Music

The music of Bolivia has a long history. Out of all the Andean countries, Bolivia remains perhaps the most culturally linked to the indigenous peoples. Like most of its neighbors, Bolivia was long dominated by Spain and its attendant culture. Even after independence, Bolivian music was largely based on European forms.

In 1952, a revolution established nationalistic reforms which included cultural and political awareness of the Aymara and Quechua natives. Intellectuals in the country began wearing ponchos and otherwise associating themselves with native cultures, and the new government promoted native folklore by, among other methods, establishing a folklore department in the Bolivian Ministry of Education.

Awareness of native music, spirituality and art continued into the 1960s. In 1965, Edgar ‘Yayo’ Jofré formed a quartet called Los Jairas in La Paz. With Bolivian folk music gaining popularity throughout the country, Jofré, along with Alfredo Dominguez, Ernesto Cavour Julio Godoy, and Gilbert Favre used traditional music in modified forms to appeal to urban-dwellers and Europeans.

Later groups like Wara, Khanata, Paja Brava, Savia Andina, and especially Los Kjarkas and Kalamarka helped further refine this fusion. Following a close but different path, groups and singers like Luzmila Carpio, Ruphay, and Grupo Aymara started touring abroad and gained international praise for their compositions, tunes that have brought indigenous Bolivian culture and history to the world’s attention.

Los K’jarkas consists of three brothers, the Hermosas, who play primarily Huayño or, more rarely, sayas. These are both dance music influenced both by native forms as well as African music imported to Bolivia with slavery. Los K’jarkas are known internationally for their Caporales classic “Llorando se fue”, which was adopted and transformed to the popular beginning of the lambada dance craze of the 1980s, along with forró and carimbo in northern Brazil. The song was popularized by a French group, resulting in a successful lawsuit from the Hermosa brothers.

Kalamarka was founded in 1984 by Hugo Gutierrez and Rodolfo Choque. They fusion folk instruments such as Zampoña, Quena, Charango and Bombo with modern instruments, creating a beautiful musica andina. Their famous songs are ‘Cuando Florezca el Chuño’ and ‘Ama, Ama, Amazonas’. In the 1980s, Chilean nueva canción was imported to Bolivia and changed into canto nuevo, which was popularized by performers like Emma Junaro.

Traditional Bolivian (and other South American) musical instruments include the charango, charangón, ronroco, hualaycho, zampoña, quena, bombo, huancara, reco reco, chiapya box, pinquillo, tarka, toyos, moseño, pututu, Andean saxophone, and sheep hooves formed into a kind of shaker, as well as European musical instruments such as the violin and guitar.

Musical forms such as the Huayno, Bailecito, Kullawada, Tonada (or, directly Tinku), and Cueca are prominently featured in Bolivia’s cultural music.

Literature

The constant political turmoil that Bolivia has experienced throughout its history has slowed the development of Bolivian literature. Many talents have had to emigrate or were silenced by the internal conflict.

In recent years the literature of Bolivia has been in a process of growth, with the appearance new writers. Older writers such as Adela Zamudio, Oscar Alfaro, and Franz Tamayo continue to be important.
Nearly half of Bolivia’s population speaks indigenous languages such as Quechua, Aymara or Guarani.

The indigenous peoples of Bolivia have a rich oral tradition, as expressed in myths, legends, and stories; these stories generally have not been transcribed in writing.

Major Bolivian writers include:

• Nataniel Aguirre
• Óscar Alfaro
• Víctor Hugo Arévalo Jordán
• Alcides Arguedas
• Alcira Cardona
• Oscar Cerruto
• Armando Chirveches
• Adolfo Costa Du Rels
• Gary Daher Canedo
• Augusto Céspedes
• Antonio Díaz Villamil
• Javier del Granado
• Isabel Mesa de Inchauste
• Juan Pablo Piñeiro
• Enrique Finot
• Ricardo Jaimes Freyre
• Jesús Lara
• Juan Claudio Lechín
• Porfirio Diaz Machicao
• Carlos Medinaceli
• Jaime Mendoza
• Víctor Montoya
• Gabriel René Moreno
• María Josefa Mujia
• Gustavo Navarro
• Gustavo Adolfo Otero
• Natalia Palacios
• Manuel Rigoberto Paredes
• Renato Prada Oropeza
• Fausto Reinaga
• Jaime Sáenz
• Pedro Shimose
• Gastón Suárez
• Franz Tamayo
• Victor Hugo Vizcarra
• Juan Wallparrimachi
• Blanca Wiethüchter
• Adela Zamudio

Festivals

Pagan rites from the pre-Columbian era are still common during the religious festivals of the Natives. The clothing used during the festivals reminds the visitor of the pre-Columbian Indians and the 16th century Spaniards.

The devil dances at the annual carnival of Oruro are amongst the great folkloric events of South America, as are the lesser known indigenous Anata Andina and the “carnival” at Tarabuco (Pujllay) or the Tinku-fertility rites held at Macha every 3rd of May.

Dances

Many dances and songs contain elements from both the native and the European cultures. Caporales seems to be the most popular Bolivian dance of present times – in a few decades it developed into an enormous popular dance, not only in the Highlands, where it comes from, but also in the Lowlands and in the Bolivian communities outside the country.

In the Highlands other traditional and still very popular dances are:

• Morenada
• Kullawada
• Diablada
• Ch´utas
• Waka Waka or Waca Waca
• Doctorcitos
• Suri Sicuri
• Tinku
• Pujllay
• Tobas
• Auqui Auqui
• Llamerada
• Cambitas
• Chacarera
• Afro-Bolivian Saya

In the Lowlands there are:

• Macheteros
• Taquirari
• Chovena

Clothing

It is fashionable among Bolivian Andean women of indigenous descent to wear a skirt called a pollera. It was originally a Spanish peasant skirt that the colonial authorities forced the indigenous women to wear. Now it is also a symbol of pride in being indigenous and is also considered a status symbol.

Another fashion is the bowler hat, which was adopted from the British. The position of the hat can indicate a woman’s marital status and aspirations.