méndez province, and taught us the traditional way of drinking it. The wine is poured into a mate (a natural container made from a plant called porongo) and passed around the group with the words te invito (I invite you).
After lunch, we visited more waterfalls, referred to as Chorro Negro and Chorro Blanco (Black Waterfall and White Waterfall) by our guides. This time, we carried with the group a plastic bag for collecting rubbish along the way, reflective of the agency’s dedication to respecting the land on which they live and work.
‘The businesses’ good practices play a fundamental role, because we have to guarantee that our activities minimise social and environmental impact,’ explains Nely.
The agency also collaborates with various members of the province, promoting their individual goods and services. One such service that my group experienced at the end of our tour was the horse-riding experience. We began at a property near the border of the town and were guided on horseback into the centre of San Lorenzo, where our tour concluded.
The Agencia de Turismo Encanto Mendeño is a small business committed to incorporating all that San Lorenzo has to offer into innovative, environmentally conscious and locally driven tourism experiences. As Nely states: ‘We aim to contribute to the town’s diversification and motivate a greater flow of visitors in all seasons, to contribute to the economic and social development of the communities involved.’
Not only this, but the agency is highly knowledgeable about the local area and completely open and welcoming, making for an informative, adventurous and thoroughly enjoyable tourism experience.
Photos: Claire Santen and Arturo Orgaz
The lively carnaval festivities colour the city of La Paz
In Bolivia carnaval is anticipated with excitement weeks before its arrival. Foam sprays and confetti are put on display as the celebratory buzz is felt all across the country. It should come as no surprise that Bolivia’s lively, large-scale carnaval celebrations assume a significant importance to the country’s culture and society. The celebration in Bolivia is often associated with the world famous carnival in Oruro, which draws up to 400,000 yearly visitors. Nevertheless, the carnival in La Paz is just as fun and vibrant, being one of the biggest events of the year in the city. The four day programme entails folkloric dances, fancy-dress parades and other festivities which kicked off on the 22nd of February this year.
During the carnival, children and adults alike, dress up and roam the streets, causing mischief, equipped with foam spray cans, water balloons and water guns. Major squares in the city act as combat areas where you would be lucky to escape without being left soaking wet. The main event of the carnaval paceño is the Jisk’a Anata parade that takes place near Avenida Camacho, in the centre of the city. Thousands of dancers will tire themselves as they perform hours of folkloric dancing in colourful traditional clothing. A clown-like character called Pepino takes the centerstage during the celebration. Pepino is considered to be the king of the carnaval paceño, and will therefore have to marry the crowned queen of the carnival. After the main events of carnival have taken place, cholitas mourn at Pepino’s funeral, wearing black polleras. As the carnaval-filled days come to an end, he is buried just to be dug up again in time for next year’s February festivities.
