Wires and Cables Above The Streets of La Paz, Bolivia — HDR Images by kenne
Poles on street corners
Birds nest of wires and cables
Some not connected.
— kenne
Archive for the ‘La Paz’ Category
Chaos Of Wires and Cables 2 comments
Poles on street corners
Great Blue Heron Leave a comment
Great Blue Herons In Madidi National Park, Bolivia (08/23/19) — Images by kenne
Madidi is a national park in the upper Amazon river basin in Bolivia. Established in 1995, it has an area of 18,958 square kilometers, and, along with the nearby protected (though not necessarily contiguous) areas Manuripi-Heath, Apolobamba, and (across the border in Peru) the Manu Biosphere Reserve, Madidi is part of one of the largest protected areas in the world.
Ranging from the glacier-covered peaks of the high Andes Mountains to the tropical rainforests of the Tuichi River, Madidi and its neighbors are recognized as one of the planet’s most biologically diverse regions. In particular, Madidi protects parts of the Bolivian Yungas and Bolivian montane dry forests ecoregions.
Access to the Madidi National Park by flying from La Pez over the Andes to Rurrenabaque. We drove muddy jungle roads to our guide’s Tacana Community, where we boarded balsa wood rafts on the Tuichi River.
— kenne
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Cholita Wrestlers — Revisited Leave a comment
Cholita Wrestlers (08/18/19), La Paz, Bolivia — Image by kenne
A couple days ago I read where Cholita wrestlers stage a performance on the street during the Electropreste celebration,
which combines traditional and modern customs, in La Paz, Bolivia March 12, 2022. REUTERS/Claudia Morales
In August of 2019 we were in La Paz before flying over the Andes to the Amazon. Some of our group wanted
to go see the Cholita Wrestlers. Here’s a link to a posting I did. (Click Here.)
— kenne
Cholita:
“You see me…”
Then a sigh
“…in your Gringo eyes,
Green like algae and blue like skies…”
Then a sigh
And frown, and timid, stoic
And she turned to mirror
In her eyes history on a rock
Ollantay
Fearful, hesitant
Pleasure and the pain all the same
Impassive
All were one, without a difference
“…this is my story…”
“…this is my strength…”
However
Polomitsa she was
Or rather
A lion with power
And she talked
And defined
In city and around
“…Cholita, work of art, work of harm…”
Iconic history
“…this fashion is a curse…”
Lost in heart was my mouth
In ears was my tongue
I listened and I watched
And blunt, sure she was
Thick-skinned
With no rights
Under hat pollera, shawls and Jewells
Cholita an insult
Cholita an abused
Cholita her mother
Cholita her daughter
And
Cholita’s pride is Cholita’s revenge
— Nassy Fesharaki
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Life On Earth 1 comment
Life On Earth — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Life On Earth…
LIFE ON EARTH is pulled down hard on a man’s head.
This life was made by hatters.
A busy street is only coffee, bread, and hats.
The smell of a man’s hat – an old man’s hat –
is like the nostril of a horse.
You are breathing in what something beautiful
and ancient has breathed out.
The heat and life contained in it, the silk interior.
An old man’s hat is necessary:
You see that when he takes it off,
his hair and skin abruptly float away.
— David Keplinger
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To Be Born A Man 2 comments
La Paz Bolivia Street Scene (August 2019) — Image by kenne
To be born a man
She works so hard
to make up for the sloth
of her husband, and in the house
(Pardon my surprise.)
he's so inept and pompous,
that of course he's the boss
because he's a man!
If some poems get written,
a person must have written them,
but she just transcribed them.
(Pardon my surprise.)
If we're not sure who's the poet,
why assume it was him?
Because he's a man!
A smart, classy woman
can't vote in elections,
but the poorest felon can.
(Pardon my surprise.)
If he can just sign his name
even an idiot can vote
because he's a man!
He sins and drinks and gambles
and in a backwards twist of luck
she suffers, fights, and prays.
(Pardon my surprise.)
That we call her the "frail sex"
and him the "strong sex"
because he's a man!
She has to forgive him
when he's unfaithful;
but he can avenge himself.
(Pardon my surprise.)
In a similiar case
he's allowed to kill her
because he's a man!
Oh, privileged mortal
you enjoy lifelong
honor and perfect ease!
For this, to get all this,
it's enough for you
to be born a man.
-- Bolivian Poet, Adela Zamudio
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Gustu Restaurant Tasting Experience — La Paz, Bolivia Leave a comment
Gustu Restaurant Tasting Experience — La Paz, Bolivia — Images by kenne (Click On Any Image To See In A Slideshow Format)
In August of 2019, we spent some time in La Paz, Bolivia, before flying over the Andes to the Madidi National Forest in the Amazon. While in La Paz, we went to the Gustu Resterarent. Opened by Dane and co-founder of four-time World’s Best Restaurant, Claus Meyer, in 2013 with grand ambitions to boost investment and training in Bolivia while also propelling the country on to the world’s gastronomic map. We choose one of the tasting menus. The food was artistically presented, each providing a memorable tasting experience.
— kenne
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La Paz Street Scene Leave a comment
La Paz, Bolivia (08/17/19) — Image by kenne
“A man does what he must—in spite of personal consequences,
in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures—
and that is the basis of all human morality.”
— John F. Kennedy
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Photographs Haunt Us Leave a comment
La Paz, Bolivia (08/17/19) — Image by kenne
“Narratives can make us understand.
Photographs do something else: they haunt us.”
―
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La Paz Taxi Leave a comment
La Paz Taxi — Image by kenneLife & Death in La Paz
Taxi from El Alto spirals towards the clogged streets
A thousand metres down from hell to high-rise
Thanksgiving in America a daily struggle in Bolivia
Street lamp effigies signal certain death to thieves
Two bodies on road surrounded by yellow tape
Hombres sleep-like stillness an uncovered curiosity
This morning neither knew it would be their last
Fifty police listen to chief behind mahogany lectern
Death brings them 15 minutes of news-time fame
Cars and peasants pass by with unheeding speed
Is death the end or just another part of life in La Paz?
— Ian Beckett
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Bolivian Cholita Women Leave a comment
Cholita Women In La Paz, Bolivia (08/19/19) — Image by kenne
City of the full moon & speckled dove, of breathlessness,
thin air spiked with smog & the clay-colored fingers
of La Cordillera Real cutting a serrated skyline
behind grey buildings. City of black-haired women,
stout cholas sharpening their eyes under
the curled brim of a bowler hat
tipped to one side, their shoulders swimming in shawls,
hips wobbling the hem of a bell skirt. City
of open-air markets where chilies spill from burlap sacks
wrapped around the vendors like colors in a palette
running from rust to buttercup yellow.
— from “Boarding an Overnight Bus – La Paz, Bolivia” by Marty Saunders
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Illimani As Seen from La Paz 2 comments
Illimani As Seen from La Paz, Bolivia (08/18/19)– Image by kenne
The Legend of the Illimani and Mururata
The Legend of the Illimani and Mururata,
a story of mountains in which,
takes place in the middle of the Andes,
in a country divided by mountains,
Bolivia.
The Legend goes as follows,
long ago,
there were four lords watching over the Andes.
Huayna Potosi, Lord of stone
Illampu, Lord of light
Mururata, Lord of air
and lastly,
Illimani, lord of water.
They were ruled by the main god,
Viracocha,
who favored Illimani the most.
Mururata envied that Illimani was favored,
so much so,
that he started a brawl between him and Illimani,
that went on for years,
until Illimani had won.
As punishment to Mururata,
for causing too much trouble,
he was beheaded,
and his peak,
was left in the Andean plains.
If you look up,
La Paz, Bolivia,
you will come to find a beautiful mountain,
watching over the city,
that is Illimani.
— Marcelo_lelo12
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La Paz Market Street Leave a comment
La Paz Market Street — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Bodies pass through the world exchanging gifts
inscribing one another like a mutual tattoo
forcing them to see each other in mirrors and
be known in the sights of beasts and birds
. . . bodies are the center of remorse.
— Juan Carlos Orihuela (La Paz)
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Return Flight To La Paz — Photo Essay Leave a comment
We had a little time before going through airport security at the Rurrenabaque Airport.
We chose the shade tree outside, rather than waiting inside the terminal.
On the shuttle to the runway, Tom is entertaining the young women.
Walking to the plane for our 30 minute flight over the Andes to La Paz.
The Andes are the longest continental mountain range in the world.
Images by kenne
(Click Here To See More Photos.)
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Back In La Paz 1 comment
La Casona Hotel
Downtown La Paz
Downtown La Paz
Downtown La Paz — Images by kenne
Back In La Paz
An early morning
Streets still damp from a shower
In downtown La Paz.
Our stay will be short
Quick trip to Titicaca
Before flying home.
— kenne
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El Alto, Bolivia Leave a comment
Our last full day in Bolivia would be going to Lake Titicaca,
so early on August 24th, we met Michael Maldonado, our Lake Titicaca guide.
The most direct route takes us through El Alto, on the Altiplano highlands.
El Alto is today one of Bolivia’s fastest-growing urban centers,
with a population of over 1,000,000. Driving through the city, construction is everywhere.
Michael Maldonado On His Phone.
Common to the architecture, the first floor is designed for commercial use.
Most of the buildings in El Alto did not exist a decade ago,
so they are not only new but reflect a modern Bolivian style.
Images by kenne (Click Here To See More Photos.)
Becoming is Superior to Being 