Minors only...Sucre y Potosi

POTOSI : Mining city

3,000 M. above sea level, surrounded by many mountains (including Cerro Rico, the largest mining area in the world), is Potosi. Mining is the main source of income, if it wasn´t for the mines the city wouldn´t be able to sustain itself. Youth and adults work the mines for 6 hour shifts digging deep below the levels of the mine for minerals to bring up to the surface, pushing heavy carts full of rock and minerals,or doing various other tasks (including some work outside the mines, women for example are not allowed to work inside the mines because it´s bad luck, but they are allowed to work outside the mines-many of these women are widows of deceased miners).

The tour begins at the ¨miner market¨at edge of city. The tradition is that you buy the workers gifts to give them during the visit. Many bought coca leaves and the pure rubbing alcohol, also popular buys were refrescos and cigarettes. I didn´t want to encourage their bad habits haaha, so I bought work gloves and refresco. 

A miner´s day begins early with a few bites of soup and down into the mine they go, since many work far from the surface they rely on chewing of coca leaves to curb their hunger, as they do not leave the mine for lunch (it´s bad luck to eat in the mines, so can´t bring your own lunch). They get a ¨lunch break¨ around midday (although I´m not sure how they really guage the hour, just a guess I suppose). They relax in the mines and chat with fellow workers until they decide to continue working. Every Friday after work, they visit Tio (el diablo). They offer coca leaves, cigarettes, and pure rubbing alcohol to the statue (they spill a little on the statue before drinking it themselves) . They believe pure alcohol means pure minerals, definitely good luck. Tio also helps prevent accidents. If they keep Tio happy, he keeps the miners happy, wealthy, and relatively safe. ALTHOUGH, we were told that most mining accidents that occur are caused by an enebriated miner falling down into the mine. There are a couple ¨holes,¨areas where they pull up buckets from the lower levels full of minerals to bring to the surface to sort through.

The problem is, there are not a lot of rules, but with time things are a taaaad better. For example, most men do not wear any type of face mask/protection from the fumes, dust, and chemicals down below, but those are way down below digging do wear them. They are more aware now of the incurable lung disease that inhibits miners from working more than 15/20 years in the mines, but doesn´t mean it is prevented. There are no rules about working overtime (double shifts) or coming in early, staying late, etc. The more someone works, the more money they make, so some could literally work themselves to death if they really wanted to. Our tour guide used to work in the mines, his dad was a jefe (it´s a cooperative mine with adult miners as jefes and the others as 2nd class). He said ¨4 years ago I was lucky enough to change my line of work.¨ That´s how much of a toll working in the mines is, but it´s neccesary for the town and it´s a tradition to work in the mines (especially if your family worked in the mines as well.

It was an interesting experience to visit the mines and see young men around my age working hard. We also went to see ¨Tio¨ at the end of the tour.  This is the part of the tour that I thought would be scary, not going 6 levels down under the earth on wooden ladders (that part was fun, although def. more dust down below, luckly i had my scarf). Now, I´m not sure if everyone believes in this whole worship of the tio, or if it´s just what they do out of tradition, but sounds like there are plenty that do... While many on the tour participated in the traditions, putting a lit cigarette in statue´s mouth while putting more cigarettes and coca leaves around him, dumping the alcohol and passing it around, Marcos and I of course did not.  I just sat at the statue praying for the souls of miners.