Salar de Uni

Coca, coca, coca

Valle de Luna

I just got back from a really sweet trip to Cochabamba and the Chapare.  Cochabamba is in the middle of Bolivia and became pretty famous in 2000 for its protests against the privatization of water.  It’s a really interesting history, and it was so so cool to be in a place that I had heard and read so much about.  Although the city “won” the Water War, the issue of distributing clean water to everyone has not been solved.  We met with lots of different sorts of people that are working really hard to create some sort of a solution.  Yet, in comes down to the simple fact that there isn’t enough water.  Sounds pretty familiar right?  Bolivia has added the policy of Vivir Bien to its new constitution, and while it doesn’t magically fix the problems, it offers an interesting ideology for a solution.  There are a lot of discussions and debates about what Vivir Bien means, but it seems to me that it represents that people live well, but do not live in excess.  The name does not signify living better, but just living well.  We need to have choice in our life, but we do not need to always be looking for greener grass.  One of the women that we spoke with explained this ideology really beautifully and it was really inspiring.  It’s not really something I thought of in the US because I often felt the need (pressure maybe?) to be aspiring for something grander.  Yet, this is not possible, especially when everyone has this mentality.  Also though, the woman acknowledged that this discourse of Vivir Bien is an ideal.  However, that that is not bad because we need an ideal to hope for.  I have no idea how these ideas will actually effect policy, but I was really impressed that the government had chosen to add this to their constitution. 

After a couple days in Cochabamba we drove to the Chapare.  It was about a 5 hour drive over the hill and into the jungle!  The ride was really supposed to be 3 hours but we got stuck in really bad fog.  Actually, it would be described better as TERRIFYING fog!! It was so bad that to see the road, the guide had the door open and was shinning a flashlight out to try and make out the edge of the cliff! But it was definitely worth it because the jungle was soooo cool!! Besides enjoying the awesome landscapes, we went there because that region is one of the main places where coca is grown in Bolivia.  They’ve had a very political history, and for a long time the area was militarized and heavily regulated by the US (directly and indirectly).  Only 5 years ago did most of the growing of coca there become legal.  While coca is a very useful plant and is an essential ingredient for many products outside of cocaine, it is very obvious that there is a lot more coca being cultivated then could possibly be used for these products.  There is definitely a gap there that is filled by the use of coca for drugs.  It’s a very tricky area and it was super interesting to learn about what’s being done and meet some of the local people and how they’re responding to the issue.  And we got to go swimming in a sweet river!

Last weekend I had an experience that I would have never imagined would have been part of my trip to Bolivia.  The host mother of a friend of mine likes to learn about other religions (besides Catholicism) and this exploration includes practicing metaphysics.  It turns out that 10-10-10 was a HUGE day for the metaphysic world and so my friend’s mom invited whoever was interested to join her metaphysic ceremony to absorb all the energy of that very special day.  I know next to nothing about metaphysics, but that made me even more curious, and so I spent last Sunday at Lake Titicaca chanting with a group of Bolivians. 

I learned  (but mind, this is a Spanish translation of what I could understand) that 10-10-10 represents the shift in energy in the universe that will end on 12-12-12.  The earth’s energy is moving from the male chakra in Tibet to the female chakra in Lake Titicaca.  Thus, the Lake was full of very strong energy on 10-10-10. 

It was about an hour and a half bus ride to the edge of the Lake, and when we arrive they set up a table with a crystal ball in the center for everyone to gather around.  The ceremony began with everyone holding hands and the blasting of some music that sounded like a mix between the Final Countdown and Star Wars.  Then, we opened our hands to the sky and chanted to receive the energy from the world.  There was lighting of candles, and meditation, and hugging.  The best part of the ceremony was that it ended with a meal of fresh lake trout!  While it was an interesting day, the experience felt a bit like I was in a middle of a crazy cult.  The leader was very much in control of everything, and he also seemed in control of everyone.  Also, while it was “new age” religion, it very strongly resembled Christianity except that they had more liberty to pick and choose what they wanted to believe.  It was a very unique day!

I was on the radio the other day!

We’ve been learning about El Alto this past week and so we spent last Saturday exploring the city with Marco Quispe ( one of the coolest guys ever!) who also happens to have his own radio show.  El Alto is the city directly above La Paz.  The cities growth has exploded in the last 30 years or so, and now it’s bigger than La Paz and officially the second largest city in Bolivia.  A large majority of the population are migrants, generally either people leaving the mines or leaving the country with the hope of finding a “better life” in the city.  Consequently, El Alto has become a very interesting place as the different cultures have mixed and responded to modernity.  One of the dominant characteristics of the city is its practice of organization.  There is a union for everything! And these unions have power.  The strength of the city’s ability to organize was demonstrated in the Gas War of 2003 when the city protested and ultimately caused the president to flee the country. (Fun fact: the ex-president now lives in the US)  That was a very very vague summation, and by no means did it do the city justice.  I would definitely recommend looking up the city or at least Wikipedia-ing it because it is such a cool place!!

Anyways, to get back to the part about me becoming a radio star in Bolivia, Marco, who was giving us the city tour, has a radio show every Saturday morning on Radio Pachamama.  Each show Marco interviews different people in El Alto and of course also plays folkloric Bolivian music.  So… this weekend, while we were driving around in a minibus, we were also being interviewed live!  He asked us question about what we thought of Bolivia, of El Alto, of Evo, of Obama… and he pressured one of the kids to sing a song!  I was soooo relieved it wasn’t me!

Marco is very involved in his barrio and we ended up at a cultural center in his community that has been sponsored by Banco Sol to develop sport, dance, and music programs.  When we walked in the orchestra was rehearsing a piece by Beethoven.  It was really impressive!