Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LIFESTYLE
Day-to-day life varies from Bolivian to Bolivian, mostly depending on whether they live in
the city or in the country and whether they are rich or poor. Many
campesinos
(subsistence
farmers) live without running water, heat or electricity, and some wear clothing that has
hardly changed in style since the Spanish arrived. But in the Bolivian cities, especially
Santa Cruz (the country's richest city), La Paz, Cochabamba and Sucre, thousands of
people enjoy the comforts of contemporary conveniences and live very modern lifestyles.
Life in this fiercely self-reliant nation begins with the family. No matter what tribe or
class one comes from, it's likely that they have close ties to their extended family. In the
highlands, the concept of
ayllu
(the traditional peasant system of communal land owner-
ship, management and decision making) that dates back to the Inca times is still important
today.
For many in Bolivia's lower class, the day is
about making enough money to eat, attending
church, doing chores, the children studying, and
a bit of laughter and forgetting. For the richer
city class, there are distractions that come from
economic surplus such as theater, cuisine, the
arts, and the ever-important country club. In
these circles, the last name still defines where a
person can get to. Young people are increasingly
flaunting these rules, but it is still relatively rare to see intermarriage between people from
disparate ethnic groups or economic classes.
Homosexuality is legal in Bolivia but isn't openly displayed in this society of machismo.
Despite a growing number of gay bars in some larger cities, gay culture remains fairly
subtle.
Despite the high prevalence of llama fetuses in the
markets (used for sacrificial offerings), llamas are
not killed especially for them. About 3000 llamas
are slaughtered daily on the Altiplano for wool and
meat; the fetuses are removed from those animals
subsequently found to be pregnant.
