Los Espots

The great challenge of scavenger hunt N. 3 for me? So few Bolivian companies produce television commercials of note -- or at least worthy of youtube posting -- that I have been scrounging to find something to post. The two main sources of television "espots" as they are known are Bolivia's beer and telephone industries. In particular, I love the Paceña beer commercial whose moral is that if you drink Paceña beer, you will TOTALLY bag a hot gringa (foreign girl).

But what struck me while working on this assignment is how many of the very few commercials available deal with the exact. same. theme.

And that theme? BOLIVIA, we are diverse, but UNITED.

Entel, the largest phone company, has particularly focused its campaigns around the issue of Unity in Diversity. These are nice aspirations, but the commercial must be understood against the backdrop of deepening racial, regional, and political rifts and a series of violent confrontations with racial overtones.

Take for example this Entel commercial, which is part of a series of ads featuring 3 dudes from 3 different parts of Bolivia (three regions known for their inter-departmental tensions) who go traveling across the country on a quest to deliver a wedding dress to a cousin. They encounter regional cuisine, natural beauty, and then, the three upper-middle class guys are saved by an indigenous woman with an Entel cell phone after their car breaks down on the desolate salt flats. In the below short, the longer storyline has been reworked into a series of images showing the wealth of Bolivian cultural diversity -- all united by the Entel slogan of "Entel, uniendo bolivia, desarollando futuro," or "Entel, Uniting Bolivia, Developing the Future."



Behold!! They hold aloft their Entel phones, beacons of light -- of progress -- in the darkness of racial and class division and underdevelopment. The title of the espot seems rather ironic to me. "Somos Milliones" or "we are millions" is intended to capture the notion of richness in diversity, and the song celebrates the millions of dreams or aspirations held by Bolivians. But it also evokes the last words said to be uttered by Tupac Katari-- the dying leader of an indigenous rebellion -- as he was drawn and quartered during the colonial era, and more recently invoked by indigenous movements: We will be back, and we will be millions. That cry has inspired people to seek to radically upend Bolivia's political and economic system. And it has inspired terrible fear in the hearts of those who would rather things stayed the same.

At least rival Viva! has the humility to suggest that Bolivia is united by Futbol (soccer), and not their magical phone lines. Of note here, Cholita soccer! Thick multi-tiered skirts make for more challenging goals.



Finally, a slew of ads preceded the Bicentenial of La Paz last year. Again, Entel.

But the fun of this ad is you get to see a little of the capital, a capital "Full of mysticism, character, and hope." Ahem. So join us on a journey to Our Lady of Peace:



Behold, Mt. Illimani! The Mystical Witches Market! That Cholita holding some gold necklaces! A grandmother instructing her grandchild in the ways of the Alasitas -- or, buying miniatures that represent the various things you hope to get in the coming year, from trucks to American Visas, to a boyfriend (ahem, not that I have ever bought one of those at alasitas...ahem)...all in miniature!... (adapted from Ekeko, the Andean god of abundance). Yikes! It's the notorious construction of the "Triplet Bridges" -- which are perched precariously on unstable soil.Gringo tourists gasping for breath as they walk around the city! Oooh! Our Weather patterns are so unpredictable (It's sunny outside, I should probably take an umbrella)! Arg! The lack of small change for all things (bus fare). Bread sellers who will yell at you. Market Cholas! Zebras teaching us to use crosswalks while being sassy! Look at our Big Modern Buildings!

Because "Celebrating 200 years of Freedom, a gift for La Paz -- full cell phone coverage...Because development is never extinguished. Entel: Uniting Bolivia, Developing the Future" (development "nunce se apague" -- a reference to the unquenchable flame that symbolizes La Paz's "cry of freedom," throwing off the shackles of Colonial domination. Which is like not dropping calls on your cell phone).

And, if at the end of all this you do wanna see that commercial about how Bolivian beer will get you a gringa, click here.

Finally, we are now on a brief blog haitus during the holidays, but Stacey has encouraged me to shake my fist at everyone and remind the cohort that things will recommence with earnestness in 2011. Dammit.