Bolivia TodayBolivia TodaySharing Bolivia with the World. This Blog is dedicated to sharing information about Bolivia and bolivians with anybody who wants to know about us. Places, festivities, food, traditions, culture and much more. Articles
Guarayo Legend of the origen of the sun and moon, day and night (p2)
2008-06-06 07:02:00 The two brothers Ari and Yazi, lived dreaming about adventures, they wanted to be heroes.One day , they were looking at the white sheet that covered the heavens and said to themselves, let's go touch it! Let's climb, said Ari. But young Yazi was quite thoughtful and always made a deep analisis before going on an adventure, so he stood still thinking about his brother's proposal.Let's climb, insisted Ari. Ok, said Ari, but tell me how we will do it.Ok, we will shoot all the arrows we have, taking turns. We will join all the arrows we have and in this way make a long cord which we can use to climb up.So, both brothers went to the center of a large meadow and started shooting their arrows, soon the had a strong cord that they started to climb. Finally they got to the end of the cord and were able to touch the sky, so Yazi raised his hand to touch the sky and in that moment he fell and transformed himself inot the moon, and started moving in the heavens. Ari, meanwhile, tried to gra... More About: Moon , Night , Legend , Origen
Guarayo Legend of the origen of the sun and moon, day and night (p1)
2008-06-05 07:36:00 The Guarayos are a tribe native to the east of Bolivia, they still exist but in small numbers, this legend belongs to them.------The god of the Guarayos, who they reffered to as grandfather, once lived on the land. In his long inmortality he had two handsome sons who grew and became strong, smart and had a deep sense of justice.Ari was the name of th eolder and Yazi of the younger one, Ari had white hear and was a great hunter while Yazi had deep black hair and was an excellent fisher.Both of the children kept the house of grandfather full of the meat of animals and fishes. In those early days of earth the sky was white and there was no day or night. Everything was kind of gray and lacked color, vegetables like sweet potatoe and other fruits did not exist.The life of men was sad and very difficult.[continues in part 2] More About: Moon , Night , Legend , Origen
The legend of the Potatoe P3
2008-06-02 06:24:00 Some time after, the high priest went to see the Inca.Powerful lord of the Tahuantinsuyu- he said, everything shows us that the Inti god is unhappy with us, the stars move strangely, our fields are full of rock, our mines have no more mineral, there is draught in our land and our people are hungry.The Inca heard with attention the words of his high priest and asked- What can we do?The high priest said- Powerful Inca, it is not well seen that we dig our dead, but we must do it at once. We must remove the remains of the lovers and take them to the different parts of the kingdom. Since the moment that we punished them there has been bad omens, the lake has become restless and the wind blows in unusual ways. We beg you to do this in order to pacify the inti god and all the other gods.Let it be done- said the inca. So a group of people was sent to dig the remains of the lovers, but these were nowere to be found, they dug for weeks with no results. When finally they found something there ... More About: Legend , The Legend
The legend of the Potatoe P2
2008-05-30 06:17:00 The inca did not want to listen to the begging Mamacunas and Tallas which fell before his feet, asking for forgiveness for the Ñusta who was going to be a mother. The Inca simply said no, since before him being a father were the laws of the empire. While the decree was fulfilled the inca was at his room, thoughtful.The lovers were taken by the high priests to a meadow. The lovers were brave, they would die together . A huge hole was dug, where they sacrificed a baby llama to satisy the Inti god. A coca leaves bed was made and there the lovers were forced to lie. As the priests filled the hole they saw the lovers had embraced each other and felt sad for them.Later some women were passing by the place and they were surprized by huge flocks of pichitankas (a type of bird) which filled the place. Men were surprized, and said that whoever went to that land felt strangely calm and peaceful, and turned loving and kind.This is evil magic said the priests, Supaya must have taken hold of the ... More About: Legend , The Legend
The legend of the Potatoe P1
2008-05-28 07:04:00 "Fulfill the law!", both of them have broken it, have them buried alive and together- decreed the powerful Inca ruler.Both quechuas heard the justice decreed from the lips of the inca, and all the royal court didn't say a word, for fear of further enraging the inca. The voice of the Inca was the voice of god and was diligently obeyed.The Ñusta princess which had inca blood in her veins looked in defiance and turned her face to the inca. By her side was the peasant which had broken the strict rules which governed the empire. She had fallen in love with a simple peasant and she had gone against all established rules and the will of the inca.They both knew about the punishment for breaking the holy state of the Ñustas and invading the personal group of lifelong promised woman servants of the Inca, direct representation of the gods.[Continues in part 2] More About: Legend , The Legend
Legend of the Monoliths
2008-05-23 07:53:00 Magical potter was Wiracocha (roughly equivalent to Lord), he created mountains and rivers and in a day of sadness of one of his tears was created the titicaca lake.With his divinge breathe he gave life to the figures he created with his hands, and so he created a whole nation. And once they had all life they started to sing and speak and work and the landscape was changed by these people.It is told that in the beginning these people acepted the laws given by Wiracocha. They were peaceful and justice was natural, weapons were not neccessary. Wiracocha was happy with the people and protected man from pain and sadness and gave him many goods and favors.But it had been foretold that one day Supay (common translation is devil), which was an evil god, would play a role. He came to live among man, dressed as one, and so they started hearing his words and soon were far from the teachings of Wiracocha. So they became greedy and eviland started wars to conquer other men and were proud. Wirac... More About: Legend
The Jichi of Isirere (p2)
2008-05-21 06:16:00 One afternoon, a woman with her child went to the well to get some water. She filled her pot and put it on her head but when she looked for her child, he was gone.He looked for him everywhere, initially thinking it was a joke but when she didn't find him she started cyring his name:Isirereeee!!At first she got no reply but after a while she heard a call from the bottom of the well which said:mooother, mootheeer!!And as the mother got more a more desperate and cried louder the voice of the child got fainter and fainter until it had dissapeared.Through the years a lake formed where this well stood and people say that this child is the Jichi of this lake, the Isirere Jichi.
The Jichi of Isirere (p1)
2008-05-20 05:22:00 Beni is a place full of beauty, one of the east departments of Bolivia it is still covered in virgin forests and jungles. It still has tribes which have never met civilization hidden in its territory, but among the people which are know civilization there are old men which tell even older stories.One of these is the legend of the Jichi of Isirere which goes like this.Isirere is the name of a lake which is found two kilometers from the town of San Ignacio de Moxos, found in the department of Beni. It's inhabitants believe that it has an enchanted spirit which protects the place and which is called the Jichi of Isirere.Isirere is a name in the ignacian dialect, some say it is the wrong pronunciation of the Spanish name Ignacio.Jichi, in the legends and traditions of these people of east boliva is a mythological being which protects lakes or other places with water. It is a water god, which lives in the waters and people from towns near the lake feared getting near it since they thoug...
Humans Rights status in Bolivia according to Amnesty International
2008-05-16 06:04:00 Taken from the Amnesty International Report 2007Found at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/americas /south-america/bolivia#reportHead of state and government: Evo Morales Ayma (replaced Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé in January 2007)Death penalty: abolitionist for ordinary crimesInternational Criminal Court: ratified Peasants were killed during a joint security force operation to eradicate coca crops. There were demonstrations calling for the right to land. Deaths were reported during violent clashes between miners. Prison conditions were poor.BackgroundPresident-elect Evo Morales Ayma, the leader of the Movement to Socialism party (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS), took office in January. A National Development Plan to improve access to fundamental rights such as health, education and justice and to end discrimination was announced. However, no information was forthcoming on its implementation. A programme of reforms was initiated, including the formation of the Constituent Assembly which w... More About: Bolivia , Rights , Amnesty International
Legend of the Origen of the Chiriguanos P2
2008-05-13 07:18:00 The Chiriguanos obeyed their god. Rain did not stop during many moons and the basked with the children inside floated over the waters. All the Chiriguanos died, except for the two children. The earth was flooded and finally the rain stopped when Aguara-tumpa believed that the Chiriguano people had all died and that now he would be lord of the lands.Once the land had dried the children came out from their hiding. The children walked a long time looking for food but found none. Tumpaete once again spoke to them:"Go look for Cururu, the good friend of man, who will provide you with fire to cook the fish which you can find in the river".The children found Cururu, a gian frog, who was waiting for them in high ground. He kept red hot coals in his mouth, kept hot with his breathe. He gave these to the children and they were able to cook the fish which were the only available food due to the huge rains that just passed.Cururu told them that when the rain had started he had been ordered by T... More About: Legend , Origen
Legend of the origen of the chiriguanos (from the Chiriguanos) P1
2008-05-11 05:57:00 The Chiriguanos inhabit the east of Bolivia in the province of Santa Cruz, they are more common in Paraguay, but there is a population in Bolivia too.In the Chiriguano mythology two gods governed the world. Tumpaete which expressed good and Aguara-tumpa which expressed evil. Both of which were in a constant battle for all times.In the beggining, Aguara-tumpa who knew about the zeal that Tumpaete had for the man he had created and which he protected fooled the guardians and provoqued a fire which destroyed the fiels, grass and forests of the chiriguano people, killing all the animals which lived there. The Chiriguanos looked for their God. Tumpaete advised them to move their houses besides the river and grow corn there. While the corn grew they could eat fish. When Aguara/tumpa saw that he had failed to achieve his goal he had rain like never before fall on the land of the Chiriguanos.Once again Tumpaete talked to his children: "It has been decided that all of you die drowned so in o... More About: Legend , Origen
Legend of the Chijchipa P2
2008-05-06 06:04:00 Continued from part 1.So, the day of the marriage arrived. All the community got ready for the celebration, the imilla used her best polleras (common type of skirts) and covered herself with a beutiful cloth. The groom arrived with sheep and pigs as a present to his future parents in law. He was using a bright red poncho, with new sandals and a hat with colored flags. When everybody had gathered the people started walking to the small chapel where the tatacura (priest) awaited for the ceremony. All along the way everybody danced and sang the wayños (typical music). During the ceremony everybody was very silent, until they heard a cat meow and appear. The groom looked at the cat in horror and started running trying to hide in some hole, leaving the bride behind. The Misi (cat) quickly followed him and finally caught him, eating him in one big bite. All the people went after the cat, but in vain. The bride went crying to the place she had met Jararancu and cried many days there. Fro... More About: Legend
85% Yes - 15% No
2008-05-05 04:51:00 So the referendum in Santa Cruz has given a preliminary result of about 85% of the voters saying Yes to Authonomy - and 15% saying No. So it seems that there's more than four families (like our president said before in several ocassions, that only four families were the ones against the government) in Santa Cruz who disagree with the government's current roadmap.Half a million people gave their opinion in this local referendum on Authonomy which is considered illegal by the government. Nevertheless the results are worth noticing, it seems that the simplistic evaluation of the "good guys" being the leftist government and the "bad guys" all who go against it is losing it's "numeric" basis.Outsiders have to think twice before they want to put the Bolivian reality into a nice undestandable model. Reality is much more complex than even us Bolivians can grasp.This referendum is probably the first of several, since Pando, Tarija and Beni have announced their own referendums on authonomy... More About: News
Legend of the Chijchipa (white flower typical in the Andes) P1
2008-05-03 06:24:00 This legend took place a long time ago in the altiplano (highlands of the Andes ). The lizard (in Aymara called Jararancu) all the days was visited by a beutiful imilla (young girl) who took her sheep to the mountains every day. Every time the imilla played with the sheep the Jararancu noticed that he was falling in love.One day of spring Jararancu decided to disguise as a yokalla (young man) and go meet the imilla."Lulu (dear) he said, you are as beutiful as a wara wara (star), I know you for a long time and I want you to be my wife. " said the Jararancu.The imilla noticed that the yokalla moved nervously and prefered staying near rocks, but since he was rather small and seemed tolerant she thought he would make a good husband. So she spoke with her mother and convinced her he would make a good husband. There was no lack of traditions as the yokalla brought a tari (small tablecloth) filled with coca during the virst visit to his future parents in law. He also stole the aguayo (large... More About: White , Flower , Legend
Cabaña la Torre
2008-04-30 06:16:00 This is a nice place to go for a day of relax in Cochabamba . It has thermal springs, a river, a small lake and some recreation facilities. I enjoyed it last weekend and recommend it, the only con I found is that it is a bit small, but it has a lot of nice things as you can see in the photographs.The name acutally means La Torre (a last name, or the tower if you prefer the literal translation) Cabin.River running through the middle of the Cabaña la Torre.Small artificial lake where you can have a short boat ride. The place is found where the valley of Cochabamba finishes and the road to Oruro starts going through the tunari mountain range. Small place up in the trees to relax and do some sightseeing. Nearby railroad track of a once busy train track, now unused.
Ask a question about Bolivia
2008-04-24 04:31:00 Starting today on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. GMT-4 (EDT or EST+1)you can make any question about Bolivia at the Bolivia Today Chat. You may also mail your questions to bolivia.today at gmail.com and I will try to post an answer to your questions about Bolivia. More About: Question
Colonial Bridge in Sucre
2008-04-23 21:42:00 This colonial period bridge in Sucre has been remodelled several times it goes back to the start of the colonial period. I'm not sure but I think the medieval looks wasn't a part of the original design. It is found at Duero, Chuquisaca. More About: Bridge
Mr. Mario Unzueta
2008-04-22 06:52:00 About a week ago I got a question in one of the posts here:http://boliviahoy.blogspot.com/2008/ 02/famous-painters-of-bolivia-part-1.html Jimmy wanted to know about a painting his parents have from the Bolivia n artist Mario Unzueta. Although I looked for the information that Jimmy requested, I quickly understood that it was probably better to find some time to go to the Art Room in the city of Cochabamba which goes by the name of the artist.However, today it was Jaime, grandson of Mr. Mario Unzueta, who answered the question, as you can see in this copy of the comments from that post.2 comments:Jimmy said...My parents have a painting signed by Mario Unzueta that they got in the late 1950s while they were in Bolivia. They would like to know more about the painter. Where can I find more information?Jaime said...Hi Jimmy, Mr. Mario Unzueta was my grand father, hi was an excellent painter, poet and scultor. He past away in 1983. Please send me a photo of the paint and I send you all the i...
International Fair of Cochabamba 2008
2008-04-20 07:21:00 From the 26th of April to the 6th of May the XXIV International Fair of Cochabamba will take place. The fair will have approximately 650 companies from 28 countries. An estimated 255 thousand visits will visit the fair this year. The most relevant event will be the Business Table event, but other events like seminaries, product launches, courses and other activities will take place at the same time. The schedule of the event willl be from around noon to around midnight and the event will take place at the Recinto Ferial by the Alalay Lake.For more information you can visit the Fair website at:http://www.feicobol.com/ More About: News , 2008
Pairumani Ecotouristic Park
2008-04-18 07:05:00 This is a park that I visited a couple of weeks ago, it was quite a pleasent surprize to find out that this this beautiful place that I visited many years ago is now protected and well kept.This park many years ago was a propierty of Simon I. Patiño, a very rich tin baron of the early 20th century.It was part of his country house which still exists nearby, in the place called Pairumani, which is also where the park is found. In the park you can also find the remains of a hydroelectric plant which provided the Patiño country house with electricity. It is no longer working but is part of the decoration of the park, nearby there is a park for children.The park has several trails which take you up to the mountain, it is actually found at the feet of the Tunari range. There is a waterfall nearby, at around 1 kilometer.The Pairumani Ecotouristic Park is only an 45 minutes from downtown Cochabamba , quite nearby in fact. There are several places ready for campers and setting up tents, in ...
Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty? In Bolivia?
2008-04-13 17:10:00 This morning I read this very good article on the New York Times website:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13 /magazine/13anthropology-t.html?_r=1& ex=1365652800&en=3e27b9027895312f& ;ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&a mp;oref=sloginI think that in a country like Bolivia where only 70% of the population has electricity, believe or not many people have access to electric light only through other means like generators, solar energy projects or others.I am sure that mobiles could help bridge the digital gap, since here the gap is widening. In the countryside for many people time still has to do with day/night, birth/death and a more ancestral conception of time. The newtonian concept of a number representing time is still very dim for them. You can see this even in the suburban zones where for most people coming from the countryside, if you tell them to rendezvous at 5:00 p.m. and they arrive at 6:00 p.m they are sure that they are actually on time, since they arrived before ... More About: Global , Poverty , Cellphone
The Schedule of the Religious and Cultural Tour of Cochabamba
2008-04-13 01:33:00 There are more festivities than the ones I post here, and there are also food fairs, drinks fairs and others which make different tours of the valley.In this case I am posting the schedule of the Religious tour of the Cochabambine valleys.FESTIVIDAD DE LA VIRGEN DE LA CANDELARIA (Festivity of the Virgen of la Candelaria)Aiquile and Colomi 1st and 2nd of februaryCARNAVAL DE LA CONCORDIA (Concordia Carnival)CercadoCH´ALLA DEL CARNAVAL (Carnival Ch'alla)CercadoFIESTA DE SAN JOSÉ (San Jose Festivity)Quillacollo, 19th of marchSANTA VERA CRUZ TATALAValle Hermoso, 3rd of MayFESTIVITY DE SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR (Festivity of San Isidro Farmer)Tiraque, 14 y 15 de MayoFESTIVIDAD DE SAN JUAN (Festivity of Saint John)All Bolivia, 23 and 24 of juneFESTIVIDAD DE SAN PEDRO Y SAN PABLO (Festivity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul)Aiquile, Sacaba and San Benito, 29th of juneFESTIVIDAD DEL SEÑOR DE TOCO (Festivity of the Lord of Toco)Toco - 4,5 and 6 of julyFESTIVIDAD DE LA VIRGEN DEL CARMEN (Festivity of ... More About: Schedule , Tour , Cultural , Cochabamba
The house of independence in Sucre
2008-03-31 06:20:00 Bolivia proclaimed independence from Spain in 1809, but 16 years of struggle followed before the establishment of the republic.The fight for independence re-started after the Battle of Ayacucho, on December 9, 1824, as part of Bolívar's War in the Republican Campaign when Antonio José de Sucre 's republican army of 5,700 defeated José de La Serna's Royal army of 6,500 royalist (500 Spaniards soldiers). The republicans suffered more than 1,000 casualties as compared to more than 2,000 Royalist casualties and more than 2,000 captured, among them La Serna. The Spanish surrender came after the battle.After Ayacucho, the royalist troops of Pedro Antino Olañeta surrendered after Olañeta suffer and assassinate died in Tumusla, Bolivia, 2 April, 1825. It was Sucre who made the Declaration of Independence in the city which to this day bears his name.The country was named Bolivia, after Simon Bolivar, on August 6, 1825.The house where the declaration of independence of Bolivia was signed is... More About: House , The House
The Tunari Mountain
2008-03-28 05:16:00 The Tunari Mountain oversees the city of Cochabamba and is actually a mountain range which covers 412 km2 while the peak best known as "El Tunari" reaches 5036 mts over sea level.The Tunari is a symbol of Cochabamba and is frequently used as an icon of the region. You can find it on google maps here:http://www.panoramio.com/map/#lt=-17 .244151&ln=-65.648430&z=4&k=2
Festivity of San Isidro Farmer
2008-03-26 06:19:00 This festivity takes place in Tiraque during the 14th and 15th of May.Usually the night before this festivity there is a big party with lots of beers and firecrackers, the following day there is a mass in quechua. Then they take the statue of the saint from the church to the countryside to lands which are used to grow crops and a representation of plowing is done using the statue. This activity is called "llank'ada" or plowing.In fact the campesinos (or indian farmers) really believe that the Saint is an equal to them and has to work like they do in the spiritual world in order for crops to go well during that year.As you can see in the photograph below, everybody in the countryside works, even children. Unfortunelly, in Bolivia, child labor is part of rural areas and the suburban society in the cities. This due to poverty and ignorance, government laws barely exists in the countryside where every community decides what is best for them. More About: Farmer , Cochabamba
Bolivia Today Shared News
2008-03-25 05:59:00 Starting today readers of Bolivia Today will have a Shared News box to the right of the blog. These news are hand picked and will provide our readers with a selection of Bolivian news in English. News will be picked out on a daily basis from available sources.You will also see the Google News feed to the right below the Shared News box, these come out of Google News as is. Even though I think that sometimes the quality of these news are not the best, well, it's not easy to get news about Bolivia in English, so for the sake of not losing any I'll keep it on the blog.
The Santa Cruz de la Sierra Zoo
2008-03-23 06:18:00 Santa Cruz de la Sierra is found in the east part of Bolivia, it is the capital of the department of Santa Cruz . A city of a million and a half inhabitants it is well known for being the industrial muscle of Bolivia.I will give you a short tour of the Santa Cruz Zoo, which is the biggest and most complete in Bolivia. I dare say that the quality of the Zoo has gone down since its founder, Noel Kempff Mecado, died some twenty years ago. However, the amount of animals and variety of species is still beutiful to see, even though many people do oppose locking up animals just for human amusement.Some photographs of the animals which you can see at the Zoo follow: This Tucan is in a big open cage where there are several animals, so it was moving all the time making it difficult to take a shot.This jaguar has a unique story, it was trapped by ranchers because it killed cattle, several years passed before this large jaguar was caught, after eating lots of cattle. I saw five jaguar in differe... More About: Santa
Bolivian Folkloric dances - Tobas
2008-03-18 05:34:00 The tobas is a folkloric dance from Bolivia. It's a dance that derives from the indigenous people in the amazon. It was brought to the rest of Bolivia when the incas captured them, but they let them keep their costumes and traditions. More About: Dances
The Festivity of Santa Vera Cruz
2008-03-17 04:58:00 The andine cosmovision has an agricultural calendar different from the gregorian one. So, in the first days of May it starts its agricultural calendar, which closes in November with the All Saints Festivity.This start of the agricultural cycle has its greatest expression in the Santa Vera Cruz Tatala Festivity, which takes place in the town of the same name some seven kilometers from the city of Cochabamba .At the foot of the TatalaIn Santa Vera Cruz starting on the first of May until the third, campesinos (farmers)from all over the highlands and valleys participate in this reproductive ritual. Usually young couples go to this festivity to ask Christ in the cross for children. However, it is notorious that not only do they ask for human offspring but they also ask for their animals to reproduce; cows, sheep, lamas, etc.On the night from the 1st to the 2nd of May there is a procession with candles, crying or angry they usually bow before the image of the Tatala (Christ on a cross) and...
Bolivian Folkloric dances - Tinku
More articles from this author:2008-03-15 05:36:00 Tinku is a form of ritual conflict practiced by local people in Potosí, Bolivia . In a local kinship system people are divided to two halves or moieties, which have unequal status. The word "Tinku" belongs to the Quechua language and means encounter, meeting.More at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinku More About: Dances 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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