In the morning, I got a glimpse into the usually closed cathedral of Sucre. Similar to the facades in Sucre's center, the interior of the cathedral is also white and very light. Beautiful!
The early morning cathedral visit was only a byproduct, however, as I wanted to visit the indigenous markets of Tarabuco, and needed to catch an early bus.
Tarabuco was the place of the earliest indigenous uprising against the Spanish in the 17th century. The Spanish had comported themselves in the usual disgusting colonist manner - raping daughters and wives, burning entire villages and their crops, etc - so the native people were furious. To trick the Spanish into spending their ammunition, they dressed up cactuses in their clothing, and afterwards were able to defeat the Spanish. In their fury, they opened the dead soldiers' chests and ate their hearts - which is depicted by this monument on Tarabuco's central plaza:
Today, the village is home to the largest indigenous market in the area where people from the countryside gather every Sunday to sell their wares.
These puppets are clothed in exactly the same way as people in Bolivia's countryside still dress today:
In general, all of the typical Bolivian merchandise - tablecloths, ponchos, hats, etc - is very colorful:
The following picture shows a spice seller and her customers.
Note the colorful cloth used as a backpack by one of the ladies. These often serve as a carrying bag for babies, too. Also have a look at the long braids the two ladies have. These are extremely common, at least among the indigenous part of the population - which, by the way, is huge: Bolivia is the country with the highest percentage of indigenous population in South America.
The early morning cathedral visit was only a byproduct, however, as I wanted to visit the indigenous markets of Tarabuco, and needed to catch an early bus.
Tarabuco was the place of the earliest indigenous uprising against the Spanish in the 17th century. The Spanish had comported themselves in the usual disgusting colonist manner - raping daughters and wives, burning entire villages and their crops, etc - so the native people were furious. To trick the Spanish into spending their ammunition, they dressed up cactuses in their clothing, and afterwards were able to defeat the Spanish. In their fury, they opened the dead soldiers' chests and ate their hearts - which is depicted by this monument on Tarabuco's central plaza:
Today, the village is home to the largest indigenous market in the area where people from the countryside gather every Sunday to sell their wares.
These puppets are clothed in exactly the same way as people in Bolivia's countryside still dress today:
In general, all of the typical Bolivian merchandise - tablecloths, ponchos, hats, etc - is very colorful:
The following picture shows a spice seller and her customers.
Note the colorful cloth used as a backpack by one of the ladies. These often serve as a carrying bag for babies, too. Also have a look at the long braids the two ladies have. These are extremely common, at least among the indigenous part of the population - which, by the way, is huge: Bolivia is the country with the highest percentage of indigenous population in South America.
