Bolivian Culture in New York City

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Bolivian New York City

Bolivian New York City is centered in Queens and in Paterson, New Jersey.

Bolivian Dance in NYC

• Many Bolivian caporales dance groups join the Dance Parade.

Bolivian Fashion in NYC

• Fashion Designers of Latin America (FDLA) usually shows some Bolivian designers during New York Fashion Week.

Bolivian Festivals in NYC

• The Bolivian Day Parade is New York City’s big Bolivian festival.

Bolivian Film in NYC

• The New York Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center often shows some Bolivian films.

Bolivian Food in NYC

Puerta Del Sol in Woodside, Queens serves traditional Bolivian food.

You can get salteñas (Bolivian meat pastries) at Bolivian Llama Party in Sunnyside, Queens. blp.nyc

Bolivian Government in NYC

• New York City’s Bolivian Consulate is in Manhattan’s Garment District. cancilleria.gob.bo

Bolivian Parades in NYC

• The Queens Bolivian Parade is NYC’s big Bolivian festival. There is Bolivian culture at the Dance Parade, Hispanic Day Parade and Junta Hispana street fair.

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Bolivian Culture

Bolivian culture is mostly Indigenous with colonial Spanish and African influences, plus Japanese, and Lebanese influences

• Bombín hat
• Caporales dance
• Diablada dance
• Mestizo Baroque art
• Morenada dance
• Saltenas empanadas
• Tinku dance
• Zampona flute

Bolivian Dance

Bolivia’s Indigenous culture remains very strong. Bolivian culture is a rich blend of Indigenous, Spanish colonial and African cultures.

Bolivia has many interesting folk dances including Caporales, Diablada, Morenada, Tinku and Tobas.

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Bolivia

Bolivia has Andes and Amazon regions. It was part of the Inca Empire. Spanish colonizers stole the entire silver mountain at Potosí. Bolivians speak Spanish, Quechua, Aymara and other Indigenous languages. Indigenous culture remains strong. Indigenous colonial Mestizo Baroque art is quite beautiful. There is some blending of Indigenous and African Diaspora traditions. Carnival is important.

Bolivian People

The Bolivian people are mostly Indigenous, with a Spanish colonial overlay, Afro-Bolivians, and Japanese and Lebanese communities.

The Bolivian constitution recognizes 36 official languages.

Aymara and Quechua are the largest Indigenous communities.

Bolivian Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO recognizes these Bolivian contributions to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:

• Alasita ritual journeys
• Carnaval de Oruro is one of South America’s biggest cultural festivals.
• Ichapekene Piesta
• Kallawaya
• Pujllay and Ayarichi music and dance of the Yampara culture.
• Santísima Trinidad del Señor Jesús del Gran Poder in La Paz.

The Carnaval de Oruro is one of South America’s great cultural festivals. It was originally an Indigenous festival that was syncretized with the Virgin of Candelaria to preserve Indigenous traditions in the Colonial Era. It’s now a pre-Lenten carnival.

Public Holidays in Bolivia

• New Year’s Day on January 1.
• Carnival (varies)
• Good Friday (varies)
• Labor Day on May 1.
• Corpus Christi on June 16.
• Bolivian Independence Day on August 6.
• All Saint’s Day on November 1.
• Christmas Day on December 25.

Festivals in Bolivia

• Alasita, a Bolivian good-luck tradition, is in La Paz for two-three weeks from January 24.
• Feast of Our Lady of Candelaria, patron saint of Tenerife, Canary Islands, and the African Diaspora is February 2.
• Carnaval de Oruro is a pre-Lenten carnival.
• Holy Week varies.
• Nuestro Señor del Gran Poder Christian festival (May or June) is in La Paz in June.
• Aymara New Year is in Tiwanaku, near La Paz, on June 21.
• Inti Raymi is June 22.
• Entrada Universitaria is a college folk parade in La Paz in July or August.
• Pachamama Andean New Year celebrates Mother Earth on August 1.
• Ñatita is an ancestral veneration festival in La Paz on November 8.

Bolivian World Heritage Sites

UNESCO recognizes these world heritage sites in Bolivia:

• Chiquitos in Santa Cruz Department has restored colonial Jesuit missions.
• Fuerte de Samaipata in Florida Province of Santa Cruz Department is a town with ceremonial Indigenous rock sculptures.
• Noel Kempff Mercado National Park in Santa Cruz Department has beautiful waterfalls.
• Potosí in Potosí Department, is the city of Cerro Rico, the legendary silver mountain of the Spanish colonial era.
• Qhapaq Ñan is the ancient Inca road system that follows the Andes. The mountain road that passes through Bolivia, runs from Colombia to Mendoza, Argentina
• Sucre in Oropeza Province of Chuquisaca Department, is a town known for its fusion of Indigenous and Colonial architecture.
• Tiahuanacu in Ingavi Province of La Paz Department is an ancient center of Tiahuanacu culture.