Peña & a trip to the lake
03.08.2004
Saturday night, the all-female Arawimanta played at O Mundo Café. They were quite good, and were forced to play an encore by the audience. All eight of the group's members can play any of the traditional Andean instruments — zampoña, quena, bombo, etc. — and would alternate instruments between songs. Quite impressive. So. We had our very own little peña (traditional-folkloric music performace) at the café.
It was also great to see an all-female group; most Andean folk groups are all-male. It also added another tone to the music, which was a more traditional, genuine Altiplano style. I certainly hope they come back to play again.
After closing, I got a few hours sleep before an early Sunday morning trip to Lake Titicaca w/ Daniel & Sylvia & Luciana and José Mario & María Angela. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera, since at the last minute they called & decided not to go to Copacabana — and then at the really last minute (10:00 am) we decided to go to the lake, regardless.
But it was a great time. It's a two hour trip out through the Altiplano, which is actually green this time of year. I've usually only seen the Altiplano in winter, so these last few weeks of seeing it green, w/ crops & livestock, was a treat. There's patches of quinoa, amaranto, maíz, potatoes, avas, and more w/ their various colors & flowers.
We ate fish fresh from the lake in the village of Puerto Perez, before a half-hour boat ride on the world's highest navigable lake. All in all a great trip, and well worth the car trip. I want to go again, to take pictures. Perhaps the Easter pilgrimage?
Posted by Miguel at 02:11 PM
Comments
I'm willing to back again. Let's try to go in Easter Pilgrimage, friday morning spend a whole day (stay the night) ang go back to La Paz saturday at noon. We'll have to make reservations in an hotel though, well in advance!.
Posted by: Daniel at March 9, 2004 09:29 AM
Pretty cool bro ... s this common? I've never seen an all woman band in Bolivia. How did you hear of them?
Posted by: Andres at March 10, 2004 09:10 PM
No, all-women grupos autoctonos aren't common at all. We heard of them from the previous owner, who had developed a reputation for having live music & such. We hope to have them again.
Posted by: Miguel at March 11, 2004 02:47 PM