Potosi – Wandering Miner

The bus trip from Uyuni to Potosi is rather pleasant, passing through small villages and hills and mountains. One climbs approx. 700m on this trip. Potosi is the highest situated city in Bolivia just after La Paz.

Upon arrival in the city centre I took a liking to the old town. As there has been mining here for over 470 years you can see how much wealth was accumulated. Potosi was one of the places where silver coins were made for the whole Spanish Empire! Unfortunately, the buildings have not been maintained and the infrastructure thus looks unkept. The 10 de Noviembre Square, the main square is filled with flowers and surrounded by stately buildings and the cathedral.

I arrived on a Sunday and the city was celebrating a Saint’s day- and what a celebration it was! A huge parade consisting of hundreds of people that went on for hours! There were so many bright colours and finely adorned garments for girls, men and women. The men wore very heavy costumes, they even had big American football type shoulder pads to help spread the weight. The younger ladies wore tiny little layered minis and the older ladies wore ¾ length multilayered skirts. Nearly all wore knee length high heels. I cannot even imagine how much a full outfit would cost?

As the parade passed, each group had their own band- because I can see that Bolivians do not celebrate quietly! The drums were so loud that you could feel it in your chest!

At the end of the parade was the saint in question, priests and altar servers blessing temporary saint chapels that people in the city had decorated with fresh flowers and embellishments. And strangely, behind this was a long parade of cars that were covered in blankets and decorated with expensive silver plate ware, cutlery and art. I wonder if this attested to the silver mines all over Potosi but I am not sure how this ties to the Saint?

On my last day I pay a visit to the Mint (Casa Nacional de la Moneda). The building takes up a whole city block and was very important in the production of coins. All the machinery that is at the mint is original- which is impressive as it was used for over 100 years. The machines are nearly all made from wood. A few interesting facts, the dollar sign ($) originated from the stamp that coins made in Potosi were identified with. The original stamp included overlapping PTSI, later the P&T were dropped and S & I overlaid gave the dollar sign. It was also in Potosi that they put borders around coins. The reason for this is that people used to break off little pieces of silver off the borders and steal it that way, to the point that round coins became square.

I also paid a visit to the Santa Teresa Convent of Carmelite nuns. This was a fascinating visit.

The convent was opened in the 1600s and housed a maximum of 21 nuns. The Carmelite order is a silent order and traditionally the second daughter of wealthy families were sent to Convents. The first daughter and son was married off, the second were sent to clergy / convent and the 3^rd son was sent to the military.

Girls entered the convent at the age of 15. It was not a cheap practice; the family had to pay 2,000 gold coins for the privilege of sending their daughter to the convent. If you didn’t have that cash, then art or equivalent valuables could be used.

Up until 1965 the families and nuns were not allowed to see or touch each other. They were only allowed one visit per month for one hour. The daughters were dressed up in glorious dresses on the day they entered the convent, signifying a marriage/commitment to their faith. The dresses were sometimes reused in making vestments for priests. Each nun had a small room, with a bed without a mattress- they slept on wood. The first of seven prayers during the day was at 4am.

There are many altars that have been restored from several different convents that are now museum pieces. They are wooden and covered in 24ct gold leaf.

2 replies on “Potosi”