The Fair of El Alto

My new La Paz-ian friend Karim took me up to "La Feria de El Alto" - I’ve felt overwhelmed walking through the Upper Markets in the city, but this fair makes them all seem tiny in comparison. I met her on the San Francisco Plaza and we jumped into a mini-bus that was headed up the Auto-Pista, a long and narrow highway that winds around the Paceña beer factory and a huge forest of Eucalyptus trees on the climb up to El Alto. After a 20 minute ride, the mini-bus let us off at the side of the street and we climbed an incredibly steep set of mud stairs to get to the main altiplano fair ground, passing all sorts of vendors perched on the hillside. I was literally about to fall to the ground after about 30 stairs - the change in altitude was unmistakable, my ears were popping and I had the same, strange headache as when I first came to La Paz.









We started out on what Karim described as “the poor side”, which was filled with hundreds of ramshackle tents selling all sorts of goods from used bathrobes to naked Barbie dolls. We wove our way through the crowds in search of a hat for me (I was stupid enough to think that sunscreen alone would protect my skin from the blinding rays on the altiplano, no such luck) and a jacket for Karim. I ended up buying a black cowboy hat, which prompted several young kids to say “Un vacquero!” (A cowboy) as I walked by.















On our way to “the rich side” we passed by a central plaza, actually the area where cars are sold, that had a giant statue in the middle. There was also a sort of steep concrete structure that a bunch of kids has converted into a slide, which looked awesome, and if I were younger I would have joined in.







We continued walking around the fair for about three hours, passing through the areas that sold clothing, bags, shoes, car parts, you name it. I bought a brand new fleece for $4, a barely used computer bag for $1.50, and the cowboy hat was about $1. The amount of used clothing is unbelievable –huge bags of it come in from the US (I guess from places like Good Will) and are sold in the street markets here. Apparently they have been trying to pass a law for some years that, in an attempt to develop the Bolivian clothing industry, would stop the importation of foreign clothing, but I think that “law” has been in place for quite some time with no changes being made.











[The main drag in El Alto]



Far and away, the food continues to leave the biggest impression on me. There are people on the streets selling dough balls, pineapple slices, a drink made from water and dried peaches, and there are also tents selling fruit juices, fried sardine-like fish, chunks of meat, and potato-corn soups. Karim was on a mission to have me try some of her favorite “comida de la calle” (street food), which left me feeling a bit terrified, especially after seeing the giant vats used to cook who knows what kind of meat. But I did end up trying a food called “pesque”, which is basically a quinoa mash served with milk and “queso del campo” (farmers cheese), and it was very tasty, although I was convinced I was going to get food poisoning afterwards (I didn’t).













The air was a bit hazy in the morning, but in the afternoon as we were coming back down the sky was a perfectly clear hue of baby blue. Looking out for a view of the entire canyon full of the brick houses and curving roads was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen in my life.









[Illimani]







We also had to cross a footbridge and climb down a very steep hillside to get back to the minibuses.