MORE MUSIC AND DANCE

EVENT IN LA PAZ

Part of the closing ceremony Infocc 2008, an international event that joined people from different countries to debate about the access and management of information. Professor Abuy Nfubea shares dance with members of the afro bolivian community in La Paz, Bolivia.

MOUNTAINS IN LA PAZ

FROM HUATAJATA

Huatajata is a town located more or less in the middle of the road that connects El Alto with Tiquina Strait. One gets there approximately after an hour of travel by bus. Huatajata is an important place because from here depart boats that connect with the islands, especially with Pariti and Suriki Islands.

IN COPACABANA

Copacabana is a town within Titicaca Lake. It is highly visited by nationals and foreigners. From this place, one may take a boat to go to the Sun and Moon Islands or to other places within the lake.
Each year on May 2 and 3 they celebrate a big event that joins folkoric groups: morenadas, tinkus, cullaguada, llamerada, etc. All the groups start dancing on the main square of Copacabana and they go dancing for about five blocks. They go up to a hill named Qolqepata. Qolqepata is an aymara word that means the place of the money. There, dancers pray and ask for prosperity.

TIQUINA STRAIT

This is Tiquina Strait. One needs to cross this strait if one wants to go to Copacabana City, to the Sun and Moon Islands and to other islands.

One takes a minibus from La Paz to Tiquina and after about two hours one is in Tiquina. Then, one needs to buy a ticket to take a boat to cross the strait.

On the other border, one may take a taxi or a minibus to go to Copacabana. For me this is the best way to go to Copacabana.

One thing to take into account: one may cross the strait up to 21:00, but there are times when it is closed at 5:00 in the afternoon, especially in windy or rainy times.

One day, I crossed it at 20:00 and it was really cold but as a gift I had the pleasure to see the stars shining beautifully.

In Chiripa

Yesterday, I had to visit an arqueological site located in Chiripa. After travelling by bus about two hours and other hours walking unfortunately, I couldn´t visit it because it was closed. Instead I could enjoy a beautiful landscape. Chiripa is on the border of Wiñay Marka which is known as the minor Lake within Titicaca Lake.

A rural town

Last Wednesday I was in Pajana, a little rural town near Titicaca Lake. There, I found to Victor Taquile. He told me he is 77 years old and that he lives with his wife in that town. “My daughter lives in La Paz and my sons in Lima”, he said.
I asked him to take a picture. Fortunately, he allowed me to take the picture.

I had a had work trying to find a person in that town. Finally, I couldn´t and I had to go back. When walking in the town I saw a man coming with two donkeys carrying totora on their backs. Totora is a kind of plant that grows in the lake and is used to feed cows.