80 CultureShock! Bolivia
clip, with fi nal consonants not pronounced and with the ‘s’
aspirated as if it were a quickly breathed ‘h.’
Does the weather have something to do with this evolution
of the Spanish language? One hypothesis is grounded in
the fact that most highland regions in Spanish America
retain their indigenous heritage, while African infl uences
predominate in the lowlands, with these distinct cultural
infl uences somehow affecting speech patterns. Another
hypothesis with a more objective foundation is that the
Spanish colonialists who came from the hot- climate south
of Spain tended to drift to the regions of Latin America that
most resembled their back-home climates, bringing their
regional accents with them.
Further oral evidence of the highland–tropics culture divide
comes from the music. Musical styles of the tropics have
much in common in their rhythms and harmonies typical
of West Africa, the source of many of the Spaniards’ African
slaves. Although highland music genres vary, they tend to
be slower than their tropical counterpart, with harmonies
remarkably similar to some music of Asia.
The highland Indians, according to a dominant theory,
came to South America via a long migration that began in Asia
and crossed the Bering Strait. Our ears tell us that the Asian
sound in some Kolla music is more than a coincidence.Stereotypes and Rivalries
Within Bolivia, the highland Kollas have developed stereotypes
for the Cambas. Many Kollas believe that Camba women are
sexually loose. If a Camba woman does not marry by the
time she is 18, she’s considered a spinster. Kollas believe
that Cambas are arrogant regionalists. Cambas believe that
Kollas are slow-witted and backward. Cambas are joyful,
while Kollas, they say, are melancholic.
Like most stereotypes, the ones that float around
Bolivia are partly true but mostly fi ctitious, with all human
varieties found in each region. Concerned Bolivians who
advocate against regionalism should not ignore the fact
that the highland–lowland cultural divide is not a uniquely
Bolivian phenomenon.