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Approaching La Paz from
the south, the first thing that you notice is that you don't see it until
you are almost in it. The reason for this is that La Paz sits in a deep
bowl where the altiplano meets the cordillera. As you approach El Alto,
which sits on the rim of the bowl, you find yourself looking for indications
of a big city. Although El Alto, once a sattelite of La Paz has become
a city of its own, it lacks the markings of an urban center. Having reached
a population of 600,000, 90% of which are indigenous, El Alto is considered
by many to be the fastest growing city in South America.
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The high rise buildings
of La Paz are not visible from the plane above.
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Everything imaginable
is available on the street in La Paz. Semi-permanent mini-kiosks sell everything
from shampoo to insoles. In addition there are permanent street markets
that sell produce and housewares. In La Paz, informal sector economics
does not merely function as a compliment to the regular economy, it rivals
it for control of the day to day domestic marketplace. Aymaran women constitute
the largest part of this street economy.
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Top: the produce market
near our hotel. Above: Aymaran women sell palm fans in the plaza in front
of the San Francisco Cathedral on Palm Sunday, while across the street
you can find fruit, and toilet paper, and chocolate bunnies (below).
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