Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0042/00425.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 35KB | 571 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00425}
$Pretitle{266}
$Title{Bolivia
Chapter 8A.   Cultural Life and Mass Communication}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Thomas E. Weil}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{national
period
colonial
de
bolivia
century
first
country
bolivian
literary}
$Date{1974}
$Log{}
Country:     Bolivia
Book:        Bolivia, A Country Study
Author:      Thomas E. Weil
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1974

Chapter 8A.   Cultural Life and Mass Communication

     Bolivia's physical isolation from the trading posts of culture is
reflected in its artistic and intellectual traditions. Most of the important
international currents have eventually made their way to La Paz, but only
those that have been adaptable to the expression of the Bolivian historical
experience or social conditions have been embraced and assimilated.

     Although the Hispanic cultural elites now take great pride in the
archaeological remains of pre-Columbian cultures and manifest a sense of
urgency about recording the legends and the music of the Indians that have
been passed down orally from generation to generation, the original Spanish
colonizers disrupted and repressed indigenous creative efforts and implanted
an alien culture. Development in literature and the arts, however, was scanty
and halting until the beginning of the twentieth century. Most of the
literature of the colonial period consisted of either religious speculation or
historical chronicling, and there was no printing press in the whole of Upper
Peru (encompassing part of present-day Peru and Bolivia) until the eve of
independence in 1825. The graphic arts and music of the period were generally
imitative in both style and subject matter.

     The nineteenth century produced some outstanding historical works, but it
was not until the early twentieth century that writers began to take a
critical look at the society of which they were a part. What began as a
literary revulsion against the status quo developed, after the Chaco War
(1932-35), into a glorification of the downtrodden Indian and an impetus for
revolutionary change. The Indian, conscripted to fight and die in a war he
did not understand in order to preserve the prerogatives of an alien
exploitative elite, became the protagonist of innumerable novels and
interpretive historical treatises. Whether these writers were highly
influential as precursors of the revolution or were merely reflective of a
national mood is still being debated by historians, but their importance in
the development of a national literary tradition is well established.

     The focus on the Indian in his natural and societal environment spread
in the 1930s and 1940s from literature into painting and sculpture with the
assistance of stylistic borrowings from the Mexican muralist school. The
figurative approach that prevailed in the earlier nativist or indigenist works
had lost ground by the 1960s to abstract expressionism, but the themes
remained the same.

     The country has never developed a strong tradition in classical music,
although the incorporation of native music into some compositions has
broadened its appeal. Folk expression in music and dance, on the other hand,
has flourished; its vitality is particularly manifest in festivals, often
unique to a city or region, involving elaborate costumes and imaginative
choreography.

     Postrevolutionary governments, especially in the 1950s and early 1960s,
have made some attempts to underwrite the efforts of artists and scholars, to
disseminate their works to a broader audience, and to expose the educated
classes to the country's rich folkloric tradition. Nevertheless, the cultural
gap between the intelligentsia and the masses they choose to depict and seek
to influence remains immense.

     In the early 1970s some observers maintained that creative efforts had
been stymied both by lack of interest and by selective limitations on freedom
of expression. Seasoned writers and critics have lamented that today's
educated young people are more prone to express their passion for social
justice and national identity through direct political action than through
literature and the arts. Furthermore, since the advent of the government of
President Hugo Banzer Suarez, many members of the intelligentsia-who had
generally been critical of that government-were imprisoned or went into exile
or hiding.

     Development of mass communication has long been inhibited by geographic,
linguistic, and social barriers. Such progress as was made after 1952 in
reducing social and linguistic barriers was largely attributable to the
government's efforts to integrate the isolated Indian population into the
national society and to promote literacy in Spanish. In 1973, however, the
proportion of total illiteracy remained high, and many people who were
marginally literate were insufficiently educated to read a newspaper
(see ch. 6). The limitations on dissemination of information by the written
word were illustrated by the fact that in La Paz, a city with a population
of more than 500,000, the total circulation of the five daily newspapers was
estimated at 90,000.

     In 1973 radio, which reached the majority of the country's population,
was by far the most important mass medium. Nevertheless, in many areas
word-of-mouth communication continued to serve as a significant channel for
the dissemination of information and the exchange of ideas.

     In 1973 there was no formal censorship of the press, and some criticism
of the government appeared in newspapers. Actions had been taken against
selected journalists and periodicals, however, and a number of leftist
periodicals that had been circulated during the 1950s and 1960s were no
longer published.

Artistic and Intellectual Expression

The Colonial Heritage

     The mineral wealth of the colony gave it an economic and political
importance that contributed greatly to its artistic and intellectual
development. A large colonial administration, the prospect of financial
gain, the opportunity for political advancement, and the influx of Spanish
priests, to meet the spiritual needs of white and indigenous elements,
converted the colony into a thriving population center. With this growth in
size came the need for the construction of municipal, domestic, and religious
buildings. In turn, the monumental development of colonial cities stimulated
the production of the decorative arts-painting and sculpture.

     The church and its representatives did not limit themselves to
educational activities but served alongside the elite as promoters of the arts
by supplying commissions for artists and architects. In literary and
intellectual activity the church was the important single factor; early
musical development also depended upon its efforts.

     During the conquest, Gregorian chants were introduced by the priests.
Musical instruments, initially imported from Spain, were soon produced in the
colony. In many cases the missionary program of the Spanish priests resulted
in the development of Indian choruses that reached a relatively high degree of
technical ability and also incorporated something of their own music into
Western modes. In higher social circles musical preference was for pure
Spanish styles. Young ladies from the upper classes learned to play the harp,
lyre, and guitar in the convent schools. For the general public musical
experience was limited to the religious procession, popular street music, and
military marches.

     In contrast to the limited musical activity, the cultivation of the
plastic arts was great. Architecture, foremost of the plastic arts, reached
its peak in the eighteenth century. Whereas both Potosi and Cochabamba were
important colonial centers, Potosi, the heart of mineral wealth, was the site
of the grandest architectural achievements. The early Renaissance plateresque
style, with its light, intricate, superficial decoration, was adopted first,
but in the seventeenth century-the period of Potosi's greatest