Five years ago Bolivian Express was born between a japanese restaurant and a lift on Avenida 20 de Octubre in La Paz. During the clunky journey from the ground floor to the 17th storey, two young gentlemen and a Swiss-Indian chica lamented the absence of an English-language publication in the country; two notable predecessors—the Bolivian Times and Llama Express—were sadly no longer in circulation. And so the name of the magazine was born as a portmanteau of sorts, an homage to the magazine’s forebearers.
We were determined to find a viable way of printing a quality free publication, given the erratic nature of local advertising revenues and shortage of local English-language journalists. A further (Irish) founder was enlisted and six university friends were boarded on a plane, kidnapped to serve as editorial guinea pigs. It became clear to the founding team that an ideal way of sustaining the project as a whole would be to combine it with a journalism training programme.
What started off as a magazine for tourists quickly turned into something else. After the first 10 issues, we had already covered all the well-trodden festivities and attractions the country is probably best known for. The continuous challenge has been to find new stories from which everyone, including the local audience, can learn something new. Indeed, over half of our readers are native Spanish speakers, so we are as committed to writing for them as we are for the uninitiated in Bolivia. This work has brought us close to people we would perhaps never have had an excuse to get to know: from former presidents, ministers and local sporting heroes, to Michael Jackson impersonators, prisoners serving life sentences and private investigators.
Since our unconventional beginnings, the project has involved over 120 people from 20+ countries worldwide who have come to volunteer as part of the effort.Today, the Bolivian Express team of volunteers live and sleep in a shared house as they explore the country, its stories and cultures with the help of a local team. By looking beyond the salt-flats and ancient ruins, their mission is to bring new eyes to this infinite land. If they leave as cultural ambassadors, rather than just tourists, the project has achieved one of its aims. And, of course, by flicking through these pages you, the reader, are closing the circle and helping to complete this project’s mission.
Over the years we have also worked with a large number of people across the world: editors scattered across San Francisco, New York and Caracas, a web developer in Berlin, an editor and marketing director somewhere in the Swiss alps, and even a virtual assistant in Bulgaria (hey, Pavlin). As past team members have taken on new challenges, others have appeared and have reshaped the project anew. With this, our 50th issue, we are incredibly proud to say that Bolivian Express has a life of its own; it exists as something greater and wiser than the people who have made it possible so far.
Thank you for being a part of this journey.
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PHOTO: ALEXANDRA MELEAN
This 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 continues into the early hours of the following morning. Traditionally, the Aymara people offer coca, alcohol and a llama sacrifice to Pachamama, in exchange for a successful harvest in the upcoming year. While these rituals are a large part of the celebration, nowadays many young attendees come for a night of dancing, drinking and fireworks. In 2009, President Evo Morales declared the Aymara New Year a national holiday – a move that was met with two extreme responses: controversy among non-Aymara indigenous groups, who saw it as government favoritism towards Aymara traditions; and a sudden explosion in the event’s popularity, resulting in four times the number of attendees in following years. There is no question that every part of this celebration – from its controversy to its festive atmosphere – represents the diversity and occasional clash of modernity and tradition in Bolivia.
PHOTO: PABLO PANIAGUA WWW.SINMOTIVO.COM
For thousands of years, quinoa was a cheap, common, staple food grain for the people of the Andes. In recent years, though, the demand for quinoa in western cultures has sky-rocketed as more people recognise quinoa as an incomparably healthy carbohydrate packed with vitamins, minerals and protein. Essentially, American and European foodies love it, and in 2013,, as does the United Nations, which the International Year of Quinoa to recognize the grain’s growing popularity across the world and to honor the Andean farmers who grow it.
This recent trend poses positive and negative consequences for Bolivia, where the crop is abundant. On one hand, quinoa companies in the country have managed to grown quickly as they can now sell one packet of quinoa in the US market for four times the price in Bolivia. In the Bolivian market, however, the price of quinoa has been rising, putting this staple food item out of reach for many locals.
The final impact of the growing global market for quinoa on the Bolivian economy has yet to be seen. But one thing is for sure: whether you're an American raw food blogger seeking lactose-free quinoa milk, muffins or beer, or an Alteño snacking on a bagged hot apple-quinoa puree bought from a street-vendor, quinoa is the power food of the people.
PHOTO: AMARU VILLANUEVA RANCE
If 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, Bolivians celebrate Todos Santos by spending the day at the graves of their deceased loved ones, saying prayers and making offerings of special bread called t’antawawas. This traditional Roman Catholic holiday is a solemn event, unlike Las Ñatitas, which is celebrated 7 days later and stems from indigenous tradition. This second celebration features a lively party at the cemetery with real-life skulls. Families return to the graveyard with the craniums, or “ñatitas”, which are dressed-up in festive clothing and offered flowers, cigarettes, coca leaves, and serenades of cheerful music. These two holidays peacefully coexist on the Bolivian calendar and represent the country’s uniquely intertwined Catholic and indigenous heritage.
