News from Berlin

News from Berlin – Today Bolivia is celebrating its 189th Independence Day. While Bolivians in their home country are enjoying the festivities that this special day has to offer them every year, their compatriots living in Berlin likewise had the opportunity to celebrate. For this occasion Elizabeth Salguero Carrillo, the Bolivian ambassador to Germany gave a reception in the heart of the German capital.

It was the Rotes Rathaus that accommodated representatives from more than forty different diplomatic institutions. A band called Tinkunaku was playing the sounds of the Bolivian Altiplano, using traditional instruments including panflutes and guitars zampoña and cañas. The anthems of Germany and Bolivia were playing when everybody arrived. Afterwards, Salguero Carrillo gave a speech about the changes that are currently taking place in Bolivia regarding their new constitution, in which the idea of “el buen vivir” (“good living” or “well living”) is playing a major role.

Bolivia and Ecuador have introduced the concept of “buen vivir”  in their legislation, which accounts for a social philosophy based on welfare and respect for nature. Carillo also talked about the economic and political relations that the country holds with the rest of the Latin American organizations, such as Mercosur, Unasur or Alba.   

Bolivia, the landlocked South American country with breathtaking landscapes, gained independence and became a republic on the 6th of August 1825, and was named after Simon Bolívar, the Venezuelan political leader who fought against Spanish colonial rule. The day is also known throughout Bolivia as “Día de la Patria”, and every year spectacular celebrations are held throughout the country. These include military parades, street dances and carnivals as well as cultural programs which are to represent the cultural heritage of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

News from Berlin – Berlin Global