El Alto, Rebel City: Self and Citizenship in Andean Bolivia

346 Pages·2008·1.51 MB·English

by  Sian Lazar

EL ALTO, REBEL CITY
A book in the series
Latin America Otherwise: Languages, Empires, Nations
series editors:
Walter D. Mignolo, Duke University
Irene Silverblatt, Duke University
Sonia Saldívar-Hull, University of Texas, San Antonio
about the series
Latin America Otherwise: Languages, Empires, Nations is a critical series. It aims to explore the emergence
and consequences of concepts used to define ‘‘Latin America’’ while at the same time exploring the broad
interplay of political, economic, and cultural practices that have shaped Latin American worlds. Latin
America, at the crossroads of competing imperial designs and local responses, has been construed as a geo-
cultural and geopolitical entity since the nineteenth century. This series provides a starting point to redefine
Latin America as a configuration of political, linguistic, cultural, and economic intersections that demands
a continuous reappraisal of the role of the Americas in history, and of the ongoing process of globalization
and the relocation of people and cultures that have characterized Latin America’s experience. Latin America
Otherwise: Languages, Empires, Nations is a forum that confronts established geocultural constructions,
rethinks area studies and disciplinary boundaries, assesses convictions of the academy and of public policy,
and correspondingly demands that the practices through which we produce knowledge and understanding
about and from Latin America be subject to rigorous and critical scrutiny.
EL ALTO, REBEL CITY
SIAN LAZAR
SELF AND CITIZENSHIP IN ANDEAN BOLIVIA
duke university press ( durham and london ≤≠≠∫
∫ 2008 duke university press
all rights reserved
printed in the united states of america
on acid-free paper $
designed by katy clove
typeset in quadraat by keystone typesetting, inc.
library of congress cataloging-in-publication
data appear on the last printed page of this book.
for Steve Lazar, 1947–2007

CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi
INTRODUCTION ∞
ONE EL ALTO THE CITY ≤∑
PART ONE
TWO CONSTRUCTING THE ZONE ∏∞
THREE CITIZENS DESPITE THE STATE Ω∞
FOUR PLACE, MOVEMENT, AND RITUAL ∞∞∫
FIVE HOW THE GODS TOUCH HUMANS (AND VICE VERSA) ∞∂∂
PART TWO
SIX COMPETITION, INDIVIDUALISM, AND COLLECTIVE ORGANIZATION ∞π∫
SEVEN ‘‘IN-BETWEENNESS’’ AND POLITICAL AGENCY ≤≠∏
EIGHT THE STATE AND THE UNIONS ≤≥≥
CONCLUSION ≤∑∫
NOTES ≤∏π
GLOSSARY ≤∫≥
BIBLIOGRAPHY ≤∫π
INDEX ≥∞∞

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
All photos are by the author unless indicated otherwise.
∞. Huayna Potosí, from the outskirts of Rosas Pampa 30
≤. Weekly market in Santiago II, the zone adjacent to Rosas Pampa 35
≥. General purpose shop in Rosas Pampa 43
∂. Civic organizations and the state in El Alto 54
∑. Paving the central avenue in Rosas Pampa, Avenida 4, in 2000 75
∏. The community center, built by the junta vecinal, in 2000 87
π. The community center in 2003, with additional floor and
extension 87
∫. Banner welcoming Jose Luis Paredes to the school during the election
campaign of 1999 100
Ω. The Morenada in Quilloma, 2003 128
∞≠. Men dancing the Morenada, fiesta of Gran Poder, 2003 135
∞∞. Women dancing the Morenada in Quilloma, 2003 138
∞≤. The Kullawada of 2000 in Rosas Pampa. Photo by David
Campfens. 139
∞≥. Ch’alla of the author’s room for Carnival 152
∞∂. An August misa/mesa for Pachamama 152
∞∑. The Tent of the Holy Spirit, visiting Rosas Pampa 166
∞∏. Schoolchildren parade in El Alto for Independence Day 191
∞π. Civic parade in El Alto, passing the dignitaries on the stage 193
∞∫. An impromptu demonstration by the Federation of Street
Traders 193