La Paz & Around - Bolivia - page 98

(Stadium, Miraflores) The open-pit Museo al Aire Libre opposite the stadium contains
replicas of statues found in Tiwanaku's Templete Semisubterráneo. The show-piece
Megalito Bennetto Pachamama (Bennett monolith) was moved to Tiwanaku's new site
museum to avoid further smog-induced deterioration. This place is only worth seeing if
you aren't able to visit the actual site. If you have some time while you're here, hoof your
way up to the Killi Killi lookout for breathtaking views.
MARINA NÚÑEZ DEL PRADO
Bolivia's foremost sculptor, Marina Núñez del Prado, was born on October 17, 1910 in La Paz. From 1927 to
1929 she studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (National School of Fine Arts), and from 1930 to 1938
she worked there as a professor of sculpture and artistic anatomy.
Her early works were in cedar and walnut, and represented the mysteries of the Andes: indigenous faces,
groups and dances. From 1943 to 1945 she lived in New York and turned her attentions to Bolivian social themes,
including mining and poverty. She later went through a celebration of Bolivian motherhood with pieces depicting
indigenous women, pregnant women and mothers protecting their children. Other works dealt largely with An-
dean themes, some of which took appealing abstract forms. She once wrote, 'I feel the enormous good fortune to
have been born under the tutelage of the Andes, which express the richness and the cosmic miracle. My art ex-
presses the spirit of my Andean homeland and the spirit of my Aymará people.'
During her long career she held more than 160 exhibitions, which garnered her numerous awards, and she re-
ceived international acclaim from the likes of Pablo Neruda, Gabriela Mistral, Alexander Archipenko and
Guillermo Niño de Guzmán. In her later years Marina lived in Lima, Peru, with her husband, Peruvian writer
Jorge Falcón. She died there in September 1995 at the age of 84.
EL ALTO
A billboard in El Alto announces: 'El Alto is not part of Bolivia's problem. It's part of
Bolivia's solution.' Not all would agree, but visiting here is an experience. Having once
been a melting pot for campesinos (subsistence farmers) and people from all around the
country, and with a population of 650,000, El Alto is now a city in its own right. It has a
5% to 6% growth rate per year and is considered the Aymará capital of the world.
If you arrive by air, below you are dozens of white church spires soaring up from the
brown earth. These were built by a German priest, Padre Obermaier, renowned in the city
for his past and current works (and longevity). From the canyon rim at the top of El Alto
Autopista (toll road) or the top of the free route at Plaza Ballivián, the streets hum with al-
most perpetual activity. It's hard to distinguish one street from another - the miles of or-
ange brick and adobe houses, shops, factories and markets create a hectic atmosphere at
every corner.