Bolivia Ninja Gallery

The Bolivian Ninja Conspiracy A Latin American Photo Essay By Aidan Doyle February 2008 http://photos.aidandoyle.net aidandoyle@gmail.com		The Bolivian Ninja Conspiracy Latin America is one of the world's great travel destinations. Seemingly endless jungles, lost mountain cities, mysterious vanished civilizations, unique landscapes, thriving cities and the smell of revolution all combine to ensure a surprising adventure is always waiting around the corner. Where else can you find people whose job it is to dress up in zebra suits to ensure vehicles actually stop at zebra crossings? Where else can you visit families who live on their own tiny man-made islands? Where else can you journey across the surreal landscape of the world's largest salt plains? And there is always the mystery of the enigmatic Bolivian ninjas. Aidan Doyle February 2008 South America is a place I love, and I think, if you take it right through from Darien to Fuego, it's the grandest, richest, most wonderful bit of earth upon this planet. People don't know it yet, and don't realize what it may become... You and I could be as far away from each other as Scotland is from Constantinople, and yet each of us be in the same great Brazilian forest. Man has just made a track here and a scrape there in the maze. Why, the river rises and falls the best part of forty feet, and half the country is a morass that you can't pass over. Why shouldn't something new and wonderful lie in such a country? - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World	Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia Bolivia is home to the world's largest salt plains, known as the Salar de Uyuni. The salt flats lie a day's travel south of La Paz and feature some of the world's most spectacular scenery - white plains stretching off into the distance under a bright blue sky. There is no public transport to the plains, but tour operators offer 4-wheel-drive trips to the salt plains and nearby lakes. It's a popular area for backpackers to visit, and after spending many hours in a jeep, some people are inclined to do some exercise afterwards.
			Bolivian Street Vendors La Paz is home to more than one million inhabitants. Although the eastern lowland city of Santa Cruz has recently overtaken La Paz as Bolivia's biggest city, La Paz remains the country's tourist hub. La Paz is also one of Bolivia's two capitals and is the seat of government. The city of Sucre further south is the legal capital. It can be hard to find a street in La Paz that isn't occupied by at least one street vendor. Some streets have been taken over and serve as de facto markets. There is no licensing of street vendors. If you have something to sell, you simply find a space on the street. If you don't have a stall, you can simply put your produce on the ground. The daily Witches' Market (Mercado de Hechiceria) in central La Paz is the place to go for all your dried llama foetus needs. The stalls sell a variety of charms, home remedies, Pacha Mama (Earth Mother) figurines, love potions and gruesome llama foetuses. The foetuses are traditionally buried at the site of new building to ensure good luck.
		Bolivian shoeshine boys	Bolivian moneychanger
La Paz street market	La Paz drinks seller	La Paz street market	La Paz street market
	Festivals Latin America is renowned for its festivals and parties. Although Rio's Carnival is the most famous, carnival celebrations are held in most Latin American countries. Bolivians in particular are fond of singing and dancing and take great pride in their festival costumes, which include women in ornate petticoats and distinctive bowler hats. As well as the chaos of carnival, there are innumerable street parades in honor of different saints or to commemorate important historical events. Venezuela also holds a traditional carnival celebration in the small city of Carupano. The floats are occupied by beauty queens of all ages - including lots of drag queens. Beauty pageants are a big deal in Venezuela and Venezuelan contestants usually rank highly in the Miss Universe and Miss World contests. When currency restrictions meant the reigning Miss Venezuela would be unable to attend the 2003 Miss Universe pageant in Panama, the President of Panama personally intervened to ensure Miss Venezuela attended. A former Venezuelan Miss Universe even ran for the presidency in 1999. After her attempt failed, she went on to win a regional election and became a state governor. In 2003 a former Miss Venezuela was carjacked and when the carjackers realised who she was, they got her to autograph copies of her calendar for them. But not all parties are popular in Venezuela. In 2005, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's controversial president, urged Venezuelans not to celebrate Halloween. He described it as a "game of terror" and cited it as another example of the United States "putting fear into other nations".
Carnival in Carupano, Venezuela	Homemade costume. Carupano, Venezuela	Religion Due to the Spanish and Portuguese influence, most Latin American countries are predominantly Catholic. The Catholicism is often blended with remnants of the pre-Conquest religion. Local gods and spirits came to be venerated as saints instead. In the Chiapas region of Mexico there are Catholic churches where the locals perform healing ceremonies with coloured candles and sometimes sacrificed chickens. The traditional way of doing the ceremony was to have a drink of the locally fermented alcohol. Modern business interests intervened and now the ceremonies are conducted with a bottle of Coke or Fanta. The belch caused by the carbonated drinks is seen as a good way of expelling evil spirits.	Rio's Christ the Redeemer
Purple balloon Jesus in Cusco, Peru	Catholic parade in Cusco, Peru	Catholic parade in Cusco, Peru	Revolution Che Guevara's ghost still haunts Latin America. Che's image is everywhere and he is revered as a hero of the people. Che's adopted homeland - Cuba - is one of the world's most interesting countries. It's a mix of revolutionary spirit, Caribbean rhythm and political repression. Its supporters see it as leading the fight against American imperialism, while its detractors decry Cuba's lack of political freedom. Bolivia is one of Latin America's poorest nations and is infamous for its political instability. Numerous presidents have been overthrown by military coups or revolutions. In 2003, plans to export gas to the USA via Chile caused widespread demonstrations and blockades throughout the country. Over 60 people were killed and the president was forced to resign and flee the country. Vice President Carlos Mesa, a former historian and TV presenter was sworn in as president. Less than 2 years later, widespread anger at his failure to resolve Bolivia's gas crisis, led him to resign. In 2006, Evo Morales became Bolivia's first indigenous president. Morales is a vocal critic of the United States' attempts to stop coca leaf production in Latin America. La Paz lies in a valley and is overlooked by the poorer city of El Alto. Many El Alto residents wear traditional costume and still speak the Native South American languages of Aymara or Quechua rather than Spanish. El Alto's inhabitants sometimes march to La Paz to protest at their poor living conditions.
	Workers' protest in La Paz	Workers' protest in La Paz	Carlos Mesa, President of Bolivia (2003-2005)
Riot police on the streets of La Paz	All of our actions are a strike in the war against imperialism	Day of the Sea protest in La Paz March 23rd is observed as "The Day of the Sea in Bolivia." On this date in 1879, a small force of Bolivians died trying to defend a Bolivian port from invading Chilean forces. During the War of the Pacific, all of Bolivia's former coastal territory became part of northern Chile, resulting in Bolivia becoming a landlocked nation. Bolivia has lost territory in several wars (the country is now less than half the size it was when it declared independence in 1825), but the loss of sea hurts the most. Bolivia still maintains a navy and La Paz's Museo del Litoral (Museum of the Coast) is dedicated to Bolivia's former coast. Bolivia still demands the return of the land from Chile and the anniversary is marked with parades. Schoolchildren carry pictures of boats and placards reading: "I Want Sea."	The Mines of Potosi In colonial times, the Spanish forced Bolivians and African slaves to work in horrific conditions in the mines of Potosi, in the south of Bolivia. It's estimated that up to eight million people perished in the mines. The world's richest silver mines made Potosi the largest city in the Americas in the 16th century, but now the city is a shadow of its former self. The silver deposits have been exhausted, and miners today extract tin and zinc. Most of the miners work in co-operative groups and share the profits amongst themselves. The average miner earns US$3 a day - more than what many rural families survive on, but less than what workers in the city can earn. The mines are hot, dark and dangerous places and due to silicon inhalation and poisonous fumes, it's rare for a miner to reach the age of 50. The miners usually chew coca leaves that act as a stimulant; this is what gives their cheeks a swollen appearance.
The Bolivian Ninjas The Tong Amida Ryu Ninja school can be found in one of La Paz's poorer neighborhoods. It's run as a non-profit enterprise and is open to all ages and both sexes. The chief instructor is Bolivian, but was trained in Japan. The school's philosophy is that becoming a ninja is not just about learning martial arts - it's about becoming a better person. Bolivian ninjas study Japanese culture and art and cultivate bonsai. Students are graded on how they have accepted the ideals of ninjutsu in their heart, rather than how well they can kick or fight. If the instructors don't believe a student is taking their training seriously and with a good heart, they aren't allowed to practice with the school's weapons.	Ninja school in La Paz, Bolivia	Ninja training time	Transport Everyone who has done more than a little travelling in Latin America has a story to tell about crazy bus rides. Central America's chicken buses, Bolivia's most dangerous road in the Americas and freezing night buses across the Andes all make for memorable bus rides. Central America is the place where North American school buses go to die. It's not unusual to see faded yellow school buses (sometimes still bearing the names of North American schools) sputtering down Central American highways. Considering the condition of some of the roads, it doesn't take long for buses to suffer the effects of wear and tear and it's unusual to find a bus driver that isn't also an expert mechanic. On the other hand, Latin America is also home to some of the best buses in the world. In many South American countries, the quality of the long distance buses is much higher than what you encounter in the USA or Australia. If you're willing to pay a little extra you can ride on double-decker sleeper buses with fully reclining chairs and meal services.