[2]Los discordes en concordia, en paz y amor se juntaron y pueblo de paz fundaron para perpetua memoria (Dissenters in harmony, in peace and love people got together and founded for perpetual memory peace )
It is, de facto, the world's highest administrative capital.[8] While the official capital of Bolivia (and its seat of justice) is Sucre, La Paz has more government departments.[9]
The city sits in a bowl surrounded by the high mountains of the altiplano. As it grew, the city of La Paz climbed the hills, resulting in varying elevations from 3,200 to 4,100 m (10,500 to 13,500 ft). Overlooking the city is towering triple-peaked Illimani, which is always snow-covered and can be seen from many parts of the city, including from the neighboring city of El Alto. As of the 2008 census, the city had a population of 877,363.[11]
La Paz Metropolitan area, formed by the cities of La Paz, El Alto, and Viacha, make the most populous urban area of Bolivia, with a population of 2.3 million inhabitants and surpassing the metropolitan area of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.[12]
Although the Spanishconquistadors entered the area in 1535, La Paz was not founded until 1548. Originally it was to be at the site of the Native American settlement, Laja, with the full name of the city being Nuestra Señora de La Paz (meaning Our Lady of Peace). The name commemorated the restoration of peace following the insurrection of Gonzalo Pizarro and fellow conquistadors four years earlier against Blasco Núñez Vela, the first viceroy of Peru.[13] The town site was moved a few days later to its present location in the valley of Chuquiago, which is more clement.[13]
Control over the former Inca lands had been entrusted to Pedro de la Gasca by the Spanish king (and Holy Roman Emperor) Emperor Charles V. Gasca commanded Alonso de Mendoza to found a new city commemorating the end of the civil wars in Peru; the city of La Paz was founded on October 20, 1548 by Alonzo de Mendoza with Juan de Vargas as its first mayor.[14]
In 1549, Juan Gutierrez Paniagua was commanded to design an urban plan that would designate sites for public areas, plazas, official buildings, and a cathedral. La Plaza de los Españoles, which is known today as the Plaza Murillo, was chosen as the location for government buildings as well as the Metropolitan Cathedral.
Spain controlled La Paz with a firm grip and the Spanish king had the last word in all matters political. In 1781, for a total of six months, a group of Aymara people laid siege to La Paz. Under the leadership of Tupac Katari, they destroyed churches and government property. Thirty years later Indians laid a two-month siege on La Paz – where and when the legend of the Ekeko is set. In 1809 the struggle for independence from the Spanish rule brought uprisings against the royalist forces. It was on July 16, 1809 that Pedro Domingo Murillo famously said that the Bolivian revolution was igniting a lamp that nobody would be able to turn-off. This formally marked the beginning of the Liberation of South America from Spain. In La Paz, simultaneously with the city of Sucre, was made the first revolution against the Spanish Crown the 16 July 1809. This event is known as the Primer Grito Libertario de América.
Pedro Domingo Murillo was hanged at the Plaza de los Españoles that night, but his name would be eternally remembered in the name of the plaza, and he would be remembered as the voice of revolution across South America.
In 1825, after the decisive victory of the republicans at Ayacucho over the Spanish army in the course of the Spanish American wars of independence, the city's full name was changed to La Paz de Ayacucho (meaning The Peace of Ayacucho).
Legislative Palace of Bolivia
In 1898, La Paz was made the de facto seat of the national government, with Sucre remaining the nominal historical as well as judiciary capital. This change reflected the shift of the Bolivian economy away from the largely exhausted silvermines of Potosí to the exploitation of tin near Oruro, and resulting shifts in the distribution of economic and political power among various national elites.[15]
Located at 16°30′0″S68°08′0″W / 16.50000°S 68.13333°W / -16.50000; -68.13333 (−16.5, −68.1333), La Paz is built in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River (now mostly built over), which runs northwest to southeast. The city's main thoroughfare, which roughly follows the river, changes names over its length, but the central tree-lined section running through the downtown core is called the Prado.
The geography of La Paz (in particular the altitude) reflects society: the lower areas of the city are more affluent. While many middle-class residents live in high-rise condos near the center, the houses of the truly affluent are located in the lower neighborhoods southwest of the Prado. And looking up from the center, the surrounding hills are plastered with makeshift brick houses of those less economically fortunate.
The satellite city of El Alto, in which the airport is located, is spread over a broad area to the west of the canyon, on the Altiplano. La Paz is renowned for its unique markets, very unusual topography, and traditional culture.
La Paz is located in the valleys of the Andes, and is closer to the Eastern split of the Altiplano region. Therefore, it is closer to the famous mountains such as the Illimani (guardian of La Paz), Huayna Potosi, Mururata, and Illampu. On the Western side of the Altiplano divide, about an hour to the West of the La Paz, is the site of the tallest mountain in Bolivia and 9th tallest mountain in the Andes, the Sajama Volcano. In July 1994, an earthquake rated at 8.2 struck just 200 miles (322 km) north of La Paz.
At more than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level, higher parts of La Paz have an unusual subtropical highland climate (Cwc, according to the Köppen climate classification), with subpolar oceanic characteristics (the average temperature of the warmest month is lower than 10 °C). The whole city has rainy summers and dry winters. Night-time temperatures range from cold to very cold. Snow flurries can occur in winter, especially at dawn and it usually melts before noon. At these high altitudes despite being located only 16 degrees from the equator, the city's average temperature is similar to that of cities such as Bergen, Norway or Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, located as far as 60 and 62 degrees from the equator respectively.
The temperatures in the central La Paz, at 3,600 metres (11,811 feet), and in the Zona Sur (Southern Zone), at 3,250 m (10,663 ft) above sea level, are warmer (subtropical highland climateCwb,[16] according to the Köppen classification).
Owing to the altitude of the city, temperatures are consistently cool to mild throughout the year, though the diurnal temperature variation is typically large. The city has a relatively dry climate, with rainfall occurring mainly in the slightly warmer months of November to March.
At 4,012 metres, February and March, the two cloudiest months of the year, both in late summer, receive a low daily average of around 5 hours of sunshine. Conversely, June and July, the two sunniest months of the year, both in winter, receive an abundant daily average of around 8 hours of sunshine.[17]
The seasonally uneven distribution of the year's annual precipitation often results in destructive mudslides experienced in summer, due to the excessive amount of precipitation typically observed throughout the season. At 3,250 metres, the wettest month is January with a monthly average of 114 mm (4.5 in) and the driest is July with 8 mm (0.3 in).
The warmest temperature recorded was 27.0 °C (80.6 °F) and the coldest was −12.5 °C (9.5 °F).
Amor de Dios • Mallasa • Muela del Diablo • Mallasilla • Jupapina
Zona Sur
Obrajes • Bella Vista • Bolonia • Irpavi • Calacoto • Cota Cota • Achumani • Ovejuyo • Koani • La Florida • Seguencoma • San Miguel
San Antonio
San Antonio • Villa Copacabana • Pampahasi • Valle Hermoso • Kupini • Villa Armonia • Callapa • San Isidro
Periferica
Achachicala • Chuquiaguillo • Villa Fátima • Vino Tinto • 5 Dedos • Santiago de Lacaya • Rosasani
Max Paredes
Munaypata • La Portada • El Tejar • Gran Poder • Obispo Indaburu • Chamoco Chico • Munaypata • Pura Pura • Ciudadela Ferroviaria
Zona Centro
Casco Urbano Central • San Jorge • Miraflores • San Sebastián • Santa Bárbara • Parque Urbano Central
Cotahuma
Sopocachi • Alto Sopocachi • Pasankeri • Tembladerani • Alpacoma • Belén • Tacagua • San Pedro • Bajo Llojeta
Main neighborhoods and zones
La Paz skyline from the "Via Balcón"Buildings in San Jorge, on the 1st District (Cotahuma).
San Jorge
Located in the 1st District (Cotahuma) and near Sopocachi, is one of the main residential and diplomatic areas of the city. In contains several buildings, both residential and offices, and embassies, including the Spain Embassy, the United States Embassy, the United Kingdom Embassy and others. One of the main streets of the city, Arce Avenue, starts on this zone.
Located in the 1st District (Cotahuma), Sopocachi is probably one of the oldest residential neighborhoods, 10 minutes from the center of the city. Despite the expansion and development of the area, this quarter maintained its residential property. In the last years, there has been an important commercial expansion, mainly on the surroundings of Abaroa Square, one of the many squares and parks of the zone.
San Pedro
Located in the 1st District (Cotahuma), on the right bank of the Choqueyapu River and built around the "Plaza de San Pedro" (official name: Plaza Sucre, Sucre Square), is home to numerous shops, businesses and small enterprises, especially printing, spare parts and auto maintenance and repair shops. San Pedro's "Rodriguez Market" remains as one of the most popular middle-class and oldest of the city. The San Pedro prison is here.
Centro
The city's downtown area, in the 7th District, comprising the center of La Paz and principal roads of the city, like Arce Avenue, July 16 Avenue (also known as "Prado Avenue"), Mariscal Santa Cruz Avenue and Camacho Avenue — the last one being the home of the headquarters of the principal banks and companies of the country.
Casco Viejo
Located in the 7th District, is the historic and ancient center of La Paz. It now houses museums, hotels, shops and buildings as the Mayor City of La Paz and the Central Bank of Bolivia. In the Old Quarter is the Plaza Murillo, which is home to the Government Palace and the National Congress.
The Southern District is one of the most affluent neighborhoods in La Paz.
Miraflores
In the 7th District, Miraflores district is separated from downtown by a long barrel (Parque Urbano Central, "Central Urban Park") and connected by the Bridge of the Americas and two avenues. Originally a residential zone, its growth has led it to become a major recreational center. It houses universities (including the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés's faculty of medicine), hospitals and the Estadio Hernando Siles (capacity of 45,000 people).
Northern District
Located in the 2nd and 3rd districts, it has a significant industrial activity (mainly food), being the Cervecería Boliviana Nacional (Bolivian National Brewery) the most significant industry founded by Germans, and one of the city's biggest companies in the country. It connects La Paz with the city of El Alto by the autopista (highway).
Southern District
In the 5th district; has less height than the rest of La Paz (3,200 to 2,800 meters). This area houses the most affluent and exclusive neighborhoods of the city, like Obrajes, Irpavi, Calacoto, La Florida and Achumani, among others. It has been benefited from steady economic growth and is now the second commercial and financial center of the city, housing international firms like Moody's, Citibank, Aon Corporation, Huawei, Millicom International Cellular, Nissan Motor Corporation represented by Taiyo Motors, Pan American Silver Corporation, a Sumitomo Corporation branch, Ernst & Young, and the "MegaCenter", Bolivia's biggest shopping mall (52,000 sq m), Samsung Electronics.
Cityscape
View of La Paz at sunset, from the "Killi Killi" lookout.
Colonial architecture
The city of La Paz has a consistently decreasing volume of colonial buildings, mostly centered around the vicinity of the Plaza Murillo. Due to a lack of funds and the inability of property owners to pay for restorations to colonial buildings, many have been torn down, or are in a dilapidated state. As historic buildings are more expensive to keep, land owners find it less of a burden to construct more modern buildings as opposed to keeping the old ones. Although there has been an increasing number of projects and propositions to restore some of the city's colonial buildings, the future of these historic edifices remains uncertain.
Economy
Central Bank building
The economy of La Paz has improved greatly in recent years, mainly as a result of improved political stability. Due to the long period of high inflation and economic struggle faced by Bolivians in the 1980s and early 1990s, a large informal economy developed. Evidence of this is provided by the markets found all around the city. While there are stable markets, almost every street in the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods has at least one vendor on it. La Paz remains the principal center of manufacturing enterprises that produce finished-product goods for the country, with about two-thirds of Bolivia's manufacturing located nearby. Historically, industry in Bolivia has been dominated by mineral processing and the preparation of agricultural products. However, in the urban centre of La Paz, small plants carry out a large portion of the industry. Food, tobacco products, clothing, various consumer goods, building materials, and agricultural tools are produced. "The tin quotations from London are watched in La Paz with close interest as an index of the country's prosperity; a third of the national revenue and more than half of the total customs in 1925 were derived from tin; in short, that humble but indispensable metal is the hub around which Bolivia's economic life revolves. The tin deposits of Bolivia, second largest in the world, ... invite development."
Sports
La Paz is the home of some of the biggest football teams in Bolivia.
The Strongest : Founded in 1908 the club hosts some of its games and trains on their home stadium. It is the oldest team in Bolivia, and the one that has won the most tournaments during the 20th century. It has its own stadium named Rafael Mendoza after Don Rafael Mendoza, one of the most important presidents of the club. In 1968 an airplane accident took the life of almost all the players, but Rafael Mendoza made many efforts that allowed the team to rise again as one of the most important in the country.
Club Bolivar : Founded in 1925, it was named in honor of the Libertador Simón Bolívar, the team has won most of the tournaments national and international championships in the last 20 years. In the year 1964 was a bad year, and it lost the category, playing the next year in the second category.
La Paz F.C. : Founded in 1989, the club quickly rose through the ranks to become the third major club in the capital, only behind in popularity to the two well-established city rivals.
The city is host to several other teams that play in the first and second divisions such as:
With the exception of Deportivo Municipal and Unión Maestranza, all the other teams play the majority of their games in the city stadium, the Estadio Hernando Siles, which also hosts the national football team and international games. Always Ready frequently play at the Estadio Rafael Mendoza which belongs to The Strongest, who rarely use the stadium due to its relatively small capacity.
Education
The city hosts some of the most important universities of the country:
La Paz is an important cultural center of Bolivia. The city hosts several cathedrals belonging to the colonial times, such as the San Francisco Cathedral and the Metropolitan Cathedral, this last one located on Murillo Square, which is also home of the political and administrative power of the country. Hundreds of different museums can be found across the city, the most notable ones on Jaén Street, which street design has been preserved from the Spanish days and is home of 10 different museums.
The home of the Bolivian government is located on Murillo Square and is known as "Palacio Quemado" (Burnt Palace) as it has been on fire several times. The palace has been restored many times since, but the name has remained untouched.
Principal attractions
Museums and cultural centers
The former home of Pedro Domingo Murillo, martyr of the independence revolution of 1809, has been preserved and is now a museum. The house displays a collection of furniture, textiles, and art from colonial times.
Museo Costumbrista: Displays ceramic dolls wearing traditional customs that show how was life in the early 19th century. Also on display are photos of old La Paz.
Museo Nacional de Arqueología (National Museum of Archeology): Depicts a collection of artifacts of the Tiawanaku culture.
Museo del Litoral (Museum of the Litoral Coastal Region): Displays objects from the 1879 war in which Bolivia lost its sea coast to Chile.
Museo del Oro (Gold Museum): Depicts pre-Conquest works made of gold, silver and copper.
Museo de Etnografía y Folklore (Ethnography and Folkolore Museum): Located in a house built during the late 18th century, it exhibits customs and art of two ethnic groups: Chipayas and Ayoreos.
Museo del Charango (Museum of Charango): Located in Calle Linares, the museum displays an important variety of charangos. Other native instruments are displayed as well.
Museo de Historia Natural (Natural History Museum): Exhibits on Bolivian paleontology, geology, zoology and botanical elements of interest.
Casa Museo Marina Nuñez del Prado (Marina Nuñez del Prado House Museum): Displays Quechua and Aymara-theme sculptures by Bolivian artist Marina Nuñez del Prado.
Museo Nacional de Arte (National Art Museum): Located in Calle Comercio, on a former palace built in 1775, displays works by Melchor Perez de Holguín and Marina Nuñez del Prado, among others.
Mercado de Brujas (Witches' Market): Merchandise sold here includes herbs, remedies as well as other ingredients used in Aymara traditions.
Feria de Alasitas: This fair is celebrated for two weeks each year, beginning January 24. The central figure is a little god of abundance known as Ekeko, which means dwarf in Aymara.
January 24: Alasitas is a yearly fair where people buy miniature gifts and praise the god of prosperity, Ekeko. The fair begins every January 24 and lasts for a month.
September 14: Señor de la Exaltación (Obrajes, G. de Lima, Bajo Tejar, Vino Tinto)
September 24: Virgen de la Merced (Cota Cota)
October 7: Virgen del Rosario (El Rosario)
November: Cristo Rey (Pura Pura)
December 4: Santa Barbara (Santa Bárbara, Llojeta)
December 8: Virgen de la Concepción (Kupini, Sopocachi, Achumani)
Transportation
Automobiles and public transportation are still the main means to get into the city. In March 2012, more than 1.5 million vehicles were registered.[22] Heavy traffic is common in the city center and traffic jams occur on peak hours.
Autopista La Paz-El Alto/RN-3 (La Paz-El Alto Highway) - Connects La Paz with El Alto.
Autovía La Paz Oruro/A-1 (La Paz-Oruro Highway) - Connects La Paz with the cities of Oruro, Patacamaya and Caracollo. It then connects with Ruta Nacional 1/RN-1 (National Highway 1) heading south to the cities of Potosí, Camargo, Tarija.
The Southern District, one of La Paz's most affluent and commercial neighborhoods, is relatively separated from the rest of the city, including the CBD. The Avenida Costanera and Avenida Kantutani (Costanera and Kantutani Avenues) connect the southern district with the rest of the metropolitan area.
Airport facilities include ATMs, cafés and restaurants, car rentals, duty-free shops, and free Wi-Fi internet. Additionally, the airport supplies travelers with oxygen for those who suffer from altitude sickness.
Bus
Bus Station
La Paz Bus Station, originally a bus and train station, was built by the French architect Gustave Eiffel. It is the main gateway for inter-city buses with several daily departures to all the main Bolivian cities, and routes to Chile and Peru. The city is connected by road with the city of Oruro from where there are routes to Sucre, Potosí and the south of the country. Another highway branches off before Oruro to reach Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. Roads to the west go to Copacabana and Tiwanaku, near Lake Titicaca, and continue to Cuzco, Peru via the border town of Desaguadero. There are also roads north to get to Yungas crossing the Andes Mountains.
Departures to smaller cities and towns within the department use informal stations located in Villa Fátima (departures to Los Yungas, Beni and Pando), Upper San Pedro (for Apolo) and near the General Cemetery (for Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, or via Tiwanaku to Desaguadero on the Peruvian border).
A system of urban transit aerial cable cars called Mi Teleférico ("My Cable Car") was opened in 2014. Currently three lines are in operation, and six more lines are in the planning stage. The initial three lines were built by the Austrian company Doppelmayr. The first two lines (Red and Yellow) connect La Paz with El Alto.
Cable car system La Paz
Line
Length
Travel time
Stations
opened
Red Line
2.4 km
10 min
3
May 2014
Yellow Line
3.9 km
13.5 min
4
September 2014
Green Line
3.7 km
16.6 min
4
December 2014
Communications and media
The postal service is run by ECOBOL (National Company) which has its headquarters in La Paz. There are other companies offering courier and transport logistics courier nationally and internationally.
The private telecommunications company 'Entel' is located in the city and provides telephony, Internet, cell phone, data and voice services. The telephone cooperative Cotel is responsible for managing much of their phones and now offers Internet services and cable television among others.
Area Code: 2
Country Code: 591
The main daily newspapers in circulation are: Página Siete, La Razon, El Diario, La Prensa, Jornada and El Alteño. Other papers of local importance are: Extra and Gente. There are also several other publications and weekly magazines.
The water supply of La Paz is threatened by the impact of climate change through the melting of glaciers. The city receives its drinking water from three water systems: El Alto, Achachiucala and Pampahasi. La Paz shares the first and largest of these systems with its sister city El Alto. All three systems are fed by glaciers and rivers in the Cordillera mountain range. 20-28 % of its water is fed by glaciers, the remainder coming from rainfall and snowmelt. The glaciers recede as a result of climate change, initially increasing water availability during the dry season, but ultimately threatening a substantial decrease in dry season run-off when they completely disappear. A small glacier, the Chacaltaya near El Alto, already disappeared in 2008. The El Alto system receives its water from the Tuni Dam and two water channels. These channels divert water that flows from the Zongo Glacier on the slopes of Huayna Potosi and from Condoriri North of El Alto.[24] The 2.9 km long Zongo glacier retreats at a rate of about 18 meters per year.[25] The Tuni and Condoriri glaciers have lost 39% of their area between 1983 and 2006. According to a study by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the El Alto system is the least resilient against the impact of climate change among the three systems. The study says that reducing water distribution losses is the most effective short-term strategy to deal with water scarcity.[24][26] New water sources further to the North in the Cordillera include the Khara Kota and Taypicacha, but they are expensive to develop and their water supply is also affected by glacier melt.
Plaza Murillo with Government and Legislative Palaces in the background
Titicaca Lake near La Paz with the Andes in the background
Calle Jaén.
Downtown La Paz view.
Curiosities
La Paz has the highest elevation of any government city in the world.
El Alto International Airport is the highest international airport in the world (13,325 feet, or 4061 metres, above mean sea level). Passengers may notice the drop in pressure when the aircraft doors are opened.
Water boils in La Paz at 88 °C (190 °F).
La Paz has the highest certified Olympic stadium. FIFA issued a rule forbidding the organization of official matches in stadiums with an altitude of more than 2,500 meters because players may be at greater health risk due to decreased oxygen pressure, but excluded La Paz's Hernando Siles Stadium from that regulation after intense lobbying by Bolivian authorities.
^ ab"World Gazetteer". World Gazetteer. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved 2010-01-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^"La Paz". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. n.d. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
^Morales, Salustiano Ayma (2011). Aymara aru thakhinchawi(PDF) (in Aymara). La Paz, Bolivia: Arcus Industria Gráfica for the Ministry of Education. p. 25. Archived from the original(PDF) on 26 February 2016. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Tejada, Ariel Paolo (9 May 2015). "Vigan declared 'Wonder City'". Manila: The Philippine STAR. Retrieved 19 September 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^Crespo, Alberto (Alberto Crespo Rodas)[in Spanish] (1980). Alonzo de Mendoza: Fundador de La Paz. La Paz, Bolivia: Biblioteca Popular Boliviana de Última Hora.
^"La Paz," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008. Archived 2009-10-31.
^"Pesquisa de Legislação Municipal - No 14471". Prefeitura da Cidade de São Paulo [Municipality of the City of São Paulo] (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2013-08-23. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)