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[annabolivia-blog]

Beef Buffet

While in Santa Cruz, I tried to be open to trying new things. So when two Bolivian students, Neyi and Miguel, took me and my reporting partner AnneDella Hines to a Bolivian barbecue place, we were open to trying the traditional foods.  

When we walked up to the building, the first thing we saw was the cook in the front, cooking on a large grill with different types of meat on it. When it came time to order, Miguel asked us if we wanted something specific or if we wanted to have different types of meat. We decided to get multiple meats, not knowing what that actually meant.

The cook grilling the meat right as you walk into the restaurant. 

The meat was delivered to our table on a mini grill heated with coals. The first thing that both Neyi and Miguel said was, “Don’t ask what you are eating, just try them all and then we will tell you.”

The mini grill our assortment of meat arrived on that was heated with hot coals.

After we tried each one, enjoying some, but not all, of what we tried. They told us we ate the cow’s small intestine, heart, udder, and sausage.

A cow's heart in the upper right corner of the grill.

I am glad I got to try something I will probably never get a chance to try again. Also, the whole experience of being able to watch the cook grill all the different types of meat made the experience even more authentic. 

   -Anna Davis

[annabolivia-blog]

Education, prevention programs teaching Bolivians about consequences of rape

Reported by: Anna Davis

On the first day of reporting I visited the government center for children and teens to get information about the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. While interviewing Telsa Somae she told me that the majority of the teenage girls that come to the center that are pregnant were raped. Immediately I realized that, that was going to be my story. 

Due to this being a sensitive topic, pictures were not allowed of the girls at these centers for the protection of the girls. 

Credits: Bolivian student Neyi Franco Vargas and University of Arkansas student AnneDella Hines contributed to this report.

This story is part of the 2014 Lemke Abroad program for the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism at the University of Arkansas

[annabolivia-blog]

Graffiti artists use their craft to inform residents

Reported by: Anna Davis

While walking around the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia it is hard to avoid seeing graffiti. All forms of graffiti from political tagging to pieces of art are seen all around the city. A lot of messages like negative political advertising are not allowed on mass media platforms but artists found a way to get around these restrictions, using graffiti. 

Credits: Bolivian student Neyi Franco Vargas and University of Arkansas student AnneDella Hines contributed to this report. Photos: ARTErias Urbanas and Jose Faus.

This story is part of the 2014 Lemke Abroad program for the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism at the University of Arkansas

[annabolivia-blog]

Graffiti artists use their craft to inform residents

Reported by: Anna Davis

While walking around the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia it is hard to avoid seeing graffiti. All forms of graffiti from political tagging to pieces of art are seen all around the city. A lot of messages like negative political advertising are not allowed on mass media platforms but artists found a way to get around these restrictions, using graffiti. 

Bolivian student Neyi Franco Vargas and University of Arkansas student AnneDella Hines contributed to this report. Photos: ARTErias Urbanas and Jose Faus.

 This story is part of the 2014 Lemke Abroad program for the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism at the University of Arkansas

[annabolivia-blog]

Graffiti artists use their craft to inform residents

By Anna Davis

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia ­– Graffiti artists in this South American country are becoming increasingly popular, part of a growing movement that attempts to change the way people think by using street art.

  The growth is obvious as visitors travel to the center of Santa Cruz, where the city’s walls come to life with color. Some messages speak for themselves, with clear references to political and social issues, while others need more of an interpretation.

  The graffiti, near the center of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, doesn't use words to convey a meaning to the public but the message of time running out still comes across.

One of the ways graffiti is used is to express political opinions, which are regulated in mass media by Bolivia’s General Law of Telecommunications.

  “The law of telecommunications is based on controlling mass media for politics,” Ramon Fernandez, a communication professor at Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, said through an interpreter. “It is the government trying to control advertisement.”

  However, artists have found a way to get around these restrictions and are still able to get their political opinion on the streets for others to see. There are two types of graffiti, the legal and the illegal form.

  Adolfo Torrico, an artist at ARTErias Urbanas, a facility for expert and aspiring artists, said graffiti can be legal if the artist has the permission of the wall’s owner. This type of legal graffiti is known as street art, because it is more artistic and symbolic, full of colors, flowers and symbolic messages.

  A mural along a wall in near the main square in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Different sections of the wall represent different aspects of the Bolivian culture.

Illegal graffiti, often stencils with blatant political slogans or complaints, is done at night without permission and typically has bolder messages, he said. 

  “We do street art to promote the city and what we do, but graffiti was born in an illegal way, so sometimes we do it illegally,” Torrico said.

  Torrico sees street art as a way to reach the people when the government regulates other outlets.  

  “I believe that we are promoting change in the people,” Torrico said, “to promote or change at least one hour or one minute in the daily routine of some people.”

  Jose Faus, a Kansas City artist who worked with the ARTErias Urbanas group on a mural three years ago, said the graffiti scene in Bolivia has evolved slowly into an art form where the message depends on each artist.

  “There has been an explosion of (street art) in the three years since I was there,” Faus said. “Some of it is political and a lot of it is individualistic.”

For example, a floral mural he worked on symbolized a deadly flood that occurred 23 years ago in Santa Cruz. The flowers in the mural represent the cultural distinction between east and west Bolivia, he said.

  This mural in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, represents a deadly flood that occurred 23 years ago that washed away many communities along the river. The river's name translates into 'river of fish,' so the fish are painted on the wall to mimic the flow of the river. Photo courtesy of Jose Faus.

Since leaving, Faus has kept up with the graffiti scene in Santa Cruz and said he has seen nice pieces of street art applied throughout the city. However, he has also seen some backlash against it.

  “There have been calls for curtailing it,” Faus said. “I heard sentiment expressed when I was there but honestly I think those statements came from people that were equating the political tagging as graffiti art.”

  Political tagging is a form of illegal graffiti, where a person with a stencil goes around and spray paints the message on walls.

  This is an example of the types of political messages that are stenciled on the walls around the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. This one says, "I'm going to defeat Evo... I am a camba without fear."

One recent example of this type of political tagging around the city is, “I’m going to defeat Evo… I am a camba without fear.” It refers to the upcoming presidential election and President Evo Morales’ bid for a third term. “Camba” is the word that describes a person from Santa Cruz.  

  Some young artists like Santiago Coro, who studies art at UAGRM, said he believes that even though graffiti can be illegal, it is important because it is the way the artists can talk.

  “It’s an art that you could call prohibited because it is against the law.” Coro said, through an interpreter. “The artists only choose to make street art if they can defend the message because the police can see it.”

  Graffiti messages directed at the government are found on a wall near the center of Santa Cruz. The first is a political message for the government but from a women's anti-abortion group that says "Discussing the G77 and we die." The message in the middle is from an artist, "We paint while you sleep."

Social issues such as abortion, feminism and politics are just a few of the types of illegal graffiti Coro referred to.  These issues are not allowed to be advertised on mass media, according to the law of telecommunication. As a result, graffiti is used to reach the people with these social issue messages.

  “I believe that [the government] have to listen to it eventually through the population because the government is there because of the people.”

  When asked if the government listens to the people, Coro smiled and said, “No.”

  Even though advertisements are regulated through the mass media law, artists use graffiti to express their views and opinions.

  “The artists try to generate a change in their art in order to reverse something controversial,” Coro said. “In the midst of this controversy, we are listening and society will change. This is their final goal.”

  Graffiti has evolved into an art form in Santa Cruz through the years. However, according to Torrico and Coro, it still has a long way to go when it comes to relaying the messages.

Bolivian student Neyi Franco Vargas and University of Arkansas student AnneDella Hines contributed to this report. Photos: ARTErias Urbanas and Jose Faus.

This story is part of the 2014 Lemke Abroad program for the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism at the University of Arkansas

[annabolivia-blog]

Education, prevention programs teaching Bolivians about consequences of rape

Anna Davis

On the first day of reporting I visited the government center for children and teens to get information about the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. While interviewing Telsa Somae she told me that the majority of the teenage girls that come to the center that are pregnant were raped. Immediately I realized that, that was going to be my story. 

This story is part of the 2014 Lemke Abroad program for the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism at the University of Arkansas

[annabolivia-blog]

Education, prevention programs teaching Bolivians about consequences of rape

By Anna Davis

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia – The number of reported rapes in Bolivia is rising, showing a need for more outreach and enforcement but officials think a law passed in 2013 and education programs are helping women who have been assaulted.

  The 2013 law broadens the protection of women against various forms of violence and has spurred groups to make educational presentations to schools around Santa Cruz. The law and the programs help women feel like they have rights, said Telsa Somae, a lawyer at a government facility for children and teens.

  “As a result of the orientation classes we are giving, they’re not afraid, they’re not ashamed of being a victim,” Somae said through an interpreter.

  The center reported that the number of rape cases increased by 37 percent since 2010 to 929 reported in 2013. Of these 929 women, 82 percent were 18 years old or younger.

  The center receives between three and eight cases a day involving women who were impregnated because of rape. The numbers have gone up because women feel like they have a voice, not because sexual violence has increased, she said.

  Somae’s prevention program visits classrooms at local schools to educate them about the prevalence of rape and what girls can do to protect themselves, she said.

Telsa Somae, a lawyer for the government center for children and teens in Santa Cruz, shows off a new building that is apart of the center. This building will be able to house the children and teens before they find a more permanent place.  

“This facility will visit schools and give educational programs to both boys and girls about the dangers of rape and the consequences of it,” Somae said.

  “They’re learning to defend themselves and defend their rights,” she said of the young women.

  The center is not the only place where young girls can go to seek help. Two other Santa Cruz shelters, Madre Maria and Al Frado, take in pregnant girls when their families won’t help.

  “This center offers a space that teaches nutrition and gives clothing to all the girls and young first time mothers,” Telesa Fernandez, a social worker at Madre Maria said through an interpreter.

 The Madre Maria shelter in Santa Cruz is one option where pregnant girls can go and receive help. Telesa Fernandez, a social worker at the shelter, said that it holds 15 girls and currently 95 percent are victims of rape.

Organizations such as Madre Maria not only provide proper health care but also teach the girls useful skills, Fernandez said.

  “We teach them how to cook, attend their kids, and also how to study, cut hair, paint nails, skills they can use to get a job when they leave,” she said.

  Madre Maria has a capacity of 15 women. In June 2014, they were full and almost all of the women got pregnant after being raped. According to Fernandez, most of these girls were raped by a relative or someone close to the family.

  According to Somae, the government center receives many cases that involve a victim raped by a family member. She said that these girls are reporting cases more often because of the informational programs the government does.

  Teens in local high schools around Santa Cruz are taught about sexual assault prevention. The government center for children and teens is behind these outreach programs and believes they are successfully spreading the message about this issue. 

Somae said she believes the new laws and educational programs are a step in the right direction in protecting women.

  Fernandez agreed that the programs and laws are helping women realize their rights but the country still needs a cultural change.  With more education, future generations will understand that women shouldn’t be ashamed or victimized this way, she said.

  “I believe it has advanced very much,” she said. “The women can leave [the situation] because there has been progress. We are in another generation, another age.”

  Bolivian student Neyi Franco Vargas and University of Arkansas student AnneDella Hines contributed to this report.

This story is part of the 2014 Lemke Abroad program for the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism at the University of Arkansas