The country that I have chosen is Bolivia. I chose this country because I thought it would be interesting to learn more about it. What I would like to learn about this country is how it came to have 34 native languages.
What is culture? Why is it important to a society?
Culture is the values, norms, and beliefs of a group of people.
Look up a definition of culture. Does your definition correspond with a dictionary’s definition? (please remember to cite your source)
Yes, my answer does correspond with the dictionary.
What is your personal culture? What has happened in your life to shape your personal culture?
My culture is the African American culture, because I was raised in this culture it became my own.
Are you aware of any aspects of culture of the country you have chosen? If yes, please describe. If no, please discuss common Hispanic/Latino cultural aspects in general.
Most Bolivian’s are Roman Catholic most likely because of the influence from Spain. They also nationally celebrate most catholic holidays such as Christmas and Easter.
Cultural artifact: The Bowler Hat
- Aymara women in Bolivia wear these hat called ‘Cholitas’, the reason the bowler hats got started in south American was because of the European control over Bolivia.
- The indigenous population of Bolivia wore these hats as a way to pronounce self-respect to Spanish settlers who had invaded their land.
- It is important item in this Spanish culture because it is a key item in their fashion, as they have fashions shows.
Cultural Artifact 2: Oruro Carnaval
Bolivians celebrate the Oruro Carnaval for eight days before Ash Wednesday and it always begins with the diablada, which is a devil dance. This carnaval has many more dances one of which depicts the story of the devils wife try to seduce archangel Michael. During the carnaval many ritual are preformed mainly based off of pagan beliefs of their ancestors.
Cultural Artifact 3: LA Quena o en ingles Kina /flute
Quena player in tradicional bolivian dress. 
Music is very important to my personal culture, I love music and the type of music someone listens to can tell a lot about them, which is why I chose the quena for my next artifact to be the quena. It has a rich history which derives from Tawantinsuyu/ Inca Empire. Just as music has meaning for my culture it has meaning to theirs, it’s the connection to their ancestors and an understanding of where they came from.The quena is a type of lute that originated in the Andes. It is most common in Bolivia and Peru and has been so for more than 500 years. The quena was originally made of condor quills or from the bones of llamas, which were considered sacred animals. A quena is a made with a mouth piece called a ‘muesca’ that has a notch shaped usually like a ‘U’. When played it produces a tone like that of a bird. To play the quena correctly you must place you mouth correctly on the mouth piece. To do this you must place the mouth piece under your lower lip and above your chin and then blow down into in quena.
Cultural Artifact 5: Chakana
In my personal culture the cross is an important symbol, which my religion is displayed. In Bolivia, they also have a symbol just like that, it is called the chakana. The chakana is a three step cross that comes from the word chakay, meaning "to cross" in Quechua (traditional language of the Incas) word "chakay," meaning "to cross" or "to bridge,”; Bolivians display their cross much like I would mine such as wearing it as a necklace or as a keychain. The three steps on the Inca cross each represents something different, for instance the first tier represents the stars, heaven and the gods, while the second tier represents man and earth, and following this pattern the third tier represents the underworld and death. They also can represent animals such as the condor, the puma and the snake . In addition to the three steps there is a square or circular shaped hole in the middle symbolizing the Incan capital of Cusco.
Cultural Artifact 5: Silpancho
Eating habits of Bolivians greatly differ from mine in that they have a good breakfast, a big lunch and a light dinner, for dinner would be the biggest meal of my and for most days I do not even have lunch . A common meal there is silpancho. It is a typical Bolivian meal from Cochobamba. It consists of beef, rice, potatoes, and fried eggs.
The beef is prepared with breadcrumbs, adobo seasoning and vegetable oil. The rice is prepared with red onion, red peppers, cilantro, vegetable oil and salt. A lot of oil is used in the cooking of their foods.The salsa for the topping of the meat includes plum tomatoes, jalepeño and red onion, and the potatoes are fried in just vegetable oil.
