Estimated 100,000 tourists at Carnaval in Oruro

On February 13th, Bolivian Vice-Minister of Tourism Iván Cahuaya told the press today that they are expecting to receive around 100,000 tourists from all different continents, South America, and Bolivia that will generate 28 million dollars for the Oruro economy. On a national scale the Oruro Carnaval is expected to generate some $100 million dollars for the Bolivian economy.

Music Festival Begins Carnival in Oruro

In a celebration mixing music, culture, and politics, the 9th Annual Music Festival in Oruro kicked off the week-long Carnival festivities. 6,000 musicians and more than 5,000 spectators, including President Evo Morales and Culture Minister Zulma Yugar, attended the 2 1/2 hour-long opening procession.

Bolivian Men and Women in Unique Celebration: Dia de Compadres & Comadres

Yesterday, February 4, Bolivians in several departments celebrated Jueves de Compadre, a male-only

Enthusiastic Youth Open Bicentennial Carnival

In Cochabamba, more than 40 dance groups oozing with talent, youth and creativity opened the

Bolivian Director Wins 2 Sundance Awards

Bolivian Director Juan Carlos Valdivia won 2 awards at the Sundance Film Festival for his picture

"Zona Sur" yesterday in Park City, Utah.  "Zona Sur" is a commentary on the upper class of La Paz and the effects of political changes that they are feeling. "Zona Sur" won "Best International Drama" and "Best International Script".  The film's description from Sundance is below:

Nestled in the lush valley of La Paz, Bolivia, the upper-class suburb of Zona Sur has sheltered the country’s wealthy elite for many years. Here, in an adobe-tile-roofed castle, a statuesque matriarch reigns over her spoiled progeny and her Indigenous Aymaran butler. But all is not what it seems. As the mother fights with her oversexed son and clashes with her petulant daughter, her six-year-old son rambles the rooftops unnoticed. Decline hangs in the air, and the threat of aristocratic privileges changing hands signifies a new chapter of a prickly and ill-fated class war.


Juan Carlos Valdivia’s revolving camera poetically articulates the devolving drama while exposing the bubble of decadence in which the bourgeoisie exist. With the recent reelection of Bolivia’s first Aymaran president, the long-suppressed Indigenous people are rising up to reclaim their homeland, and Valdivia returns to Sundance (Jonah and the Pink Whale—Sundance Film Festival 1996) with a crystal vision of the change taking place in his native country.

http://sundance.bside.com/2010/films/southerndistrict_sundance2010 

Evo Inaugurated as President

(Video in Spanish)  Evo Morales Aima was inaugurated on January 21st as the indigenous spiritual and social leader of Bolivia and on January 22nd as the President of the Pluri-National Republic of Bolivia from 2010-2015. Evo gave a
two hour speech in which he outlined his accomplishments, future plans and criticized the United States and then convened the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly. His main plans lay in implementing the new constitution that his Movement to Socialism party forced into effect without much of the opposition present. Leaders of state such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Chile's Michelle Bachilet, Ecuador's Rafael Correa, Spain's Prince Felipe de Borbón, Paraguay's Fernando Lugo, the Colombian Vice President, the Cuban Vice-President, and the US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis were present along with special guests such as Guatemalan indigenous rights campaigner Rigoberta Menchú.  President Cristina Fernandez of Argentina had been scheduled to come but had to bow out due to an ongoing banking crisis in Argentina. Peru sent a lowly ex-prime minister as an insult to President Morales who has an acrimonious relationship with Peruvian President Alan Garcia.  US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis affirmed that Bolivia is living a historic moment and begins a new cycle of development. Solis signed an agreement to extend the ongoing bi-lateral talks between Washington and La Paz aimed at re-establishing high-level diplomatic relations. Solis expressed satisfaction at being in Bolivia and said that it's a land rich in history that made an important contribution to the Americas.

At the Indigenous inauguration in the ruins of Tihuanacu, Morales said to those assembled, "I want to work for five more years together with the people, under their orders, in order to promote development, unity and the integration of Bolivia."  Morales was re-elected in a landslide vote on December 6th, 2009 where he obtained 62.44% percent of the vote due widespread popularity among Bolivia's indigenous and poor and the failure of many opposition parties to unite. At his indigenous ceremony in Tihuanacu Evo's opening remarks were, "From Tihuanacu I want to say to you from La Paz, from Bolivia to all the people of the world, never submit to capitalism. This is a historic struggle, ongoing for thousands of years fought by our ancestors, however my sisters and brothers, we have passed four years of our government, and I work constantly with Ramos, with Alvaro Garcia Linera, and in four years we enacted this cosmic law of our ancestors; ama sulla, ama yulla, ama q'ella (thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not lie; thou shalt not be lazy). I want to thank, from this sacred place, our ancestors for having left the best inheritance for me and for all the peoples of the world which is don't rob, don't lie, and don't be lazy." 




  http://www.erbol.com.bo/
 http://www.eldiario.net/
http://www.opinion.com.bo/Portal.html?CodNot=86534&CodSec=18

Non-Profit Profile: Volunteer Bolivia

Volunteer Bolivia

Organizations that arrange and support volunteer experiences paired with language immersion and travel—often called voluntourism—have become increasingly popular in the past two decades, inciting

Potosí forms new Cultural Group

In Potosí a meeting on the 15th was held to create the Federation for the Defense of Potosí's Culture and

Spain Prince & Tihuanacu Indigenous Inauguration

Spain’s Bolivian embassy announced that it will be sending the Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón to attend Evo Morales’ re-election ceremony in La Paz this January 22nd. According the Bolivian government already