Country news

August, 1st 2014

Baroque music festival - Jesuit Missions

Between August 28th and 31st open simultaneously mini baroque music festivals in several villages of the Jesuit Missions. Over a hundred local musicians will delight their art to the public in ten of the Jesuit Missions villages and the city of Santa Cruz. These festivals seek to boost tourism in the region and certainly listening to some of the orchestras and choirs in the missionary churches is very attractive for visitors. We offer 1 to 5 day tours to the Jessuit Missions to live this unique experience.

August, 1st 2014

“Neo-andean architecture” overruns El Alto city

“Cohetillo architecture”, “Neo-Andean”, “Cholets” are some of the names given to this particular and unique architectonic style in El Alto, located in La Paz. They stand out for their bright colors and their resemblance to fairy tale palaces or even big mansions. This style was born in the late '90s in order to demonstrate a higher level of status, since altitude is culturally considered a symbol of progress and in the Andean region, social prestige is often very important. In March the book:" The architecture of Freddy Mamani Silvestre" was released, with texts in Spanish and English, including a map and itinerary for those who want to explore these amazing buildings.

 

August, 1st 2014

New 7 wonders cities: La Paz made it to the 21 finalists

Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, informed on July 7th that La Paz made it to the 21 Official Finalists of the New 7 Wonders Cities in the world. He said that these cities were chosen because they are remarkable in terms of regional geography and urban culture. According to the official web site www.new7wonders.com, the next voting phase will be on October 7th (they will pick 14 cities) and the 7 finalists will be announced on December 7th.

 

 July, 1st 2014

Ecolodge “La Estancia” receives certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor

Trip Advisor gave the certificate of excellence 2014 to the Ecolodge ”La Estancia”, located in Lake Titicaca, recommended by its users as being the best accommodation on the Sun Island. This certificate is presented to businesses that repeatedly receive high reviews from the users of Trip Advisor. “La Estancia” is an ideal place that remains in harmony with the nature and enchantment of Lake Titicaca, respects the traditions of the local aymara culture located in one of the most spiritual and mystical places of the Andes Mountains. There are tours of 1 to 4 days including hikes through the beautiful and diverse areas of the Sun Island.

 

July, 1st 2014

La Paz already has its cable car

On May 30th began operating the first rail of the cable car “Mi Teleférico” that will join the cities of La Paz and El Alto. It will be the urban largest cable car system in the world. “Mi Teleférico” will have 3 main cables: red, yellow, and green, the colors of the Bolivian flag. When all three cables are functioning, the “tourist card” will become available to buy, which will permit unlimited use of all routes of the cable rail for a period of 24 hours.

 

July, 1st 2014

The road of the Incas declared cultural heritage by the UNESCO

The Qhapaq Ñan (“principal road” in quechua) is the oldest road system of the Americas; it extends over 23,000 kilometers and crosses over Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. This road was the basis of political power and economy for the Incan empire and is a unique example of ancient technology and engineering. The Bolivian part that was declared as heritage of the humanity is between Desaguadero and Viacha which borders the southern side of the Titicaca Lake and involves seven surrounding communities.

 

June, 1st 2014

Baroque music festival in the Jesuit Missions

The 10th International Festival of American Renaissance and Baroque music “Misiones de Chiquitos” took place April 24th through May 4th in the department of Santa Cruz.  This festival is held every 2 years with the hopes that through the music, the citizens will become aware of the importance of the Chiquitos as part of our identity and heritage. This year, there were 23 national groups and 28 international groups that participated in the festival from Germany, France, Canada, and other countries.

 

June, 1st 2014

Dakar 2015 Bolivia

Etieene Lavigne, director of Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) has reported that four stages of the Dakar 2015 international level competition will be run in Bolivia. Lavigne explained that on January 10th the motorcycles will enter Bolivia from Chile and stop in Uyuni. On January 11th, while the motorcycles are returning to Chile, the competition of the car category will enter for the first time in Bolivia and run two stages of the race.

 

June, 1st 2014

Santa Cruz prepares for the G-77

The G-77 is the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the United Nations, which provides the means for countries to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and to enhance their joint negotiating capacity. This year's summit will be held on the 14th and 15th of June in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and is intended to touch certain issues such as sustainable development, the eradication of hunger, and the pursuit of sovereignty over natural resources.