Coroico, Bolivia: Day 5

This morning, I got to read from my journal of the weekend in La Paz. The experience sharing my thoughts was amazing. We went to Tocana today, and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! In Tocana is where the Afro-Bolivians live, and I immediately felt like I was home. It felt like I had a family in Bolivia, because they looked exactly like me, except they spoke Spanish. Todos mi esposos es bonito!!!!!! LOL

We did a tour of the area, and they have a sense of community every where you turn your head. The church, the clinic, the spring for the main source of water, the priest.

The culture, food, etc., is so different from African Americans in America now, however, not too different from our ancestors.

What was very interesting was that there were only 10-12 students in the elementary school that they had. It is like this because, there are no children in the community. One of the women said that everyone in the town stays single. She says that it is easier to stay single, because having children is a lot of work and responsibility. The people of Tocana don’t have a problem with healthcare. The coca leaf helps a lot with stomach aches, headaches, and diahhrea, and also so much more. The coca leaf is great to use medicinally. For headaches, one of the women of Tocana said that you can also put the coca leaves on your head for headaches. They say that coca cures the heart. Coca is the base of the family economy. ***COCA IS NOT COCAINE***

If cocaine was the base for the family economy and not coca, do you think that the Afro-Bolivians would be living in the environment the way they do, wearing the clothes they wear, etc.? NO. Get a grip. These people would be living in a mansion, and have extremely nice cars!!!!      If you think coca is cocaine, you are generalizing base off of what you hear from other people which completely negates the notion of Anthropology.

In this community, they cook dinner in the ground.

The secretary of relations handles everything and is the leader in the community. I thought it was interesting that there was also a man who seems more like a grandfather of the community.

There is a “sidnicato” in every community. In this specific community, they don’t just dance, because they think it’s cool, but it’s because they value identity, culture, and persistence. They don’t just dance and sing to have fun. “Siya” is a method of struggle. This is amazing. They believe that “siya” is born within.

An interesting fact learned is that there is indeed racism and discrimination in Bolivia. It is interesting to see that racism is indeed NOT dead or “over”. Racism not only happens in the United States, but in other countries as well. The city discriminates widely against the Afro-Bolivian people because of their skin color and how they reside on the countryside; “You’re darker than us, and we are better than you, because we live in the city and we are modern.”. This is so not OK; this actually made me tear up a little. However, the Aymara people don’t discriminate against them. The Aymara and the Afro-Bolivians had to come together when being enslaved by the Spanish people. The Aymara people taught the Afro-Bolivians how to cultivate; they had to both form alliances.