Day 166 - The Bolivian Plaza

The Bolivian Plaza

My apologies for not writing this week.  My mother broke her hip a week ago and needed her baby boy.  So I came home for a longer visit than planned.  I am behind on my blogs, but I have about 20 I plans to write about Bolivia, and might add a few of my visit home. 

If you know me, you know I love Bolivia.  I might be home for a few weeks, or even a few months, but Bolivia is in my heart, so I will return as quickly as I can.  This blog is dear to me.  I hope you enjoy.

The Plaza was originally the seat of power for a Bolivian, or Latin American town.  Life started here and spread out to the rest of the city and the countryside.  It is where people had an open space to meet.  It is where commerce began.  It is where religious life was centered.

I have been living in Bolivia for five months now.  On my first day back, I visited the Plaza 24 de Septiembre in Santa Cruz.  I go there often.  I can enjoy a good meal at La Pascana.  I can see the art in the Manzana Uno.  Families can entertain their toddlers by feeding the pigeons, or more likely the toddlers chasing the pigeons (my mom will regale you with stories of me chasing birds when I was a toddler).

I have learned about the history of Bolivian independence only recently, discovering the statue in the middle of the Plaza is a hero of the Battle of El Pari.  Bolivar is often featured in the plazas of Bolivia.  Why not?  He gave his name to this country.  There is always a national hero featured in a Bolivian plaza, or two or three.

Banks and money exchanges surround the Plaza in Santa Cruz, as you will find in most of the plazas of Bolivia.  Most of the government buildings have moved away, allowing the creation of the Manzana Uno.  The Cathedral still dominates as it has dominated life in Santa Cruz for nearly 400 years.

The little town of Samaipata has a beautiful, but small plaza, surrounded by restaurants.  The Plaza de Armas is much like Samaipata, an eclectic blend of tradition and the hippy culture that has invaded the small town.  There is the traditional church and the required statue of a local hero, but also strange pieces of modern art.   As the sun sets, like any plaza, it comes alive as the town gathers.

Tarija surprised me with three plazas joining each other.  I first encountered the Plaza de Sucre, which was filled with youth and young families, ice cream vendors, and roses.  It was a place where the young of Tarija gather to hang out in the evenings.  Nearby was the Plaza de Armas, the main plaza.  It was more like the plaza in Santa Cruz, with banks and restaurants, actually a lot of very nice restaurants.  It was for a more refined crowd.  Families were there, but I remember seeing elderly women gather to chat on a park bench.  The one thing that plaza lacked was a church, but I found it a block away, on its own, small plaza.

This week, Thanksgiving weekend, I visited Sucre.  Two blocks from my hotel was the Plaza 25 de Mayo, probably the largest plaza I have yet to see.  It has the expected cathedral, with a Baroque design adapted by the local Mestizo population.  It also houses the Treasury Museum and the House of Liberty.  Sucre at one time was the capital of Bolivia.  You can sense history visiting this Plaza.

The second evening in Sucre, I saw just how alive this plaza was.  There was not an empty park bench and there are so many to choose from.  Under the statue of Sucre, guarded by two great lions, youths had gathered to break dance.  I don’t think kids in the States break dance much any more, but the kids here do.  They amazed me with acrobatics and throwing themselves on the ground in spins that would send me to the hospital.

My conclusion to all of this?  Plazas are the life of a city.  They are vibrant.  From a plaza, you can get a feeling what life is like in that city.  They are all similar, but they are also different.  Before I end my year in Bolivia, I want to visit Cochabamba, La Paz, Riberalta, Potosi, and Oruro.  Most likely, I will visit the plazas first.  I know I will return to Samaipata.  I hope I will return to Sucre and Tarija.  I will always find a plaza.