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Musical Instrument Museum

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LenR
LenR
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3 out of 5
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Musical Instrument Museum

  • September 10, 2009
  • Rated 3 of 5 by LenR from Townsville, Australia
Musical Instrument Museum

Music lovers will want to check out the Musical Instruments Museum on Calle Jaen. It displays a huge collection of sound-producing devices from Bolivia and beyond, some of which you can play yourself. The museum was founded by charango master and inventor Ernesto Cavour, and some of his creations on display (such as multi-bodied guitars) are downright bizarre.

There were guitars, harps and mandolins made out of Armadellio and tortoise/turtle shells, and a panpipe made out of Condor feathers, and other amazing things. This is the most complete collection of musical instruments in the nation; if you think it's all charangos and quenas, you haven't seen half of what Bolivian music has to offer. Seven rooms feature percussion, string, and wind instruments used in the various regions of Bolivia.

Especially fun for children, this museum lets them try playing the assortment of ancient instruments, all made from natural elements, like wood, bone, turtle shells and toucan beaks. Entry costs Bs 5 and it opens daily 9:30-1:00, and 2:30-6:30. Note that many of La Paz's other museums are closed on Sunday and Monday.

When you leave the museum spend some time in Calle Jaen. It is one of the most charming colonial streets in the city. The buildings and cobblestoned street are preserved, without traffic, and attract visitors for the atmosphere. Museo Murillo is on this street. This old mansion was once owned by Pedro Domingo Murillo, a hero of the Bolivian republic, and now houses furniture and items from colonial times. The Museo de Litoral is also here and it displays items from the War of the Pacific (1879-1884) in which Bolivia lost its seaboard territory to Chile. You'll note the sign that says in translation: Bolivia has not lost and will never lose its right to the Pacific.

There are other museums worthy of a visit. The Museo Nacional de Arte and the Museo Nacional de Etnograpfia y Folklore exhibit colonial and local paintings and cultural collections. The Museo de Arquelogia houses some of the ruins from Tihuanaco.

The most popular restaurant on Jaen is a bohemian spot called Soho. Writers, poets, artists and other unrecognised geniuses of Bolivia sit for hours in Soho, paying no attention to the unpresentable furniture and frayed décor.

From journal La Paz – Something Different

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