La Paz – Something Different

Before we went to La Paz we had been told about the Sunday market so we had allowed an extra day here to see this special event. We were extremely pleased that we did. I have since tried to find out more about this market (Is it on every Sunday throughout the year? Etc) but can find no information on the internet or elsewhere. Calling it a market does not really do it justice. It is a market, fun fair, entertainment venue and more, all held in the main street which is closed to all traffic. The activities are held in the section of El Prado from Plaza del Estudiante north.

The activities start early. We didn’t arrive until after 9 and everything was already underway. A market had been set up along one side of the street. This was selling the usual souvenirs but also a good range of local products, most of which were of little interest to visitors. A little further north the entertainment began. There were military bands, pop bands, some local dancers and much more on various stages set up by the municipality.

On the opposite side of the road there were activities for children and several outdoor eating areas. A giant King Kong towered over everything while children attempted to drive mini cars around a circuit and adults struggled with chess games. Several displays were set up in marquis including one with elaborate costumes used in various ceremonies. There was just so much going on that it was impossible to see everything. Crowds of locals made the situation even more interesting but harder to get around.

We took a quick look through the market, stopped to listen to the military bad (complete with actions), worked out a few moves for the chess players, watched the children’s painting area, looked at the costumes, sat down and listened to some music, had a sausage burger from a street stall, talked with a dance troupe that were about to perform, enjoyed some crowd watching and watched a children’s performance competition. Before we knew it the time was nearly 2pm.

We suddenly realised our feet were tired so we headed to a local cafe and enjoyed some food while we listened to the pianist. By the time we came back onto the street the activities had ceased and everyone was heading off. We wandered back to our hotel and had a couple of hours rest before we headed out for some night time activities. It had been a great day and one of the cheapest we had spent in South America.

The streets of La Paz are jam packed with people, stalls, cars, buses and general chaos. As you walk along the narrow pavements there are indigenous Aymara's selling handicrafts for tourists, then you come across hundreds of stalls selling everything and anything you can think of, from pots & pans to shoes, DVDs, food and much more. Street markets are everywhere, and old women in traditional dress sit next to their stalls and sell empanadas, fruit, bread, candy, fish, meat, fruit juices, etc. to passersby. You can buy virtually anything from these vendors. The streets are crowded with people, and the steep cobblestone roads sometimes make for treacherous walking if you´re not wearing the right shoes.

All of La Paz streets double as markets but there are some particularly good areas. Locals use different names for its various parts but it is technically impossible to say where one market begins and the next one ends. Tourists tend to head just a couple of blocks from El Prado into the enthralling, chaotic markets behind the 16th-century San Francisco Church (it's near one of El Prado's busiest intersections, the Plaza San Francisco meeting Calle Sagarnaga).

I was warned that the markets are a haven for thieves. Don’t bring anything of value and avoid recurring patterns while walking within a market were instructions given to me. Fortunately I experienced no problems. Honest Bolivians are shy and well behaved so anybody assertively engaging in conversation with a foreigner should be suspected. The best approach is ignoring such approaches completely.

In my view most of the merchandise in the markets is of low quality and is not worth any price. Even relatively upmarket items do not meet decent standards. Having said that, I must add that most La Paz markets are extraordinarily colorful and worth a visit, though bringing a camera into them can be inviting trouble if you don’t ask for permission to take photographs.

The Mercado Lanza market specializes on food and household items. It is located next to the San Francisco Church. The food here is safe though not especially healthy. The juice fruits are excellent and many tropical fruits are featured there. Eloy Salmon is the main electronic items market and it is significantly cheaper than shops in downtown; however, unless you need replacement parts (memory cards, batteries, cables) the market offers no attractions. The pirated discs’ market is all around this area.


Rodriguez market is rather small during the week, but on weekends it is transformed into a huge complex, the biggest food market in downtown La Paz. It is an excellent place for sampling seasonal tropic fruits and looking at the local food. Beyond being one of the main travel hubs in town, the General Cemetery is surrounded by stalls selling mainly food and items for travellers.

The Tumusla – Buenos Aires – Max Paredes triangle is extremely active everyday at all hours and reaches Illampu Street, the backpackers’ area of La Paz; within it is Graneros Street which is the main clothes market in town. These clothes generally are of low quality. Finally Sagarnaga Street hosts shops aimed exclusively for tourists, and offers mainly souvenirs and travel agencies

There is only one main road in La Paz, and this follows the course of the canyon of Rio Choqueyapu. From top to bottom, this street takes by turns the name of Avenida Ismael Montes, Avenida Mariscal Santa Cruz, Avenida 16 de Julio and Avenida Villazón. The central tree-lined section running through the downtown core is called the Prado.

La Paz' geography reflects society: the lower you go, the more affluent. While many middle-class paceños live in high-rise condos near the center, the really rich houses are located in the lower neighbourhoods southwest of the Prado. The reason for this division is that the lower you go in the city, the more oxygen there is in the air and the milder the weather is. And looking up from the center, the surrounding hills are plastered with makeshift brick houses of those struggling in the hope of one day reaching the bottom.

Historically, La Paz's main street divided the city into two parts. The indigenous people lived to the south the Spanish to the north. Before the age of cement, this main street was actually a river. Water still runs along this path, but you'd have to dig pretty deep to find it. Nevertheless, this is still the lowest point of La Paz. So, if you're lost, just walk downhill and eventually you will arrive at El Prado. The old colonial divisions still linger: The Witch Doctors' Market, the Black Market, and most of the indigenous-run street stands are all still on the south side of El Prado, while the colonial buildings, main plaza, and government offices are all to the north. The area of town from Plaza San Francisco to Plaza del Estudiante is considered the heart of La Paz.

The street, a colourful blur of trees, flowers, and monuments, is often clogged with pedestrians and vendors, especially on weekends. On Sunday it's blocked off to traffic completely. At the end of the Prado, the street splits into the Avenida 6 de Agosto and Avenida Arce, which lead to the residential areas of San Jorge and Sopocachi, where many of La Paz's bars and restaurants are located. Continue down the hill on 6 de Agosto and you will eventually reach Obrajes and the Zona Sur.

La Paz in parts feels like one big sprawling market. On Avenida 16 De Julio, one minute you can be fighting your way through stalls and people sitting in the middle of the pavement begging and you then come across one of the many large banks where a security guard is standing with a rifle. Next door will be a hotel or restaurant. It’s a wonderful city of colour and chaos and the main street is a microcosm of just that.

We tracked down this studio after seeing a work by the artist at the Moon Valley. It proved to be a very interesting and enjoyable visit because Mario Sarabia is a delightful man with excellent English and a great love for life.

Mario was born in La Paz in 1953. After his regular schooling he studied ceramics at the Florida International University and at the Miami Dade Community College. Since 1981, he has exhibited his work at important art galleries in the cities of La Paz, Sucre, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz (Bolivia) and has recently shown his ceramic art internationally at the Festival Internacional de Arte", Cidade de Porto Alegre (Brasil), at Instituto Cervantes, in London, England and at Festival Internacional de la Cultura, Casa Nacional de Moneda, Potosí-Bolivia.

He is also mentioned in books such as "Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Plaza" and "Bolivian Art at the Century", as well as "Creators of Light, Space and Form". His work can be found in many private collections around the world.

The studio is behind his house and I can imagine with its light-filled spaces it would be a great place to work. He briefly gave us a run-down on what he is currently working on then allowed us to wander around appreciating the works in various stages. There is a showroom where completed works are on display and these are for sale. We were tempted to buy something but with several weeks of travelling still ahead of us, that was impractical.

Mario told us that what he searches for is to represent through his work, the soul of the mountains, as clay comes from them -as raw material for his work. There was no doubt in our mind that he was achieving his aim and in the process he is producing some extremely sophisticated and delightful pieces of art. A visit here would be impressive to everyone, even those with little interest in ceramics. It could just change your mind.

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.

La Paz is the home of the world's only museum dedicated to coca, the plant that cocaine is made from. The museum is associated with the International Coca Research Institute (ICORI) in La Paz. It is a favourite of foreign tourists, and the small museum manages to detail the history and significance of the coca plant, including the effect of the U.S. War on Drugs. The displays are in Spanish, translations in other languages are provided. According to the museum, crack cocaine is the greatest epidemic since the plague in the Middle-Ages.

The museum is small; just two levels with mostly newspaper clippings and scientific charts documenting the history of coca and cocaine. There is even a small diagram on how to make cocaine. A visit won't take more than an hour and the museum is conveniently located not far from the Witches Market. In Peru and Bolivia, coca is legal (cocaine is not) and it is used often in tea and is chewed by workers in fields and by hikers. By chewing the leaves it is said to bring more oxygen to the brain. Mate de Coca, or coca tea, is said to help relieve the affects of altitude sickness.

This museum has some really interesting stuff. It starts with an historical and scientific explanation of the production and consumption effects of this controversial plant. The coca leaf has been chewed for hundreds of years by the indigenous Bolivians and was used primarily by nobility such as the Inca rulers. Coca has also been used in Bolivia for medicinal purposes, foremost as a stimulant to overcome exhaustion, hunger and thirst. It was also used as an anaesthetic to alleviate the pain of rheumatism, wounds, sores, broken bones, sore eyes, childbirth and during operations. It was given as an offering to the gods and as gifts in many important social bonding ceremonies.

When the Europeans arrived it was initially prohibited by the Catholic Church (they called it the Devil's weed). After realizing that the workforce was more productive when chewing on the coca leaf, Philip II of Spain issued a decree recognizing the drug as essential to the well-being of the Andean Indians but urging missionaries to end its religious use. The Spanish are believed to have effectively encouraged use of coca by their workers to increase their labour output and tolerance for starvation.

The museum also touches on the extraction of cocaine and the use in modern societies, as well as the role it plays today in Bolivian culture and international economics and politics. Although the US and other western countries have strongly pushed for the eradication of the plant because of the thriving drug trade that is a side effect, many communities in the Andes see it as a part of their cultural heritage. The museum opens from 10:00 to 18:00 Monday to Saturday.