· January, 2008

Stories about Bolivia from January, 2008

Bolivia: Place to Study in El Alto

  31 January 2008

Marisol Medina of Lengua, Cultura y Sociedad [es] celebrates that many more people, especially indigenous women who still dress in traditional clothing, can now have a place to study at the public university in El Alto, without having to worry about discrimination.

Bolivia: Preparations for Carnaval

  24 January 2008

Sandro Choque of the Cultural Center Sartañani Wasuru Qhanampi in Oruro, Bolivia writes about the preparations for this year's Carnaval, including rehearsals for the different groups that will present on February 2.

Bolivia: Confrontational Groups

  21 January 2008

There are approximately six “grupos de choque” or organizations involved in often violent confrontation. Miguel Centellas of Pronto* breaks down the different groups.

Bolivia: Blogger Named to National Electoral Court

  17 January 2008

The Bolivian blog community is generally very supportive of its members. Recently, a well-known blogger was named to a high ranking position within the Bolivian government. Normally, a pat on the back and other displays of congratulations would have accompanied this new appointment. However, when the blogger in question was named to head up the National Electoral Court (CNE for its initials in Spanish), many bloggers began to question how appropriate was this new member of the CNE.

Bolivia: Learning a New Indigenous Language

  16 January 2008

Marisol Medina of Lengua, Cultura y Sociedad [es] recounts how she had learned and forgotten Quechua while growing up, and that not everyone understands one's desire to learn an indigenous language.

Bolivia: The Used Clothing Market

  15 January 2008

Used clothing vendors in Bolivia are protesting the government's decision to ‘reconvert’ this industry through financial incentives. Carlos Gustavo Machiado of Guccio's [es] believes that stopping this industry goes against free market principles and that it is difficult to force these vendors to change their businesses.

Bolivia: Receiving Mail in El Alto

15 January 2008

Cristina Quisbert of Bolivia Indigena [es] discusses the difficulties of receiving mail in El Alto because many streets and houses lack proper identification.

Voces Bolivianas: Leaping forward to the next round

  11 January 2008

The pilot program of the Voces Bolivianas project organized in El Alto city ended last November. It helped teach the use of citizen media tools to members of underrepresented groups in Bolivia who have already emerged as bloggers cum citizen journalists. The next round of citizen’s media workshops titled El Alto II will begin this Saturday, January 12th in the same city. In addition, the organization’s first expansion is scheduled for January 19th in the city of Santa Cruz.

Bolivia: Neighborhood Store

  9 January 2008

Cristina Quisbert of Bolivia Indigena [es] writes about her neighborhood store in El Alto, Bolivia, which helps bail her out when she needs ingredient for her breakfast or also provides a friendly face to pass the time in conversation.

Americas: End of the Year Traditions

  8 January 2008

End of the year traditions across Latin America are varied, as many include local customs, the preparation of delicious food, and plenty of loud fireworks. This is a collection of how some bloggers spent their holidays throughout the region.

Bolivia: Dialogue of the Deaf

  7 January 2008

In Bolivia, Pablo from Comunidad Espartaco [es] writes that the upcoming dialogue between President Evo Morales and opposition prefects will be a “Dialogue of the Deaf,” since neither wishes to hear the positions of the other side.

Americas: A Look Back at Global Voices – Part I

  3 January 2008

Global Voices - Latin America is covered by an excellent team of volunteer authors, who know the local context and can read the pulse of their respective blogospheres. This is the first in a three-part series of articles looking back at some of the topics that were blogged about in 2007.