Weird and Wonderful La Paz: Bolivia’s Capital City

When our Latin American adventure was in its planning stages, La Paz was little more than a convenient starting point for more exotic travels in the region. But a few hours into our stay in the city, when I indulged in the habitual game of ‘what other place does this place remind me of’, the query returned no matches. Given La Paz’s distinctive terrain and even more distinctive culture, it was hardly a surprising outcome.

Situated at an elevation of 3650m, La Paz has numerous highests to its credit. Soon enough, and emphatically so, the city made it known that this is not some schoolbook statistic that gets thrown around for effect. When you are lolling around in your sea-level home dreaming about the upcoming Andean vacation, altitude sickness doesn’t occur to you as anything more than a minor inconvenience. Until you get there. Despite the precautions (medication, hydration, rest) the symptoms were definitely palpable – brutal for a day, but manageable for the remainder of the time, thanks to the copious amounts of coca tea we consumed.

Indigenous culture in La Paz is not something one goes to check out in a museum or cultural show. It is everywhere. So much so that the ‘best things to do’ in the city are anything but standard issue. Sure there is the charming old town with San Francisco church, Plaza Murillo and other nooks and crannies. But what sets La Paz apart are the ubiquitous manifestations of their Aymara (and Quechua) heritage that permeate all facets of life, from the banal to the esoteric. And when mixed with the city’s unique topography, it makes for one heady cocktail of a destination.

 

 

The Cemetery

Traditional Bolivians see death as merely another stage of life and believe that for five years after their demise, the deceased prefer to hang around near their loved ones. There cannot be a better proof of walking this talk than at La Paz’s main cemetery – Cementerio General.

The last cemetery I visited as a traveller, La Recoleta in Buenos Aires, was all columns, marble and restrained opulence. The one in La Paz couldn’t be more different, though no less fascinating. So what if the lack of space meant the graves are stacked one on top of the other, it was above all else a resting place for loved ones. There were gifts of football jerseys, cigarettes and favourite tipples placed gingerly in individual graves to ensure that the dear departed still had their indulgences right at hand. Doing away with the solemn whites, the cemetery walls are decorated with vibrant street art (some quite risqué at that) and on Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) every year, there’s a mega party in the cemetery grounds, chockfull with Mariachi bands, merriment and free-range children!

 

 

 

Commuter Cable Cars

While in the rest of the world, cable cars are a thing for tourists, in Latin America they are a popular system of mass transit. With five lines (and a few more in the pipeline) the network in La Paz is the highest and longest in the world.

La Paz’s high altitude is made even made more challenging by the hilly nature of the city. Houses and establishments are built along different levels and even nipping out to buy just a coffee could mean huffing and puffing through steep cobbled stairways. Conventional modes of public transport therefore don’t quite cut it beyond a point. The cable cars, or Mi Teleférico as they are locally known, provide a cheap (3 Bolivianos/0.45 USD per ride) and efficient means of transportation, and riding one is now a quintessentially La Paz thing to do.

 

 

 

Shaman Street and Witches Market

Belief in spirits and otherworldly powers is widespread, and in El Alto, La Paz’s grungier sister city located a cable car ride away, there is an entire street dedicated to yatiris or local shamans. Yatiris are believed to have acquired their mystical status from having survived a lightning strike and are consulted on all matters, big and small. Our guide brought us to his preferred yatiri – a burning flame outside his shanty indicating that he was available for consultation. I was warned that as the yatiri was pretty accurate in his predictions, it was in my best interests to refrain from topics that were of a sensitive nature. Inside the dimly-lit shed, a cheery middle-aged man sat perched on a low bench. Upon hearing my name and question, he murmured a short incantation, threw a handful of coca leaves into the air, keenly observed the pattern in which the leaves fell back on the bench and made his prediction.

More than half the population in La Paz is believed to consult yatiris on a regular basis. They work in close association with brouhas or witches, who operate out of multiple markets spread across the city. The brouhas have an array of fascinating pre-packaged as well as made-to-order concoctions to help overcome a wide range of malaises. There are blessed talismans you could pop into your wallet to attract love, charms you could place around the house for familial harmony, and a whole variety of offerings you could make to Mother Earth, Pachamama. Top among these are llama foetuses and dead baby llamas, which are buried after purchase to ensure success. However, for a mammoth project with much at stake, offerings need to be not of the four-legged variety, but the two-legged!

Human sacrifice stories abound, and with our city sensibilities, the natural instinct was to dismiss them as mere urban legend. The existence of the practice was, however, corroborated by many supposed insiders, with the hearsay being that homeless junkies who are on the verge of drinking/drugging themselves to death are often targeted for the purpose.

 

 

 

Views Views Everywhere

La Paz is located in an Andean canyon with the Altiplanic mountains forming a fringe around it. The base  of the canyon is reserved for official buildings and more affluent dwellings, and the vast majority inhabit houses that are built into the vertical elevation rising from the depression – boxy homes of uniform proportions, giving the city its distinctive appearance and sandy hue.

This translates to a plethora of breathtaking views into the base from the top, as well as from various stops along the way up. On a clear day, the vistas are further accentuated by the snowy tops of the Huayna Potosi and Illimani peaks in the background. Mirador Kili Kili and the El Alto cable car station are two of the most popular lookouts. However, thanks to the labyrinth of roads winding through the elevation, you never have to go in search of a viewpoint or a belvedere, as the next great view, in all likelihood, is just around the corner.

 

 

Cholitas Wrestling

Come Sunday afternoon, after a spot of shopping at the sprawling El Alto market, families make their way to the nearby Multifunctional de la Ceja to catch some local wrestling, à la Mexico’s famous Lucha Libre. Much like the Lucha Libre, these bouts too are bizarre, choreographed and over-the-top but with one difference – the prize fighters are all women. With their flouncy skirts, shawls and bowler hats, the Cholitas (indigenous women) take to the ring amidst much fanfare and pummel the daylights out of each other, with the men relegated to campy supporting acts.

This ‘sport’ is as local as it gets but the best seats on the house, next to the ring, were reserved for us tourists. And with good reason too. The locals have learnt from experience that sitting too close to the fight could mean being doused in sweet drinks, forced to take sides, or made to serve as a landing pad for an airborne Cholita. The hair-pulling and slapping gets downright primeval at times, and though this may not be everyone’s idea of weekend entertainment, the spirit behind these fights cannot be disputed. Cholitas were subject to much oppression in society and violence at home, and these bouts were initially conceptualised as an outlet for their pent-up angst, in addition to providing them with a means of livelihood.

 

 

 

It would hardly be hyperbole to state that, for a visitor to the city, La Paz is defined by its elevation and culture. They are to La Paz what water is to Sydney – hard to ignore, in your face and integral to one’s experience of the city. Which is why, just two days into your stay, when you find yourself hauling your overworked lungs up precipitous alleys in search of a brouha for your coca leaves supply, you realise you could only be in La Paz.

 

Fact File:

• Bolivia has two capital cities. La Paz is the administrative capital while Sucre is the constitutional one.
• All the sights and activities mentioned above are doable independently, but it does help to have a local guide. Many companies offer group and private tours taking in some or all of the above. We chose Redcap.
• Coca leaves, the raw material for cocaine production, has been the subject of much debate in Latin America. Local farmers and politicians continue to defend their right to grow coca, as they are an integral part of Andean life and the go-to remedy for altitude sickness.
• Altitude sickness affects people differently. The intensity varies, but if not acclimatised, a majority will experience some symptoms for a couple of days.