Two months or ten years?

by Tatiane Chaves (Brazil)

Making a local connection Bolivia

A sequence of windows breaks the landscape. For the first time, I am travelling in the “train of death”. We left our home last night and looked at the sun again only sixteen hours later. In the last Brazilian city, Corumbá, my university colleagues and I left our comfort zone to get to know another Latin American country, whose name is a reference to an important person from this continent: Simon Bolívar. In 2008, the Bolivian population was divided over Evo Morales’s victory at the presidential election. The southern state Santa Cruz rejected the indigenous leader. However, the northern areas such as Cochabamba and capital La Paz celebrated. If I didn't know anything about Bolivian politics, I would have had a full degree on the streets in two months. I had also learnt about Andean worldview when I saw a Pachamama’s ceremony. During the daily activities, I was able to perceive the way Brazilians are seen: a happy people that explore other countries in this region - in Bolivia, the petroleo specifically. Bolivian people gave us hugs, but also did several criticism. A two weeks in the cinema couse, in the rural area, when we complain about the water quality. Such an answer we hear: “Do we know that thirty five million people in Latin America don’t have access to potable water?”. It took us fourteen days to realize that empathy is not about reading Eduardo Galeano’s books only. The trip also stimulated me to find other cultural references. During conversations with my Bolivian new friends, I knowed the movies an importan video maker called Jorge Sanjinés. I started study also indigenous textile materials and learned too the laughts. The its sound Yaaa come back with the images of La Paz corner. Two dolls I got there are on my work table. It seems that those two months are not over. Now talking about the World Nomads opportunity, If I win the scholarship, my plan is to study how Caribbean artists have been involved with their communities. In a quick search, I found names such as Ebony G. Patterson, from Jamaica, Cristopher Cozier, from Trinidad and Tobago, and Tessa Mars, from Port- Au-Prince. Why did I select this point of view? Because it is, in my opinion, an untypical way to explore this region. Besides that, it will help me understand subjective and historical points of view. It is also possible to build a collective narrative with people involved in the production process of their works of art.