The performing arts in Bolivia

As promised, reports from the Marc Anthony concert. My friend Paulo convinced me that I had to go see Marc Anthony with him. I barely know who Marc Anthony is, but apparently he is married to J.Lo and he is a big star here, so I thought why not?

Efficiency is something that I have noticed generally to be lacking here, and huge concerts are no exception. This concert was in a stadium which I presume has multiple entrances, but everyone with a lawn ticket (and we're talking about a lot of people) had to enter through one narrow entrance. This meant first an hour or so of waiting in a long line, then giving up on the long line and just going up to the front like everyone else and being carried through a stampede of crazy Marc Anthony fans for another half hour or so. It was impossible to move any part of my body, other than my mouth, which I used to swear loudly in English because I don't know strong enough words in Spanish. I can now completely understand how it is that people die in stampedes.

The concert was ok. It was cold and I couldn't see over all the tall Bolivians in front of me. Typical.

The next day the other interns and I decided to check out the theatre. Cabaret was playing downtown, so we got tickets. A play about WWII Berlin. In Spanish. It was so weird. I know that with limited resources to invest in education, the arts tend to get the short end of the stick, in any country. But it was striking to see the results. The lead female had a chorus of three women back stage to sing her part with her (or for her half of the time), and the cabaret dancers were so uncomfortable they made me feel nervous. The whole experience was kind of surreal.

But we're going to try again. Tomorrow night, we're going to a show that somehow incorporates Les Miserables, Cats, Grease, Dirty Dancing, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and... I think there was one more in there too - Paulo's mom said it was the best play she's ever seen, so we shelled out almost $20 for fourth row seats. I can't wait.