The Carnival of Oruro is the most important Carnival in Bolivia. It has been given the title of UNESCO cultural patrimony, and together with the Carnival of Tilcara it is one of the most traditional carnivals in the whole world. It is also one of the few synchretic carnivals where Pagan and Christian traditions still exist hand in hand. I accidentally ended up in Oruro on the day of the burial of the Carnival. (more…)
Tag: Local Customs & Culture
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THE CARNIVAL OF TILCARA WITH JESUS
Carnival is a well-known tradition in most Catholic countries. It’s the celebration that takes place right before Lent, 40 days before Easter. Its name comes from the Latin carnem levare, which loosely translated into “to put away meat”, as theoretically Catholics aren’t supposed to eat meat during Lent (this might come in handy for me as a vegetarian). In my role as a socio-cultural scientist, I went to perhaps the most traditional Argentinian Carnival — the Carnival of Tilcara, Jujuy. Very appropriately, I was accompanied by a man named Jesús. (more…)
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FIO MIGLIORE: THE GREENER SIDE OF PARAGUAY
Paraguay is definitely not the most eco-friendly or sustainable country I know. In fact, due to its rich and fertile soil, it should be a country with no lack in food, health or wealth, but this is not the case. Instead, it’s a country where much of the land is owned by foreigners, where people throw most things away without recycling and where the main basis of nutrition is meat and wheat products. (more…)
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10 TRUTHS ABOUT THE FINNISH EDUCATION SYSTEM
The Finnish education system is a surprisingly well-known topic in Latin America. It’s everywhere; it’s on the newspapers, it’s on tv, it’s on social media and it’s been on documentaries. Just by googling the Spanish words “Sistema educativo de Finlandia” you get 784 000 hits, and by changing the order of the words a bit, the amount doubles. In fact, after hearing that I’m from Finland and after asking me all the basic questions, many people want to know the following: “Sissi, what’s so great about your education system?” Here’s what. (more…)
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META-ANTHROPOLOGY IN FORMOSA: LOCALS OBSERVING LOCALS
I find anthropology fascinating. To study of human life in different societies is one of the things I most love to do. So, imagine my double-layered enthusiasm when taken to an introductory class of anthropology and social systems in a culture, which already in itself is somewhat new to me. In other words, getting the opportunity to observe people observing people. Yep, that’s what I’ve done in Formosa, Northern Argentina, (more…)
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UNDERSTANDING MY CULTURE: WHAT IS FINNISHNESS?
When speaking about intercultural communication, it’s often repeated by scholars in the field that it’s impossible to examine other cultures and their relations, without first taking a closer look at your own inherited culture and its influence on how we perceive the world. We are part of our culture and thus tend to act and expect others to act in a way that we have learned as “normal”. (more…)
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PARAGUAY: MEMORIES OF A DICTATORSHIP
Apart from the present customs and cultural diversity, I have by now discovered quite a bit about Paraguayan history. For example, did you know that 70% of the Paraguayan adult male population were killed in the War of the Triple Alliance (between Paraguay and the alliance of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay from 1864 to 1870), which is also the deadliest war in the whole history of Latin America? (more…)
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PARAGUAY: 10 QUESTIONS TO A PARAGUAYAN
You know those brief moments in a different culture where you go: “say whaaaat?!”. The small little details which just make you wonder…Take sweet avocado for example. Brazilians and Paraguayans (and probably many other Latin Americans) mash avocado up and mix it together with milk, lime and sugar. So imagine the looks on my hosts’ faces, when I cut my avocado into cubes and put it into a salad with salt. In the discipline of intercultural communication, this would be called a critical incident. (more…)