Bolivian National Day celebrations 2017

As every year, our un-official Bolivian Ambassador Freddy Gasser and his amazing wife Ada organise, cajole, and push the small but vocal Bolivian community of Melbourne together to celebrateBolivian National Day. This year was no different.

Invitations were sent out , email, text, phone calls, bush telegraph, all means were used to track down the 20 something known Bolivian families living in Melbourne, plus students, tourist, visitors , anyone really who had an affinity with Bolivia to come and celebrate with us.

The Independence Day, also known as Dia de la Patria, is a National holiday in Bolivia. Celebrations are held throughout the country and usually continue for two days. Patriotic marches, military parades, gun salutes, street dances and carnivals, and cultural events reflecting the rich heritage of the country are some common independence celebrations in Bolivia.

A Little History:

What is the historic significance of Independence Day in Bolivia?

The Spanish occupation of Bolivia, previously known as Upper Peru or Charcas, began in 1525, and at the time Bolivia was governed by the viceroy of Lima. During this period Bolivian silver became the mainstay of Spanish wealth. Spanish influence, however, began to decline during the Napoleonic wars, and the nationalist sentiments began growing due to a number of events in Spanish America, but mainly because of the efforts Simon Bolivar (Simon Bolivar was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led numerous wars against Spanish colonial rule in the region then known as Spanish America). Simon Bolivar's companions - Jose de San Martin and Antonio Jose de Sucre - also led many such campaigns.
In theory, Bolivia proclaimed its freedom in 1809, but it took another 16 years of war before Bolivia became a republic. Finally, on August 6, 1825, the efforts of Simon Bolivar were rewarded with the establishment of the Republic of Bolivia. The country came to be called as Bolivia after this legendary hero.And so the invitations went out, SABADO 12 de Agosto de este 2017, the location this year was a community hall in Thornbury, that fortunately had a stage, a large wooden dance floor and most importantly for Bolivians, a kitchen !, bring 

In true community stye, all the women were expected to bring food to share, drinks, and even our own cutlery and plates, so we left little or no waste footprint from this fiesta. Needless to say, the food was amazing, with most of the older Bolivian ladies, making their specialties, like "Lengua" , Fricasse, Saltenas, Pastel de choclo, and many many more favourites. I decided there was no point competing in the cooking stakes with these women, so I just brought along my simple Picante de Pollo, which a dear Bolivian friend Nahir Aranibar, had given me  years ago. Simple to make, and little risk of failure and humiliation.!

My two Beautiful companions for the night, Hanna & Sally

Food had finished and the Entertainment about to begin.

These young Tinku dancers wait in the sidelines for the music to start.

The dance group had driven down from Sydney especially to celebrate with us. The Bolivian Dance group Fraternity Santiago ,from Sydney,had made the gruelling 10 hour drive especially to celebrate with us.

Then followed the Saya, or Caporales dance style..The cosmos ornate and heavily embroiled with jewels and sequins.

No Bolivian fiesta is complete without the Diablada ! The dance about good versus evil.

What does the flag of Bolivia represents?
The national flag of Bolivia was adopted on October 31, 1851. It consists of three horizontal stripes of equal size. The top band is red, the middle is yellow, and the bottom band is green.

The green color symbolizes the lush fertility of the land, yellow epitomizes the natural resources of the country, and red represents the courage of the Bolivian soldiers who fought for the independence and for the preservation of the country.

Entertainment on the night was provided by a variety of people, many musicians, friends and whoever wanted to take the stage:  Cesar Chavez, Ricardo Carvajal, Michel Bestrin y Jose Diaz de Inkamarka, Jorge Santone, Amuru & Ivan,  nuestros amigos del grupo DE LA MANGA, Gustavo y Salvatore .