Mercados de La Paz: food and culture collide

If you can handle the overflowing, bustling street markets of La Paz, they are well worth fighting your way through! The endless array of colours, mouth-watering aromas and fierce but friendly bartering is a feast for the senses.

We were lucky enough to be taken on a tour by a group of shoe-shiners (“lustrabotas” in Spanish). The shoe-shiners work on the streets of La Paz, shining shoes and often wearing balaclavas to protect them from the fumes. In some cases, these face masks are also worn to disguise their identity. These shoe-shiner kids are also part of an initiative, Hormigón Armado, which is a monthly street publication and social project, including taking tourists on tours by foot around La Paz. This seems like a brilliant idea to me, as we couldn´t have had more streetwise, attentive guides full of endless facts and local knowledge! Although I was at first apprehensive to be led through the streets by balaclava-clad guides we soon become accustomed to their appearance, and quickly put our full trust in them as they led us across nightmarish roads, through dangerous streets (I quickly learnt the word for dangerous “pelligroso”!) and made sure we didn´t get lost.

Volunteers and shoe-shiners at the end of our tour

We visited one of the largest, poorest cemeteries of La Paz containing thousands of graves piled on top of each other. We were told that there is a funeral at least every 10 minutes here. Families must pay every year for a space in the cemetery and if they cannot afford it any more, the body is returned to them. The state of each grave reflects how much each family can afford in upkeep costs.

We tasted delicious fresh, fried fish in the fish markets and traditional cinnamon-flavoured ice in an open café area. I was fascinated by a street filled with bowler hat shops, an essential item of the traditional cholita dress, often adorned with VERY expensive gold jewellery!

One of the most unique markets in la Paz is the Witches´ market, selling a bizarre assortment of wares including potions, amulets, candy, jewellery, owl feathers, dried snakes, dried snakes, dried turtles, dried frogs and endless other unusual items. The most renowned item for sale in the Witches´ market is dried llama fetus which is used for Aymara rituals and pretty disturbing!

One of our guides was a woman in traditional dress, otherwise known in Bolivia as a “Chola” or “Cholita”. She carried her tiny baby around the whole of La Paz with us on the tour, while her slightly older son ran riot around us!

Women carry their children, food, market produce and pretty much anything else they need to carry on their backs, wrapped in an aguayo, which is a colorful, patterned, woven sling made from woven fabric. I have discovered you can buy pretty much any item of clothing, accessory or jewellery you desire in this type of fabric - I was most excited when I found the woven ukulele cases!

More information on the Hormigón Armado initiative: http://www.vagabondish.com/shoe-shiner-kids-guide-city-tours-paz-bolivia/