 Bolivia
at a Glance
Officially, the Republic of Bolivia, named
after Simón Bolívar, is a landlocked country
in Central South America. Bolivia is bordered
by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay
and Argentina on the south and Chile and Peru
on the west.
Anthem: Bolivianos, el hado propicio
Motto: ¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
(Spanish)
Capital: La Paz (government) Sucre
(legal)
Largest city: Santa Cruz
Official languages: Spanish, Aymara,
Quechua
Government: Republic
President: Evo Morales
Independence: from Spain, August 6,
1825
Area: Total 1,098,581 km²
2005 census: 8,857,870 habitants
Currency: Boliviano (BOB)
Time zone: (UTC-4)
Internet TLD: .bo
Calling code: +591
This information is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article
"Bolivia".
Culture
of Bolivia
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Typical Bolivian
Dance
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Bolivia is located at the Andes Mountains.
It has a significant Native American population
that mixed Spanish cultural elements with
their ancestors' traditions. The Spanish-speaking
population mainly follows the Western customs.
Festivals
Pagan rites from the pre-Columbian era are
still common during the religious festivals
of the Indians. The clothing used during
the festivals reminds the visitor of the
pre-Columbian Indians and the 16th century
Spaniards.
Dances
Many dances and songs contain elements from
both the native and the Mediterranean culture;
obviously, they suffered a strong Spanish
influence during colonial times.
Clothing
It is fashionable among Bolivian women of
indigenous descent wear a skirt called a
pollera. This skirt was originally a Spanish
peasant skirt that the colonial authorities
forced the indigenous women to wear. Now
this skirt is a symbol of pride in being
indigenous and is considered a status symbol.
Music
Music is played during the festivals and
the dances. Some tunes contain strong Spanish
influences. The most common musical instruments
are:
Sicu (also "sicus") or zampoña
Quena
Tarka or tharqa
Pinkillo
Skin drums
Bronze gongs
Copper bells
Charango: Has five pairs of strings and
looks like a small guitar. Traditionally
it was made from the shells of armadillos,
but today it is mostly made of wood.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free
Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article
"Culture
of Bolivia".
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