82 CultureShock! Bolivia
the entrenched political class and its privileged position as
intermediary of multinational investors. In the January 2005
elections, the ‘white man’s’ candidate won the majority in
lowland departments while the indigenous candidate carried
the highlands and valleys for a clear majority. However, the
highland candidate lost the Department of Santa Cruz with
32 per cent of the vote, which is a signifi cant percentage
considering that presidential winners from previous
elections gained the presidency with less than 30 per cent of
the vote.
Furthermore, candidates from all parties agreed that
some form of regional autonomy would be good for
Bolivia’s future.Afrobolivianos
Africans were forced into slavery during the Spanish colonial
period, labouring in the silver mines at above 4,000 m
(14,000 ft). Barbaric working conditions and the drastic
change in climate from Africa to Potosí caused an atrocious
mortality rate.
Once liberated, the Africans descended to a friendlier
altitude. They chose two zones about 110 km (68 miles)
north of La Paz in the semi-tropics known as Los Yungas.
Today, the two agricultural settlements of Afrobolivianos—
Chicaloma (with approximately 100 families) and Tocana
(with approximately 300 families)—retain certain
African traditions.
In interacting with indigenous communities, many
Afrobolivianos learned Aymara, and their dress and diet
represent assimilation into the rural indigenous lifestyle.
Today, every school child learns to dance the Saya. Another
dance featured in carnivals is Los Caporales, which sounds
more indigenous than African but is a stylised rendition of
the exploitation that Bolivian blacks suffered in the mines.
Afrobolivians from the Yungas have also become stars in
Bolivia’s national football team.
There are no hotels in Chicaloma and Tocana, nor any
substantial facilities of comfort. But trekkers can easily reach
this region of Afrobolivia by way of breathtaking river gorges