The “Cerro Rico” in Potosí
A discreet mining town fills with tourists once a year, and was once one of the largest and most important cities in the Christian world. Life is hard, but there are still those who find creativity and faith.
A dynamite stick purchased in a market in the Bolivian Potosí mining town costs 1.76 euros.
“For the miners, The most essential thing is dynamite“, Jhonny Condori, a Mina tour guide, which leads visitors to visit the Cerro Rico mountain (“ rich mountain ”), with helmets, overalls and tight in a small space.
Dynamite (which is illegal for marketing anywhere in the world, less here) is essential to accelerate the rhythm of mineral extraction. But “if they don’t know how to handle it, it’s dangerous,” explains Condori.
Potosí is one of the cities with the highest altitude world: it is over 4,000 meters above sea level.
A average life expectancy of Bolivian miners is only 40 years old: Accidents and diseases related to silica breathing are the main cause of death, which is why the mining region is known as “mountain that eats men.”
There are several children who work in a country where the legal age to work is 14 years, but many families surround the law for financial needs. Potosí is one of the poorest regions of Bolivia.
And your past is even more black. In the sixteenth century, the region was discovered by the Spanish settlers for being highly rich in silver. “The region has become very quickly into a kind of nightmare,” says Professor Kris Lane. “It was a lawless place, a place of forced labor ”.
Potosi thus became the Fourth largest city in the Christian worldwith a population of over 200,000 inhabitants in the late 16th century. It is reported that it was responsible, at the time, for the extraction and marketing of 60% of silver from around the world.
But the sun was little hard and the silver reserves ended up running out, and the main extraction is now zinc or tin, cheaper minerals.
Each Potosí Mine Poço entrance is marked by an effigy with horns, similar to a demon, the “El Tio” (“the uncle”). “We are very polytheistic, we believe in several gods,” explains the tour guide.
“El Tio” is a kind of amulet That, in fact, was introduced by colonial bosses to intimidate his indigenous workforce, “but nowadays, he gives us luck,” explains Condori.
Potosí is the scene of a vibrant “Carnival of Minas Gerais” between February and March of each year, which attracts a large number of tourists.
In fact, says the teacher, in the midst of misery there is still a hope of humanity through art: “In this apparent horror space, it is comrade, creativity… The music comes out of this place, interesting poetry, a lot of cultural fluorescence. ”
