¡Bailamos!

Hoy estamos bailar la siya (?). Today we started our day with a birthday cake for Lex and sang feliz cumpleaños para ella. After our breakfast discussion we broke into our context paper groups. My group has a very broad topic but I feel that we will work together very well. We are attempting to define development in Bolivia, what Andean socialism, how radio influences social movements, and how the indigineous concept of ayni (reciprocity) is mirrored in Bolivian government and society.

After the group meetings we had our first field trip to the Afro-Bolivian community called Tocaño. We picked up a man named Don Carlos on the way to Tocaño. He is an 82 year old Afro-Bolivian with a heart as big as his smile. Don Carlos grew up in a time when haciendas controlled the indegenous lands and there was much racismo between the elite and the indigenous people. Don Carlos described his life on the haciendas as terrible and consisted of a lot of whipping. After the Revolution on 1952-3 the haciendas were broken down and land was returned to the indigenous people. Don Carlos was 22 at the time and moved to La Paz, where he married his first wife and went to night school to learn to read and write.

After asking Don Carlos questions about his life we ate lunch prepared by the people of Tocaño. The meal consisted of a thin piece of steak, rice, banana, and a root that was prepated with onions and spices. VERY DELICOUS! After lunch the siya began! Siya is the dance of the Afro-Bolivians. Don Carlos claimed that the dance was forgotten for many years, but about 10 years ago siya was revived. The men and women wore white clothing decorated with colorful beads and ribbon. The dance was lead by the rythym of the drums played by the men and then the women danced for the crowd. Our entire class was invited on the stage and we all danced and laughed together! The entire process was amazing and when I looked around there was not a single person frowning, everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves.

Today was definately my favorite day of the class thus far. We had a chance to interact with a community that is very special to Bolivia. Tomorrow we are going to visit a coffee co-op, CENCOOP, I cannot wait for that. I love good coffee and if its organic and promotes fair-trade ideals i´ll love it even more!

Well, it is dinner time here in Bolivia and we plan to eat at an Italian restaraunt that serves homemade gnocchi, ravioli, and pastas. Yummmmm. Buenas Noches at todo. :-)