The Other Twin Cities

Two Sundays ago, we ventured to the La Paz area. Day one, we went to Tiawanku ruins. It was the site of a massive Incan empire thousands of years ago. Very impressive and mind blowing.
Since then, we have been mostly in La Paz, the highest capital in the world, at about 12,000 ft. It is much different than Cochabamba. There is a more of a big city feel to it, due to the sky scrapers and because there are people selling things on the street all the time, really early in the morning to late at night. I haven´t seen that as much in Cocha. The streets are also really really inclined. I went running one morning and had two choices straight up now, or straight up later. The city is built in kind of a bowl. The lower you go, the more wealthy the area is. As you move out from the center, you also move into lower class neighborhoods. There is a large disparity between the rich and the poor here, much due to the vast amount of international corporations there. La Paz is also much more touristy, there are tons of markets and shops that cater to the backpacking gringo. Our hotel was really nice and in this part of town.

In La Paz, we did a lot a lot a lot of things. We spoke to a famous movie director, went the World Bank in Bolivia, spoke to Mujeres Creando--a feminist organization, and Mamani Mamani, the most famous artist in Bolivia. All of it was incredible. The World Bank was very interesting. We asked the representative a lot of questions. He was very nice and very good with words, answering our questions without actually answering our questions about the implications of the organization. Mamani Mamani was fantastic as well. His work is known for its explosive colors and interpretations of Ayamara indigenous life. We went to his studio, bought a lot of souvenouirs and heard him talka about his work. A lot of us had him sign the things we bought and he did a portrait of every person. One afternoon I also explored a little bit with a few friends. We found the capital building, which was beautiful and mostly just walked around. We met a 3 or 4 about 80 or 90 year old men and some of them served in ww2 in Germany. We chatted with them for quite a while. The friendliness of Bolivians is everywhere.

One day we also went to El Alto, a growing city above La Paz. I was told both have about 1 million people. It is almost all indigenous Ayamara who have come to the city to work. Many who live in El Alto, work in La Paz for the rich mestizos (mixed) or blancos (white people) as maids, construction workers, etc., or on the streets selling merchandise. We visited the public university in El Alto to talk to some of its students. They were awesome. So full of passion for social change. There were murals all over their university and I could defnitely feel their energy. They were also extremely friendly and we talked mostly about politics and dancing. Being there, I felt like the future of Bolivia is in good hands, as long as these students continue their dedication to their cause. We also visited an organization called "Teatro del Trono" (Trono Theatre). Trono is a neighborhood in El Alto and the theater serves as place for neighborhood youth to create their own theater, dance, music, art, video, etc. productions. The organization is so full of life and even their building has spirit. There were about 5 or 6 floors, including the roof where you can see incredible views of the city and the mountains.

Both of these cities were incredibly fun and intersting. I would have liked to get to spend a little more time in each of them, to really get to know them better. I´ll try to post some picture slater. The next day we were off to Toquoli, the pueblo en el campo, but that is a whole other adventure...