Willamette World News

While I was in Bolivia, I “knew” the United States through the movies and the news. I had an image of a very violent place where anybody can have a gun, a place with many drug users and drug dealers, and place with a high level of promiscuity of its youth; consequently, it was not […]

The Bolivian cuisine varies with the geography of the country. The ingredients of the Bolivian cuisine are one-hundred percent organic, mainly because the production of agriculture products are not for export, all of these products are for the internal market. There are many reasons for that situation, but those reasons are not the topics of […]

Ten years ago while I was still living in Bolivia, my friends and me we used to meet every Saturday at the main plaza of Cochabamba city. The main plaza is located at the heart of the city. Around the plaza there are many shops, restaurants with beer gardens, ice cream stores, pizza places, music […]

There are a great variety of Bolivian dance and music. They vary greatly from one region to another. In general Bolivian music is created not just for playing, but mostly for dancing. The following are examples of some of the most popular dances of this country (based on their authenticity and originality), most of them […]

My name is Ivan Miranda; I am originally from Bolivia, South America. Prior to residing in Oregon, I lived in Illinois where I got my Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages. In Bolivia I earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics, and here in Oregon I taught Spanish at the University of Oregon for two […]

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.

The formal education in Bolivia starts with kindergarten (one year), elementary (five years), middle school (three years) high school (four years), and college (five years). Public education is free (from kindergarten to college). The school time is split into three shifts (morning, afternoon, and night). For example, I attended the morning shift (6:45 am to […]

Bolivia is a multiclass and multiethnic country; consequently, each class and ethnic group celebrates their weddings differently.

The day of the dead also called “Todos Santos” (All Saints Day) is a traditional Catholic holiday celebrated on November 1st of every year throughout the world. On this holiday, most Bolivians visit cemeteries to honor the dead.

Bolivia is one of the richest countries in natural resources and cultural diversity in the world; between its ecological segments or stages there are a variety of flora, fauna, minerals, oil, natural gas, gold, lithium, precious stones, etc, but unfortunately Bolivia is the poorest countries in the Americas in human resources.