160 CultureShock! Bolivia
The Big Agora
The north-west quadrant bustles with outdoor speciality
markets. Behind the San Francisco Basílica on Calle
Sagárnaga, the artisans’ neighbourhood unfolds like peacock
feathers, into the textures and colours of silver work,
alpaca sweaters, typical musical instruments, paintings of
brilliant colours, wood carvings and a seemingly infi nite
variety of traditionally-made textiles with unpredictably
dazzling patterns.
The artisans’ turf overlaps into the Mercado de Hechicería
(Witch Market): llama foetuses for religious ceremonies and
wandering shaman who shun tourists. Stall owners consider
cameras as enemy armaments.
North of the San Francisco Cathedral is Mercado Lanza,
with meat, fish, produce, eating stalls, alcohol, flower
stands, toys and trinkets such as key chains with a coca leaf
embedded in transparent plastic.The Huyustus
Life gets even raunchier further up from San Francisco,
with the Mercado Negro (black market), the Huyustus (with
everything from furniture to contraband electronic products)
and one crowded street dedicated to the sale of stolen goods.
People say the street is called Sebastian Segurola. Someone
stole the nameplates.
Bargains in this neighbourhood are allegedly tied to money
laundering. Enter at your own risk.
My wife goes shopping in the hair-raising Huyustus.
La Paz is one of the safest cities in the world, but in
this section, preventive measures against pickpockets
are recommended.
La Paz pickpockets are less sophisticated and less violent
than their colleagues in most major cities in the world, though
some can steal your socks without taking off your shoes. The
best safety rule: do not broadcast your valuables or you will
be a walking invitation for the redistribution of wealth.
Since passports are a valuable commodity, I carry a
photocopy of the personal data and visa pages of my passport
when going to this neighbourhood or anywhere else.