Culture of Bolivia
Encyclopedia
Bolivia
is a country in South America located at the Andes
mountain
s. It has a Native American
population which mixed Spanish
cultural
elements with their ancestors' tradition
s. The Spanish-speaking population mainly follows the Western customs.
The cultural development of what is present-day Bolivia is divided into three distinct periods: pre-Columbian, colonial, and republican. Important archaeological ruins, gold and silver ornaments, stone monuments, ceramics, and weavings remain from several important pre-Columbian cultures. Major ruins include Tiwanaku
, Samaipata
, Incallajta
, and Iskanwaya
. The country abounds in other sites that are difficult to reach and hardly explored by archaeologists.
The Spanish brought their own tradition of religious art which, in the hands of local indigenous 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 Perez de Holguin, 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 20th century include, among others, Guzman de Rojas, Arturo Borda, Maria Luisa Pacheco
, Master William Vega, Alfredo Da Silva
, and Marina Núñez del Prado
.
rites from the pre-Columbian era are still common during the religious festivals of the Natives.
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.
s and song
s 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
In the Lowlands there are
. 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.
(FBF), which controls the national teams. The FBF organises the Men's
, Women's
, and Futsal
national teams.
The Bolivian national football team
is currently ranked 65th in the world, with their best FIFA ranking being 18th in the world. The national team has competed at 3 FIFA World Cups, 23 Copa América Championships, and 1 Confederations Cup.
FIFA World Cup
Appearances 3 (First in 1930
)
Best result Round 1, 1930
, 1950
, and 1994
Copa América
Appearances 23 (First in 1926)
Best result Winners, 1963
Confederations Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1999)
Best result Round 1, 1999
Rugby
Rugby union
in Bolivia
is a minor but growing Sport.
List of Bolivian Sports people
Famous Bolivian Cyclists:
Famous Bolivian Chess players:
Famous Bolivian Runners:
Famous Bolivian Skiers:
Famous Bolivian Tennis players:
Famous Bolivian Swimmers:
Famous Bolivian Shooters:
More information on Bolivian Football:
is played during the festivals and the dances. Some tunes contain strong Spanish
influences.
The most common musical instrument
s are:
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
is a country in South America located at the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s. It has a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
population which mixed Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
cultural
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
elements with their ancestors' tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
s. The Spanish-speaking population mainly follows the Western customs.
The cultural development of what is present-day Bolivia is divided into three distinct periods: pre-Columbian, colonial, and republican. Important archaeological ruins, gold and silver ornaments, stone monuments, ceramics, and weavings remain from several important pre-Columbian cultures. Major ruins include Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku, is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, South America. Tiwanaku is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important precursors to the Inca Empire, flourishing as the ritual and administrative capital of a major state power for approximately five...
, Samaipata
Samaipata, Bolivia
The town of Samaipata is located in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Samaipata is a Quechua word that means: The Height to Rest. With its delightful subtropical climate and an altitude of 1600-1800 m it tempts foreigners to settle...
, Incallajta
Incallajta
Incallajta is a monumental Inca site in central Bolivia, Cochabamba Department, Carrasco Province, Pocona Municipality, approximately 130 kilometers east of Cochabamba. It was most recently excavated by Larry Coben...
, and Iskanwaya
Iskanwaya
Iskanwaya is a pre-Columbian sacred site, situated on a mountain ridge above the Río Llica in Bolivia, 325 km north of La Paz. In its extension and its age Iskanwaya surpasses Machu Picchu in Peru, but its less well preserved.- Location :...
. The country abounds in other sites that are difficult to reach and hardly explored by archaeologists.
The Spanish brought their own tradition of religious art which, in the hands of local indigenous 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 Perez de Holguin, 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 20th century include, among others, Guzman de Rojas, Arturo Borda, Maria Luisa Pacheco
Maria Luisa Pacheco
María Luisa Pacheco was a Bolivian painter who emigrated to the United States.-Biography:Born at La Paz, she studied at the local Academia de Bellas Artes, later becoming a member of the faculty. In the late 1940s and until 1951, she worked at the newspaper La Razón as an illustrator and as the...
, Master William Vega, Alfredo Da Silva
Alfredo Da Silva
Alfredo Da Silva is a painter, graphic artist, and photographer, known for his abstract expressionism. He came to international prominence in 1959.- Biography :...
, and Marina Núñez del Prado
Marina Núñez del Prado
Marina Núñez del Prado was a celebrated Bolivian sculptor.Marina Núñez del Prado was one of the most respected sculptors from Latin America. Her work is highly sensuous, with rolling curves. She carved from native Bolivian woods, as well as black granite, alabaster, basalt and white onyx...
.
Festivals
PaganPaganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
rites from the pre-Columbian era are still common during the religious festivals of the Natives.
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
Carnaval de Oruro
The Carnival of Oruro is a more than 2000 year old religious celebration that, through creativity, continuity, and ritual, came to constitute a model of "Masterpieces of Oral Heritage and Intangible Heritage of Humanity...
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
Tinku
Tinku, an Andean tradition, began as a form of ritualistic combat. It is native to the northern region of Potosí in Bolivia. In the language of Quechua, the word “tinku” means encounter. In the language of Aymara it means “physical attack.” During this ritual, men and women from different...
-fertility rites held at Macha every 3rd of May.
Dances
Many danceDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
s and song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s contain elements from both the native and the European cultures. Caporales
Caporales
Caporales is a traditional Bolivian dance originating in the Department of La Paz, Bolivia; it was created and presented to the public for the first time in 1969 by the Estrada brothers, who were inspired in the Afro-Bolivian Saya character of the Caporal, a dance that belongs to the region of the...
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
- MorenadaMorenadaThe Morenada is a music and dance style from the Bolivian Andes characterized by a mixture of African and native elements...
- KullawadaKullawadaThe Kullawada is an Aymara folklore dance that is part of the Bolivia Andean culture. Originating in the region around the Lake Titicaca, it is traditional to be danced among alpaca and sheep wool weavers. The dancers wear colorful, elaborately decorated costumes for the dance, which is meant to...
- DiabladaDiabladaThe Diablada or Danza de los Diablos , is a dance characterized by the mask and devil suit wore by the performers. Traditional of Oruro in the Bolivian Altiplano and in the Peruvian Puno department, the dance is a mixture of religious theatrical presentations brought from Spain and Andean religious...
- Ch´utas
- Waka Waka-or they prefer Waca Waca
- Doctorcitos
- Suri Sicuri
- TinkuTinkuTinku, an Andean tradition, began as a form of ritualistic combat. It is native to the northern region of Potosí in Bolivia. In the language of Quechua, the word “tinku” means encounter. In the language of Aymara it means “physical attack.” During this ritual, men and women from different...
- Pujllay
- Tobas
- Auqui Auqui
- Llamerada
- Cambitas
- ChacareraChacareraThe Chacarera is a dance of Argentine origin. It is a genre of folk music that, for many Argentines, serves as a rural counterpart to the cosmopolitan imagery of the Tango...
- Afro-Bolivian Saya
In the Lowlands there are
- Macheteros
- Taquirari
- Chovena
Clothing
It is fashionable among Bolivian Andean women of indigenous descent to wear a skirt called a polleraPollera
A pollera is a Spanish term that denotes big one-piece skirts, that nowadays are used mostly in traditional festivities and folklore in the Spanish speaking world.-Spain:...
. 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
Bowler hat
The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
, which was adopted from the British. The position of the hat can indicate a woman's marital status and aspirations.
Sport
Soccer is the most popular Sport in Bolivia. The governing body of Soccer in Bolivia is the Federación Boliviana de FútbolFederación Boliviana de Fútbol
The Bolivian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Bolivia. It was founded in 1925, making it the 8th oldest South American federation...
(FBF), which controls the national teams. The FBF organises the Men's
Bolivia national football team
The Bolivia national football team is the national team of Bolivia and is controlled by the Federación Boliviana de Fútbol. After playing in the 1930 and 1950 World Cups, they qualified just once—in 1994...
, Women's
Bolivia women's national football team
The Bolivia women's national football team represents Bolivia in international women's football.-World Cup record:...
, and Futsal
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
national teams.
The Bolivian national football team
Bolivia national football team
The Bolivia national football team is the national team of Bolivia and is controlled by the Federación Boliviana de Fútbol. After playing in the 1930 and 1950 World Cups, they qualified just once—in 1994...
is currently ranked 65th in the world, with their best FIFA ranking being 18th in the world. The national team has competed at 3 FIFA World Cups, 23 Copa América Championships, and 1 Confederations Cup.
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
Appearances 3 (First in 1930
1930 FIFA World Cup
The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930...
)
Best result Round 1, 1930
1930 FIFA World Cup
The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930...
, 1950
1950 FIFA World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II...
, and 1994
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
Copa América
Copa América
The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
Appearances 23 (First in 1926)
Best result Winners, 1963
Confederations Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1999)
Best result Round 1, 1999
Rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
is a minor but growing Sport.
List of Bolivian Sports people
Famous Bolivian Cyclists:
- Horacio GallardoHoracio GallardoHoracio Gallardo Burgos is a Bolivian professional road bicycle racer. He represented Bolivia in 2008 Olympic Games- External links :...
Famous Bolivian Chess players:
- Paul BaenderPaul BaenderPaul Baender, was a German–Bolivian chess master and functionary....
- Oswaldo ZambranaOswaldo ZambranaOswaldo Zambrana a Bolivian chess master.He represented Bolivia six times in Chess Olympiads , and won individual silver medal on board 3 at Istanbul 2000....
Famous Bolivian Runners:
- Policarpio CalizayaPolicarpio CalizayaPolicarpio Calizaya Huaca is a retired long-distance runner from Bolivia, who represented his native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988. He was the oldest member at the 1996 Summer Olympics for Bolivia, and carried the flag at the opening...
- Juan Camacho (athlete)Juan Camacho (athlete)Juan Rodrigo Camacho is a retired male long-distance runner from Bolivia, who represented his native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1984. He set his personal best in the men's marathon on April 7, 1984 in Maassluis, Netherlands.-Achievements:*All results regarding...
Famous Bolivian Skiers:
- Scott SánchezScott SánchezScott Alan Sánchez Saunders is a Bolivian alpine skier who competed in the 1980 Winter Olympics and in the 1984 Winter Olympics.He was born in New York City, United States....
Famous Bolivian Tennis players:
- Diego CamachoDiego Camacho----Diego Camacho is a tennis player from Bolivia, who represented his native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. There he was defeated in the first round by America's Jeff Tarango. Camacho reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on March 19, 2001, when he became the number 954 of the...
- Mario Martinez Mario Martinez (tennis)Mario Martinez , is a former professional tennis player from Bolivia. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No...
- María Fernanda Álvarez Terán
Famous Bolivian Swimmers:
- Alberto ConradAlberto ConradAlberto Conrad Machuca is a Bolivian freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.He was the first ever Olympic competitor for Bolivia and the Bolivian flag bearer at the Berlin Games....
- Katerine MorenoKaterine MorenoKaterine Moreno de Quintanilla is a retired female swimmer from Bolivia. She competed in four Summer Olympics for her native South American country, starting in 1988.-References:*...
- Mauricio PrudencioMauricio PrudencioCarlos Mauricio Prudencio Oliva is a retired male swimmer from Bolivia. He competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics for his native South American country, starting in 2000.-References:*...
- Andrew RutherfurdAndrew RutherfurdAndrew Rutherfurd , Lord Rutherfurd of Crosshill FRSE was a Scottish advocate, judge and politician....
- Karen Torrez
Famous Bolivian Shooters:
- Fernando InchausteFernando InchausteFernando Inchauste is a Bolivian sprint canoer and sports shooter who competed from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s. As a sprint canoer, he was eliminated in the repechage round of the K-1 1000 m event at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo...
More information on Bolivian Football:
Music
Bolivia's regional folk music is distinctive and varied. In the Andean regions musicMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
is played during the festivals and the dances. Some tunes contain strong Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
influences.
The most common musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s are:
- sicu (also "sicus")
- * tarkaTarkaTarka can mean:*Tarka, also Chaunk, a common word used in India cuisine to describe the word seasoning*Tarka, Nigeria, a Local Government Area in Benue State, Nigeria*Tarka, Niger*Tarka the Otter, a novel by Henry Williamson...
or tharqa - pinkilloPinkilloA Pinkillo is a flute found throughout the Andes, used primarily in Peru, Chile, and Bolivia. It is usually played with one hand, leaving the other one free to accompany oneself on a tambor...
- skin drums
- * copper bells
- wood.
- flute
- Zampoña
- Matraca
- Mandolina