BoliviaMap
January Crossing the Peru—Bolivia border is a cinch. ![]() Bolivia is an utterly astonishing country. On the one hand, it’s Christian and has the cult of Christmas. ![]() On the other hand, it’s also totally pagan and celebrates the cult of death. Every home has a skull. No joke—literally every single family owns a skull. On the eighth of November, the skull must be taken to the church cemetery and given alcohol to drink. ![]() There are special statues everywhere to which offerings are brought. Some people leave money, others leave other kinds of small gifts. On the first Monday of every month, you’re supposed to put a burning cigarette in the doll’s mouth. ![]() Every first Friday of the month, a sacrifice to Mother Earth must be burned. Usually these consist of thematic sugar tablets with pictures on them. The pictures can relate to any topic, from office life to family problems. ![]() Whenever a Bolivian has an important matter to deal with, he goes to a special shop and buys a dried llama fetus. This is a ritual sacrifice: the llama is a symbol of life, and life is precious. The llama fetus must be placed in a woven basket with the appropriate sugar tablets and other knick-knacks and burned. Then the matter will be resolved successfully. When there are no important matters to attend to, only pictures are burned. ![]() Whenever a Bolivian buys a car (doesn’t matter if it’s new or used), he always brings it to church for a blessing ceremony. Putting a hat on top of the car is a must. ![]() Decorating the hood and doors with flowers is also a must. You also have to drink some beer or wine. Now you can drive your new car without worries. ![]() Stickers on the windshield. ![]() A license plate. ![]() The country is beautiful. ![]() A second official flag with a rainbow pixel pattern was recently approved. ![]() Steep incline. ![]() A Bolivian cow. ![]() A sign with a boom gate on it indicates a toll booth. ![]() Gas station. ![]() The boy is always holding the girl by the crook of the elbow on the “Children” sign. ![]() A pedestrian crossing with an excessively detailed depiction of the crosswalk. ![]() No horn tooting. ![]() All taxis have stickers with their license number on their sides (like in Peru or Colombia). ![]() A Bolivian feature: most end walls on houses are stepped at the top, even though the roof is usually hipped. ![]() A PSA about water pollution. ![]() Every self-respecting middle-aged woman has to get gold frames for her teeth, even if her teeth have no intention of falling out (like in Guatemala or Tonga). ![]() Bolivia is the only country in the world where women wear late-19th-century British men’s bowler hats. It just became a tradition somehow. ![]() Every woman looks like Charlie Chaplin or Winston Churchill. On no account should you pull your hat down over your head—it must sit perched at the top as if it were resting on a table. ![]() El AltoMapThe mountain above the capital is occupied by a slum bearing the name El Alto (“The Heights”). ![]() Here, the material from which the houses and fences are built says everything about the level of prosperity. At first, there was no money, so they built out of clay. Then, money appeared, and they could afford brick. ![]() Most of the buildings are unfinished. ![]() Those that have been finished exemplify popular taste. ![]() Local residents. ![]() The city has a reputation for being somewhat seedy. ![]() Effigies with the words “Those who steal will be killed” hang on nearly every corner. ![]() These shouldn’t be confused with the figure of Santa Claus hanging from the window. ![]() There are mines nearby. ![]() The miners’ cemetery is interesting in its own right. ![]() A view of the capital opens up from the mountain. ![]() La PazMapA view of the mountain opens up from the capital. La Paz is one of the few cities in the world where poor people live up on the mountainside and the rich occupy the lowlands. ![]() The city is quite developed. ![]() Half the houses are surrounded with walls and fences, like in Lima. ![]() A payphone. ![]() A trash can. ![]() A city bus. ![]() A street urinal (just like in the Netherlands). ![]() A slanted dumpster. ![]() Repairs are being carried out on one of the streets. ![]() A traffic light. ![]() Bollards. ![]() A gorgeous side of a bench. ![]() A woman selling fabric and skirts. Every respectable Bolivian woman wears as many as thirty skirts at once. ![]() A man selling peeled oranges. The stuff in the foreground is peels. ![]() Many students earn extra cash on the side as shoe shiners. Because they’re embarrassed to be shining shoes, they work in masks so that no one can recognize them. ![]() Bolivia is an utterly astonishing country. |
december–january
|
december–january
|
january 2013
Bolivia
← Ctrl →
|
january
|
january
|
© 19952025 Artemy Lebedev |