Letters to the Editor Oct 11, 2008
Tensions arising from the competing demands of Aymara and Quechua activists, as well as labor unions, rural peasants, and middle-class urbanites, contribute to an environment of instability. While Mr. Kaplan is correct in pointing out that Morales has exacerbated historical divisions, he fails to mention the debilitative role played by economic and political elites who have a vested interest in the status quo. (Yahoo News)
Art: Singapore Biennale puts accent on wonder Oct 3, 2008
Working with the Aymara community, the artist created images of lonely figures standing lost in this eerily beautiful landscape. "We felt there was a need for us to return to aesthetics, something that is visually captivating," said Joselina Cruz, one of the Biennale's curators. (International Herald Tribune)
Conjuring luck Aug 22, 2008
As a time of transition from winter to spring in the regional agricultural calendar, August is the period when the Earth and mountain deities are said to be especially hungry, according to scholars who study the culture of the Aymaras, the indigenous group that makes up the majority of El Alto's population of about 800,000 ... Feeding the Pachamama, also referred to by the Aymara as Mother Earth or Mother Virgin, involves an intricate web of symbolic gestures incorporating coca leaves, bootleg... (International Herald Tribune)
America's special grace Jul 8, 2008
Bolivia, one of Latin America's poorest nations, in 2005 elected as president an Aymara Indian named Evo Morales. National Geographic magazine portrays President Morales in its July 2008 issue, telling a crowd in a remote village, "We are Aymara, Quechua, Guarani - the legitimate proprietors of this noble Bolivian land!" Without the slightest sense of irony, the magazine adds that Morales came to politics via the coca growers' association, that is, fighting the American war on drugs. (Asia Times Online)
Interview: Evo Morales Mar 29, 2008
Two years ago he became the first Aymara indigenous Indian to be elected president of the nation. At present he is facing fierce opposition from provinces demanding autonomy, and some are even threatening to break away from the country, however Morales remains as determined as ever to forge ahead with his proposals, including a push for a new constitution granting more power to the country's indigenous majority. (Aljazeera.Net)
Chvez: Indigenous Congress & UN Oct 17, 2007
The cities of La Paz and Tiwanaku, in the countrys Andean region, and Chimor in central Bolivia, were the sites selected for this weeks multicultural congress which is being attended by representatives of the Aymara and Quechua people of Bolivia and ethnic groups from Central and South America ... Nieves Mamani, an Aymara woman who lives in Pacajes, in the highlands of the province of La Paz, said that she hopes the Bolivian constituent assembly will recognise the U.N. declaration on... (Zmag.org)
The Hugo Chavez of Bolivia Oct 17, 2007
As I was told in Cochabamba by many people of Quechua descent who confronted Morales' supporters after the latter set fire to the office of the governor a few months ago, the current president, an Aymara, does not even speak the native languages. Aymaras and Quechuas fought each other before the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century. (New Republic)
Chvez: Bolivia, UN & Indigenous Rights Sep 28, 2007
The Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, approved by the United Nations after two decades of to-ing and fro-ing, came just as the Aymara indigenous president is seeing his legitimacy questioned by a new rightwing opposition movement, led by civilian groups backed by members of the business community and large landowners ... This form of government only remains today among newly strengthened groups of Aymara and Quechua Indians. (Zmag.org)
Coca commerceBolivia's coca traders hope for a legal future for their crop Sep 4, 2007
But for Bolivia's Aymara and Quechua Indians coca is more than just sustenance. "Everything has its physical form, personality and spirit for indigenous communities. The way we relate to everything around us is through coca," says Sdenka Silva, co-founder of La Paz's Coca Museum. (BBC News -- Americas)
Touring Chile, a land rich with mystique Aug 17, 2007
He described herds of vicuna, vast salt lakes with flocks of flamingos and colonies of the strange rodents known in the Aymara language as vizcacha, resembling the product of an unholy mating between a rabbit and small dog. Fool that I was, I turned him down. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Blanco: Andean-Amazonian Struggle Aug 16, 2007
The Quechua and Aymara name for the campesino community is ayllu. It is bound by strong ties, many expressed in work (ayni, minka, faena) and in all aspects of life. (Zmag.org)
Zibechi: Mapuche in Chile Aug 1, 2007
The memory of the Mapuches loss of autonomy is still fresh, and this can be motivation for a habit which is repeated in many conversations: unlike the Aymara, the Quechua or the Maya, the Mapuche place themselves in the position of victims which, while justified, is uncomfortable. Jose Huenchunao assures us that the communities are experiencing a new situation with their current desperation. (Zmag.org)
Stefanoni: Bolivia Racial Revenge? Jun 26, 2007
This debate went beyond limits of absurdity during a televised discussion on PAT. Without flinching, Juan Claudio Lechn and Roberto Barbery, whilst speaking about the undemocratic character of the new government, tried to demonstrate, using an academic tone, that Evo Morales and the national socialism of Adolf Hitler both articulated in a similar way ethnic superiority (in this case Quechua-Aymara), corporativism, and charismatic leadership ... Nevertheless, one should not lose sight of the... (Zmag.org)
Parque Nacional Lauca in Chile Jun 25, 2007
Aymara villages are typical here and the dress, food, customs, and look of the people are much similar to the Andean peoples of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador than mestizo Chile. The village of Parinacota (4,392 meters above sea level) is the most visited village in the park. (Suite101.com)
MAS: A New Bolivia Jun 18, 2007
Because of this, the valiant Bolivian people have conformed a Constituent Assembly to which it has given the mandate to "refound Bolivia" and construct a state based on the principals of sovereignty, dignity, complementarity, solidarity, harmony and equality in distribution and redistribution of the social product, where the common good predominates in the search to "live well; of respect for economic, social, judicial, political and cultural diversity of all its inhabitants; generating... (Zmag.org)
* Globe trotting -- Bolivia @zz:Q Jun 9, 2007
Two American Indian groups, the Aymara and the Quechua, are still the two largest ethnic groups and make up more than half of the country's population ... The Aymara, Quechua and other Native Americans were used as labor in these efforts ... Languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
Sweeping South America: indigenous pride Apr 3, 2007
5 million Aymara speakers. Andean languages also flourish in Ecuador as well as parts of Colombia and Argentina. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
