Around the World in 80 Days: Bolivia's Beloved Bowlers

My stopover in Bolivia, home of the infamous Lady who enriched the German language with "Da werden Sie geholfen!", was not born out of a touristic appeal, but purely of logistical nature: to get from Argentina or Uruguay to Peru, it is by far cheapest to fly to La Paz and cross into Peru overland.

After the first amazement of traveling into La Paz, situated in a 3.600m high "valley" and surrounded by spectacular snow-capped mountains, it seemed like the decision to bypass Bolivia was a good one: La Paz has little charm and certainly does not reveal its pretty side easily.

Buildings are all made out of red bricks giving the city a rather dull look; they are often run down with windows missing or have been left completely unfinished. Dozens of cables are hanging in the streets unreliably connecting houses with electricity. Roads are dusty and dirty; there are no trees, only piles of rubble, rubbish and the occasional bush. Parks, playgrounds, Cafes or any kind of public spaces are completely missing. La Paz seems to consist of endless unfinished red brick buildings with informal traders clocking up the dusty pavements...

The only nice building I saw in La Paz

A zebra crossing with a safety zone in the middle...

Traces of former glory

Yes, the city certainly doesn't woo visitors off their feet and at closer inspection, this sadly does not change much. La Paz remains dirty and - as it gets dark - even becomes a bit dodgy.

But in all this depressing monotony, there was one thing that lightened up the place and put a smile on my face: the clothes of the people. To be more precise, the hats of the women.

In many cultures it is common that women wear a hat or a scarf to protect their hair from sun and dust and hide their beauty. Bolivian women also wear a hat, but unlike in other cultures, the hat seems free of any practical use and aesthetic value. If anything, it probably makes life more complicated for women.

The "traditional" headpiece of Bolivian women is a Bowler hat, which they wear pinned on to the top of their head. It doesn't cover their hair, it doesn't protect from wind, sun or rain and I am guessing that it's quite a faff to attach.

Many women wear the hat together with their other traditional clothes - multi-layered colourful skirts (we're talking four skirts on top of each other - the practical value of which is also questionable...), blouses with ruchings, embroidered vests, and two long plaited pigtails tied together at the bottom with a few dangles attached. Add to that a Bowler hat and you have a rather interesting look with a lot of comical value for outsiders and tourists.

A bit of research revealed mixed theories about the origin of this "exotic" headwear in Bolivia. Some claim that Italian carmakers brought them to Bolivia and that a wagonload, which was too small for them, got sold on to the locals. Another suggests that the hat is an indication of the marital status of women (which is often I dictated by headwear, jewelry or belts, but I do not quite understand why Bolivian women should have chosen a European hat for men for this). And yet another (rather questionable) explanation is that Bolivian women believe it increases fertility...

Whatever the origin, Bolivian women love their Bowler hats and - despite Bolivia being the poorest country in South America and the hats being expensive even by Western standards - spend a significant amount of money on acquiring one.

Even though the personal value of the hat may always remain a mystery to me, it has certainly created an impression that will surely outlast the memory of dusty roads and run down houses...