Bolivian New Year's tradition?

Yesterday I went with my host sisters and company to the uber-market La Cancha where we all treated each other to brand new underwear. Yellow means money for the year to come, red=excitement, green=hope, white=tranquility, etc.

I bought one black pair and one blue pair with white polka dots -- I don't know what those colors stand for, but didn't ask for fear that it would be depression and doom. After all, they were the only ones I liked.

Cousin Karin asked me what type of traditions I have for the New Year, and I sheepishly responded, "oh, nothing that I can think of", to avoid responding, "well, renting two movies and watching them by myself while wrapped in a blanket".

Tonight there are plans for yet another midnight feast, and I anticipate plenty of knitting to keep myself distracted as I wait -- at least, a bit more action than the usual for me.

felices fiestas

Christmas for me this year. Do pardon my moribund 2003 Kodak Easy Shot:

The pre-party



Every year my host mom's family (large, very close and very proud) meets up on the 22nd of December to celebrate Grandpa Ismael's birthday. The story goes that several years before the Abuelo died he had a heart attack and his doctor advised him to live in the country, keeping the stress of the city at a distance. Abuela Simona left the city every Thursday to spend weekends with him, but Abuelo only came into the city once a year on his birthday to spend Christmas. On this date, the whole family would reunite and Abuelo would bring pine trees, special cheeses, and Christmas goodies in general for everyone.

Now that both abuelos have passed away, the La Fuente family uses this date to remember Ismael and Simona with mass, a visit to the cemetery and a several-course, all-day feast. The highlight was the end of the day when someone pulled out the "contract" signed the year before by all the family members who committed to bring certain things to the party. After cheering those who fulfilled their commitment and thoroughly humiliating those who didn't , there was a long process of deciding who will bring what in 2007 (my host brother Pablo, above, acting as emcee). Complete with some rowdy wrapping up and chanting for each participant (based on the music played at weddings to announce the padrinos who sponsor the cake, photography, etc.)



My host mom's sister and husband (right) pass the cloth to my host parents, who will host the party next year and cook lunch.












Olivia gets wrapped up after committing to be the madrina of flowers in 2007.
















Christmas Eve

Catholic Christmas festivities here take place on Christmas Eve, with the whole family decorating and cooking all day in preparation for midnight, when incense is lit, everyone prays, gifts are exchanged, and at long last, the feasting commences.








The tree is decorated with the manger, flowers and candles, not gifts, below. My host mom got up at 6:00 in the morning to go to the market to buy the moss upon which she placed little animals and the nativity figures -- at midnight, incense is lit and baby Jesus is added to the scene, which is called a "pesebre".
















The tablecloth painted by my host mom, which I watched all evening and all night until 1:00 am, when we finally ate.












Carlitos, equally desperate beside a pile of unopened gifts, but pretending to play it cool.















Magui, Juanca and Esperanza, and Lili below, in a whirlwind of gift opening. My amigos secretos were Pablo, who gave me silver earrings straight from Potosi and Magui, who I gave goodies for her new bed.






















Festivities ended at 4:00 a.m., which was much earlier than I was warned. And I'm now on vacation.

Cochabamba pride at the Social Summit

Comments on last week's Summit of South American presidents and the simultaneous Social Summit:

The Presidents Come to Cochabamba

Social Summit for the People's Integration

General Update

So much has been going on here in Cochabamba and Bolivia for the past several months that it's hard to keep track -- and I've never delved into it here because of the daunting task of fully comprehending and expressing it all.

So without trying to back up, just a tiny sampling of what's been happening in Cochabamba and beyond this past week:

-After over 1,000 campesinos marched from Santa Cruz through Cochabamba and onwards to La Paz, and after two senators made a controversial late night switch of position, the Ley INRA was passed. The law plans to redistribute a massive chunk of Bolivia's unproductive or illegally-owned land to campesinos with insufficient land. There is significant debate on how this might affect the respect for private property, as well as the issues that come along with defining "productive". But it may be Evo's most notorious move since the nationalization of hydrocarbons in May.

-Meanwhile, several departments in Bolivia planned strikes. The biggest, most constant news in Bolivia is the Asamblea Constituyente, which commenced in August and has a maximum of one year to rewrite the Bolivian Constitution. There are always related debates, and one of the most omnipresent has been whether to approve a simple majority (approving articles with 51%) or mandate a 2/3 approval of articles. The strikers wanted the government to recognize a 2/3 majority -- there were hunger strikes and blockades in Cochabamba's Plaza Principal.

-To top it off, public transportation drivers (transportistas) were striking and blockading last week over the passing of a law to eliminate illegal transport lines and drivers.

-And the clincher: next week the Comunidad Sudamericana, a political/economic community of South American countries founded in 2004, is meeting in Cochabamba -- which means presidents and important politicians from all over South America converging here. And surely, plenty of people taking advantage of the publicity to voice and demonstrate their concerns.

I'm looking forward to it, but it's hard to believe that the city won't deteriorate into utter chaos. The most frequent joke, as well as the most frequent beef among Cochabambinos, is the zeal Bolivians have for striking and blockading and anti-striking for anything and everything. From a North American outsider's point of view, it always seemed to be a rare and welcome sign of people coming together to assert their rights and protest injustice. Being here, however, it's become clear how debilitating constant blockades and strikes are to daily life, the economy, and even to the causes which provoke the manifestations -- people become increasingly immune to their force and start to view them with hostility when they happen every other day, sometimes for the most trivial of reasons, with negative effects on so many people unrelated to the issues. Mauricio has joked that we could step out of the office, set up a blockade on the street just because we were bored or frustrated with work, and no one would question it -- would take a detour, go about business as usual. It's daily life.

I'm still working it all out.