the traveler who crosses bolivia's high plateau toward its chief city la paz comes upon it suddenly picturesque bright colored a city in miniature here a quarter of a million people live in a modern community two and a half miles above sea level la paz is the highest big city in the world higher even than lasa in tibet thin cold air the people of la paz are well adjusted although living so high does make a difference even in people who were born to it the paseos as residents of la paz call themselves are likely to alternate between periods of nervousness and apathy and the foreigners who come from such sea level points as lima or new york or buenos aires find that the scarcity of oxygen converts climbing a flight of stairs into a major physical effort and walking up one of the steep streets becomes a herculean task no matter where one wants to go in la paz it always seems to be uphill going and uphill coming back there are many strange phenomena in life at this altitude there's so little oxygen that fires are difficult to start so no one carries fire insurance an automobile loses forty of its power and it takes six minutes to boil a three minute egg the heart of ol la paz is in the plaza maurilio where it is said that the first cry of rebellion against spanish rule arose in one thousand eight hundred and nine on the great squares the handsome cathedral one of the largest in the world where twelve thousand people may worship together around this plaza are the principle government buildings where in la paz are the executive and legislative branches of the government the supreme court however meets in sucra the indians of this region from the high plateau above the city and the luxuriant yungas valleys beyond the mountains to the east are notoriously bad city dwellers they do however come into market on weekends then the city is alive with these strange and quiet people they are for the most part of the ancient aymara tribe long before the incas they were a powerful race they make their headquarters in the old ins whose courtyards become warehouses for their goods in the market they eat the hot and high smelling picante this may be a stew with meat potatoes and corn or roast meat served alone flavored with pepper and garlic here they bargain for little piles of pale green leaves called coca from which the drug cocaine is derived to these people who chew it like tobacco it is an opiate to help them to endure the bitter cold and the hard labor but the habitual use of coca dulls the intellect so that enlightened bolivians are now trying to stamp out the practice but even more characteristic of the la paz scene than the indians are the cholos people of mixed spanish and indian blood they comprise about twenty five of bolivia's population adaptable colorful and intelligent they grow daily more important in bolivian national rights sometimes parading on a saint's day on a cloud of confetti and incense more often gliding along under loads that would stagger a husky north american at this altitude they are as omnipresent as the cobblestones of the street their great festival of the year is a la cetus modernized remnant of an ancient indian custom here the cholos and indians come from many parts of bolivia bringing their own handicrafts to sell the real star of the festival is the akeko a tiny plaster mannequin a good fairy of prosperity an ancient legend or the people believe that if they purchased at the fair miniature reproductions of things they want during the year and if they hang them around the akeko their wishes will be granted tiny bags of rice and coca new shoes wedding rings toy horses trucks and gaudy new apartment houses all surround the akeko and the jolly little god and all his fine wares will stand guard in the household of his purchaser until he makes all the dreams come true or at least until the fair of a la cetus returns next year a la cetus brings out the chola of la pies in her full glory they never costume in person she may spend a month income on a pair of earrings she is still a practical business woman a hardheaded shopkeeper she is an extravagantly loving mother a chola without a baby on her back is hardly a complete chola humorous quixotic sharp tongue the chola is unique and knows it during the three days of a la cetus troops of dancers and musicians dance down the narrow cobbled ways into the patios to play their strange toons and to perform their gay dance whirling in her bright shawl and dozen petticoats the inevitable derby set at a jaunty angle the chola is a gay and provocative figure unlike any other in the world but all of la paz is not markets and fairs and dancing for the city of peace is full of colonial tradition founded in one thousand five hundred and forty eight by a lieutenant of pedro dayla gasca it is laden with all the architectural glories which grace the early capital spanish stonework by indian artists tends to perpetuate indian forms and the heads of ancient gods looms strangely on these christian columns even here the chola reappears this time in another guy as a nurse to a newly christened child the chola nurses to many la paz families what the negro mammy was in the southern homes of the united states and many a child of spanish speaking parents grows up speaking fluent aymara also belonging to antiquity is this strangely beautiful cemetery where the dead are placed in tombs high above the ground in a new part of the city is the national stadium seating sixty thousand people bolivians in common with virtually all other south americans are lovers of soccer which they play far harder and better than would seem possible at this altitude imagine yourself doing this for example on top of pike's peak smart la paz loves the movies this is one city in which argentine and mexican made films are almost as frequent as those from north america most fashionable is the vermouth or six o'clock show on sunday evening this is one hour in the week when you can be fairly sure of seeing la paz out in its best bib and tucker there is still another la paz not picturesque but important for the city's future the bolivians have great ambition for the industrialization of their country and factories like this are becoming focal point in economic expansion they have an almost childlike love of intricate machinery and they also have sufficient good and inexpensive manpower to run it but there are obstacles to industrial expansion here there's little fuel for plant operation most serious of all every piece of machinery in this wool factory had to make the long sea trip from europe or north america and the expensive rail trip up from the pacific coast in spite of these obstacles industrialization and construction are going ahead in this new realistic la paz this fantasy tins project of tearing down a hill as the purely practical end in view of constructing a highway to link la paz with its eastern suburb of mira flores in these projects cholos are the chief workman indians will occasionally join them for a few days but they are farmers at heart and prefer to work the soil in mira flores construction is in progress on a new workers housing project to replace the ancient adobe huts which it is the wish of every citizen of la paz to destroy and all over the city the adobes are coming down and new starkly modern buildings of reinforced concrete and brick are going up the silhouette of la paz is changing more rapidly than that of any other american capital today this reconstruction is a hard job there is no easy access to building material there's little wood and all iron and steel must be imported this adds to the cost and increases the difficulties of all construction but still they build bolivia looks to a time when a greater part of her national territory will become economically effective producing not only tin and other ore for which she is already famous but food clothing and building materials sufficient for her own needs la paz the center of modern bolivia is already the highest big city in the world it is growing in the face of tremendous odds and so there was some special virtue in this height as though it literally increased the stature of the city la paz has set it's heart on the idea and it's back to the job of living at least half a dozen stories higher