2008 Woodie Awards
International Insights
An Introduction to Bolivia
Gaby Szteinberg
Issue date: 9/29/06 Section: Features
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Senior Gaby Szteinberg is an international student from Bolivia. This is the first of a series of articles written by Lawrence international students about their respective home countries.
It has been said that you can compare Bolivia to the state of Texas because they have the same shape. Bolivia is a landlocked country in the heart of South America with an area of more than one million square kilometers, divided into nine unique departments, and containing about eight million people.
Bolivia is said to be one of the poorest countries in South America. And this is true in the economic aspect, but not at all culturally. Many indigenous tribes have passed by Bolivia.
One example is the Incas, who settled in the highlands. They established a big part of their empire in Bolivia and the surrounding areas, such as northern Argentina, Peru and Chile. Today, we are lucky that many of the things that the Incas did are still preserved.
For example, if you go to Samaipata, which means "resting place in the altitude" and is located about two hours away from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, you can visit "el Fuerte," the Fort, where you can see the place where Incas lived on the altitude.
There are some remains of the constructions where they used to live. You can also see some ladder-like structures on the hills that were used for plantations, which ensured that water would reach every crop when irrigated from the top of the hill.
The Spaniards also left a big legacy since they established themselves during the Colonial times; this is especially seen in the architecture. Sucre, the constitutional capital, is famous for having beautiful buildings that date back to the 18th century and earlier.
The Spaniards and the indigenous natives intermingled, leaving Bolivia with a lot of mestizos. However, in contrast to other South American countries, there are still many pure natives from the three major cultural groups: Aymaras, Quechuas and Guarayos.
There are many different tribes in Bolivia, but there are three general groups of people. There are the "collas," people from the highlands; the "cambas," people from the lowlands; and the "chapacos," people from the valley.
It has been said that you can compare Bolivia to the state of Texas because they have the same shape. Bolivia is a landlocked country in the heart of South America with an area of more than one million square kilometers, divided into nine unique departments, and containing about eight million people.
Bolivia is said to be one of the poorest countries in South America. And this is true in the economic aspect, but not at all culturally. Many indigenous tribes have passed by Bolivia.
One example is the Incas, who settled in the highlands. They established a big part of their empire in Bolivia and the surrounding areas, such as northern Argentina, Peru and Chile. Today, we are lucky that many of the things that the Incas did are still preserved.
For example, if you go to Samaipata, which means "resting place in the altitude" and is located about two hours away from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, you can visit "el Fuerte," the Fort, where you can see the place where Incas lived on the altitude.
There are some remains of the constructions where they used to live. You can also see some ladder-like structures on the hills that were used for plantations, which ensured that water would reach every crop when irrigated from the top of the hill.
The Spaniards also left a big legacy since they established themselves during the Colonial times; this is especially seen in the architecture. Sucre, the constitutional capital, is famous for having beautiful buildings that date back to the 18th century and earlier.
The Spaniards and the indigenous natives intermingled, leaving Bolivia with a lot of mestizos. However, in contrast to other South American countries, there are still many pure natives from the three major cultural groups: Aymaras, Quechuas and Guarayos.
There are many different tribes in Bolivia, but there are three general groups of people. There are the "collas," people from the highlands; the "cambas," people from the lowlands; and the "chapacos," people from the valley.
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