Bolivia was a country of considerable natural beauty. An exception was the city of Potosí, the western hemisphere’s wealthiest city in the 16th and 17th centuries. The city’s wealth came from a conical shaped mountain riddled with tunnels for mining silver. Less than 3% of the silver mined in Potosí stayed in the city, the rest going to Spain to support the vast Spanish empire. The mine is exhausted, but hundreds, if not thousands, of people continue to work the mines in horrific conditions, hoping to find their fortunes. The mine looms over the city, casting a brown haze over everything. On Sundays when the city is pedestrian-only the pallor from the mine lifted with impromptu dances and fiestas in the city’s squares.
