Learn Spanish Abroad - Culture of Bolivia
Bolivia has a Native American population which mixed Spanish and West and Central African cultural elements with their ancestors' traditions. The Spanish-speaking population mainly follows the Western customs.
The Spanish brought their own tradition of religious art which, in the hands of local native and mestizo builders and artisans, developed into a rich and distinctive style of architecture, painting, and sculpture known as "Mestizo Baroque". The colonial period produced not only the paintings of Pérez de Holguín, Flores, Bitti, and others but also the works of skilled but unknown stonecutters, woodcarvers, goldsmiths, and silversmiths. An important body of native baroque religious music of the colonial period was recovered in recent years and has been performed internationally to wide acclaim since 1994.
Bolivian artists of stature in the twentieth century include Guzmán de Rojas, Arturo Borda, María Luisa Pacheco, Roberto Mamani Mamani, Alejandro Mario Yllanes, and Marina Núñez del Prado.
Entertainment includes football, which is the national sport, as well as table football, which is played on street corners by both children and adult
Festivals
Bolivia has a rich folklore. Its regional folk music is distinctive and varied. Pagan rites from the pre-Columbian era are still common during the religious festivals of the Indians. The clothing used during the festivals reminds the visitor of the pre-Columbian Indians and the 16th century Spaniards. The devil dances at the annual "Carnival of Oruro" are amongst the great folkloric events of South America, as are the lesser known indigenous Anata Andina and the "carnival" at Tarabuco (Pujllay) or the Tinku-fertility rites held at Macha every 3rd of May. The "Carnival de Oruro" was even among the first 19 "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity," as proclaimed by the UNESCO in May 2001.
Back to the top |
 |
Music
Bolivia's regional folk music is distinctive and varied. In the Andean regions music is played during the festivals and the dances. Some tunes contain strong Spanish influences.
Back to the top |
Dances
Many dances and songs contain elements from both the native and the European cultures. Caporales seems to be the most popular Bolivian dance of present times– in a few decades it developed into an enormous popular dance, not only in the Highlands, where it comes from, but also in the Lowlands and in the Bolivian communities outside the country. In the Highlands other traditional and still very popular dances are e.g. the Morenada or the Kullawada.
|
Clothing
It is fashionable among Bolivian Andean women of indigenous descent to wear a skirt called a pollera. It was originally a Spanish peasant skirt that the colonial authorities forced the indigenous women to wear. Now it is also a symbol of pride in being indigenous and is also considered a status symbol.
Another fashion is the bowler hat, which was adopted from the British. The position of the hat can indicate a woman's marital status and aspirations.
Back to the top |
|
Society
Religion
- Most Bolivians are born into Roman Catholicism.
- Religion tends to be a female dominated activity in terms of attending church and the like.
- Catholicism to some extent has been "localized" as it became intertwined with local folklore and customs in its early years of taking root in the country.
The Family
- The family is the axis of the social life and structure.
- Families are very tight knit and in rural areas, many generations still often live together in one house.
- The extended family or "familia" serves as a strong support and network system.
- Roles within the family are very traditional - "Machismo" is very much alive.
- The wife is generally responsible for domestic duties whereas the husband with be the bread winner.
- The machismo mentality often translates into a feeling of male superiority and a strong sense of honor which means maintaining face/dignity at all cost.
Classes
- Due to Bolivia's history a number of differing ethnic groups have converged which now form a class system.
- Bolivia is basically made up of a small number of whites, a larger group of 'mestizos' (intermarriage of whites with indigenous Indians), a majority of native Indians ('Quechua' or 'Aymara') and a small number of blacks who are descended from the slaves imported during the Spanish colonial period.
- Traditionally the whites’ minority occupy the top rung on the class ladder. This is mainly due to socioeconomic factors rather than skin color.
Back to the top |
.
|
