The Bolivian Plaza
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 since July of 2016, and five years back in the 80s. 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.
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.
Thanksgiving week, 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment