Carnaval, Day of the Sea, and Other Bolivian Fun

When you hear the word "Carnaval" you probably think of Rio de Janeiro or Mardi Gras. Well, the Carnaval in Bolivia has something in common with those celebrations: the origins in celebrating before the beginning of Lent, dances in colorful costumes, lots of drinking and partying. But it is pretty unique in at least one respect: the water and foam battle that wages between carnaval-goers, not only during the days of Carnaval, but also at least a week before and after the actual celebrations. Water-balloon throwing, party foam spraying, water-gun shooting... people here take it so seriously that you either participate or can expect to be the target of everyone out there. We decided on the former... and since we were feeling more at home by the time Carnaval rolled around in February and we were in Oruro (where the biggest Carnaval celebrations in Bolivia take place), we decided to target... the tourists, especially poncho-less tourists (yes, we can be cruel like that). It was fun! When back in La Paz, I thought the battles would be over ... until I got foam sprayed on me by someone in a passing car as I stood on the sidewalk. After that, I had to watch my back and would not leave the apartment without a can of foam spray. One week later, we went to Puno, Peru, where we learned that Carnaval celebrations happen a week after they do in Bolivia. And, we were in the midst of the foam battle again (for some reason the Peruvians in Puno did not resort to water), especially since people seemed really intent on spraying you in the face or the ears and would not give up until they did, chasing you down the street spraying foam like maniacs. Thinking back, it is almost hard to believe those scenes were real.

Well, now it is March. And I learned that in March, specifically on March 23rd, Bolivians celebrate the Day of the Sea... or rather mourn the loss of the sea. I have written about this mourning before; however, little did I expect that I would see it embodied in marching band parades, street BBQs, and signal flag decorations in La Paz's Plaza Avaroa...a square named after the colonel Eduardo Avaroa who defiantly fought the Chilean forces until his last breath in the War of the Pacific. (Some might say that he lost Bolivia's sea access, but to Bolivians he is one of their biggest heroes because he fought valiantly until his death.) March 23rd, from what I understand, used to be a holiday commemorating Avaroa's death, but since Evo Morales's government has been in power, it has evolved into the mourning-of-the-sea day, with newspaper headlines stating boldly that Bolivia has not had sea access for 131 years, has lost terrirories with important natural resource reserves, and reports quoting Morales saying that he will not give up until a deal has been reached with Chile to get access to the sea (in some form) back.

We are also still in election mode over here. Local elections for mayor and governor will take place on 4 April. It is expected that MAS (Morales's Movimiento al Socialismo) will win a lot of the seats. The candidate for La Paz region caused quite a stir when he was caught driving under the influence back in February. His license was taken away. The most "interesting" piece of the story, however, is that he was indignant when asked to appear in court since he had already served a "sentence" issued by the indigenous "court" in his community. The sentence: he had to make 1000 adobe bricks in 4 days. Which he did and therefore saw no need to appear in the real court for his real sentence. Well, at least Morales had the sense to make him step down as candidate.

On other fronts, I am getting better at the Bolivian whine.

I experienced the worst bus ride of my life -- a 7-hour torture in a crammed bus, including people standing and leaning on you in the aisles (I think I would have had more sympathy for them if they had been locals... but, no, they were Argentine tourists), cold coming in from the windows, and the seat back in front of me almost jammed into my chest.

I got to conduct focus groups with clients at work. I have to say, getting these normally reserved women to talk and listening to them has been one of the most gratifying and humbling experiences I have had so far. Especially when at the end, they asked me when I would come back again. I will miss them when I have to wrap up my work here.