Bolivia Local Customs

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Traditions and festivals   La Paz

Traditions and festivals, La Paz

 7 Reviews  This is a traditional festival which happens once a year. there are plenty of dancer that choose to dance a lot of sort of dances. i can name some of them: morenada, diablada, tobas, tinkus, pujllays,... 

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My Pachamama Works!

by AlbuqRay

I was in Cusco, Peru, when political demonstrations closed the airport in La Paz. I ended up flying to Lima and then Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to catch my flight back to the USA. I never made it back to La Paz; however, I had stored a suitcase there at the Hotel Rosario. It had many things in it, including the Pachamama that I got at the Witches' Market. My tour company said they would ship the suitcase back to me. It was the middle of October when I left Bolivia. My suitcase arrived safely in Albuquerque the day after Christmas. I bought the Pachamama for a safe journey. I would say it definitely worked for both me and my suitcase.

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Uyuni : Mummified - Momifie

by Maillekeul

Next to the salt hotel of Atulchi, you may visit a small cavern where some mummies were discovered. Among them, a bucket, in which the mummified skeleton of a baby is resting. Yeah, kids should always be shut in buckets !!!Pres de l'hotel de sel d'Atulchi, on peut visiter une petite caverne ou des momies ont ete decouvertes. Parmi elles,un seau renferme le squelette d'un bebe momie. Ouais, j'ai tujours pense ausi que les gosses devraient etre enfermes dans des seaux !!!

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Spanish Broom

by AlbuqRay

A plant that you see in many places at high elevation is what I call Spanish Broom (Spartium junceum). I actually have one in my yard in New Mexico. In Bolivia it is used as a landscape plant, but it is an introduced plant that you also see growing wild. It is drought resistant and has bright yellow flowers. The Aymaras believe you can make a tea from the flowers and bathe in it to bring good fortune. However, if you are not of good heart, it can bring the opposite.

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Fetish Basket

by AlbuqRay

Each witch in the market has her own basket of fetishes for strength, protection and healing, much like the Indian fetishes where I live in New Mexico. Well, we don't have the llama fetuses in New Mexico.

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Witches

by tini58de

The witches' market in La Paz exists as evidence of the strong belief in tradition and mythology to be found in Bolivia. What is first seen as merely an accumulation of indistinguishable clutter is, on further exploration and attention, perceived to be a fascinating collection of remedies, good luck charms, trinkets, spells, potions and stuffed animals. You can come here with any problem - an ailment, or simply a hope for better fortune, wisdom, good luck or protection - and with the right guidance you can walk away contentedly, patting a solution in your pocket, whether it be a ceramic charm to watch over you or even a llama foetus to bring good fortune to a new building! The "witch" that we visited, was a wonderful Bolivian lady and nothing like the ugly witch in many of the fairy tale books here! It was a great adventure meeting her!

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Religion and Tradition

by tini58de

Copacabana holds the famous "Dark Virgin of Copacabana" in its great colonial renaissance-style church, with other influences such as Indian baroque and Moorish. This mixture can not only be found in the architecture, but also in the religious beliefs, that mingle the Holy Virgin and the Pachamama as the same person!Outside the church you can find so many stalls selling candles, flowers and other things for your pilgrimage.

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Ancient traditions

by andal13

The cult to ancient gods, like Pachamama (mother Earth), still remains in Bolivia: the picture shows a kallawaya (priest) giving an offering to Pachamama at Isla del Sol (Sun Island). La Paz has a street called Calle de los Brujos (Conjurers' Street) where there are several stalls where people can buy things to make their own offerings, to ask for a job, health or love.El culto a dioses antiguos, como la Pachamama (madre tierra), aún permanecen en Bolivia: la foto muestra a un kallawaya (sacerdote) haciendo una ofrenda a la Pachamama en la Isla del Sol. En La Paz hay una calle llamada Calle de los Brujos en donde se encuentran numerosos puestos en donde la gente puede comprar elementos para hacer sus propias ofrendas, para pedir un trabajo, salud o amor.

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Desfilo

by utttz

desfilo seems to be the main activity all around bolivia... at least at august. To have a desfilo you need:a group of desfiling companies made of1) several dancers2) a D&B band (I mean Drums and Brass but they're playing loops as well)3) a walking coreography4) fancy dresses5) lot of reharsal.actually reharsal are much more interesting to see than the real desfilo as you've much more time to understand the coreography and you can also have a lot of fun looking kids trying to imitate the grown up.

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the most annoying part of the rubbish

by utttz

plastic, the world is not a basurero! in villa serrano before leaving the "restaurant" I went all down the street to "post" two empty bottles in the basurero.... and coming back I heard an old lady saying to someone near her "mira la disciplina...."... it's not disciplina it's just I do not like plastic .-)

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annoying rubbish

by utttz

unfortunately plastic is quite a problem here. If the first part of the rubbish recycling is quite good, eliminating almost all the biodegradable stuff plastic remains free to move and accumulate somewhere.even biodegradable is quite a matter in high bolivia as in a cold, no humidity ambient organic things tend to mummificate instead of decomposing.pigs are quite a good answer for biodegradables :-)

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Local traditions and culture in Bolivia

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Local Customs: Cities in Bolivia
  1. La Paz Local Customs
  2. Uyuni Local Customs
  3. Santa Cruz Local Customs
  4. Cochabamba Local Customs
  5. Tiahuanaco Local Customs
  6. Santa Cruz de la Sierra Local Customs
  7. Sucre Local Customs
  8. Copacabana Local Customs
  9. Isla del Sol Local Customs
  10. Potosí Local Customs
  11. Copacabana Local Customs
  12. Trinidad Local Customs
  13. Oruro Local Customs
  14. Coquesa Local Customs
  15. Sorata Local Customs
  16. Vallegrande Local Customs
  17. Aiquile Local Customs

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Departamento de La Paz Local Customs  Departamento de Potosí Local Customs  Departamento de Cochabamba Local Customs  Departamento de Tarija Local Customs  Departamento de Santa Cruz Local Customs  Departamento de Chuquisaca Local Customs  Departamento del Beni Local Customs  Departamento de Oruro Local Customs 

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Questions and Answers

annakolesen profile photo

Q:  Hi. Can anyone help me with the best way to get from La Paz to Salar de Uyuni to Arica? We plan to take a 2-4 day tour in... 

AlbuqRay profile photo

A: Anna, I don't actually know how to do it but when I did the Salar de Uyuni tour in 2003, there was a Dutch couple that got off at the little station near Laguna Blanco... 

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