Notes from Underground
Potosí is a chilly, pretty city in the central highlands of Bolivia and one which has infomed the history and development of pretty much the entire rest of the country since its foundation in 1545 when silver was found in Cerro Rico (Rich Hill), which looms over the city and still provides jobs for the locals.
The history of Cerro Rico is at once mind boggling and tragic. The mountain´s ore funded the growth and development of the entire country, not to mention the Spanish empire who enslaved not only millions of locals but imported millions of African slaves to help extract the silver. Many of the major cities in Bolivia, including the capital Sucre and de facto capital La Paz were either planted or grew largely as a response to the Potosí boom. Now most of the silver has dried up but miners still work, beginning as young as 8 years old, pulling 12-24 hour shifts deep in the mountain and extracting barely enough silver, zinc, copper or bronze to live.
We decided to take a trip down into the mines to see the history and secret life of this city up-close and personal. About half way through our adventure as we were crawling on our bellies, breathing in toxic sulphuric gases we did question the sanity of our idea, but it was nonetheless one of the most memorable and moving experiences of our trip so far.
Our guide was an ex-miner and told us that for the majority of the illiterate, non Spanish-speaking locals in the area mining is the only option for work, despite the certainty of a very premature and painful death from lung cancer and other poisonings. When I asked if our guide too suffered from lung cancer as a result of his time in the mines, he shrugged and replied "of course." As we descended into the mines we passed even teenagers making their living and were able to offer them gifts of drinks, coca leaves and dynamite (which they have to purchase themselves for their work). The miners work in truly unbelievable conditions; toxic air, extreme heat, and they eat no food during their shift - they only chew coca leaves (and lots of them!) which boosts energy and keeps pain and fatigue at bay.
It was a sometimes scary and ultimately sobering experience to see the working mines and to realise that for many, this is their only choice in life. It is estimated that to date, 8 million people have died on Cerro Rico.
The history of Cerro Rico is at once mind boggling and tragic. The mountain´s ore funded the growth and development of the entire country, not to mention the Spanish empire who enslaved not only millions of locals but imported millions of African slaves to help extract the silver. Many of the major cities in Bolivia, including the capital Sucre and de facto capital La Paz were either planted or grew largely as a response to the Potosí boom. Now most of the silver has dried up but miners still work, beginning as young as 8 years old, pulling 12-24 hour shifts deep in the mountain and extracting barely enough silver, zinc, copper or bronze to live.
We decided to take a trip down into the mines to see the history and secret life of this city up-close and personal. About half way through our adventure as we were crawling on our bellies, breathing in toxic sulphuric gases we did question the sanity of our idea, but it was nonetheless one of the most memorable and moving experiences of our trip so far.
Our guide was an ex-miner and told us that for the majority of the illiterate, non Spanish-speaking locals in the area mining is the only option for work, despite the certainty of a very premature and painful death from lung cancer and other poisonings. When I asked if our guide too suffered from lung cancer as a result of his time in the mines, he shrugged and replied "of course." As we descended into the mines we passed even teenagers making their living and were able to offer them gifts of drinks, coca leaves and dynamite (which they have to purchase themselves for their work). The miners work in truly unbelievable conditions; toxic air, extreme heat, and they eat no food during their shift - they only chew coca leaves (and lots of them!) which boosts energy and keeps pain and fatigue at bay.
It was a sometimes scary and ultimately sobering experience to see the working mines and to realise that for many, this is their only choice in life. It is estimated that to date, 8 million people have died on Cerro Rico.
posted by millay at
23:40
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