Street vendors are everywhere in La Paz adding vibrancy and culture to the already colorful, hectic streets. You can pretty much buy anything on the street ranging from beautiful handicrafts and hand-woven goods to magazines, drinks, food and anything your heart desires inside the black market.
The life of a street vendor is not an easy one. Most open up their green-colored stalls around nine or ten o’clock in the morning and close well after ten at night. The majority of street vendors are women who have no other choice but to bring their babies and young children with them for a long day and night on the street. They eat at their stalls, watch their children play and sleep at the stalls, and spend most of the time sitting there hoping for a customer so they can make enough money to survive.
I found the life to be a hard yet was amazed at their perseverance by coming day after day to the same spot for well over twelve hours to sell what they could to feed their families. I was heartbroken by the mothers with young kids crying or sleeping at their weary feet. But in a country of high unemployment, at least these women had some income to provide for their family. And the products they sold were lovely.
The neighborhood we stayed in was located in the heart of the Witches Market, a huge tourist attraction in La Paz. I enjoyed watching some of the street vendors set up and close their stalls each day. I enjoyed taking photos of them even more.
In the morning slowly the street vendors begin to arrive and open up their green-colored stalls for the day. These stalls were right outside our hotel.
Every morning this woman would open her small stall around nine o’clock, right outside our hotel door. She had a beautiful collection of handicrafts and also sold bottled water which was very helpful. Her location couldn’t be better given the high volume of customers in the hotel next door.
Our street was overwhelmingly colorful with street vendors and stores winding up the narrow cobblestone road. It was a burst of color for my weary Midwestern eyes.
There were so many choices it was hard to narrow it down.
I saw relatively few male street vendors however this man was out there everyday along with the ladies selling his wares.
I also saw lots of street vendors selling fresh drinks and various kinds of street food. I was very curious to try one however I didn’t want to risk an upset stomach.
Selling drinks on the streets
There were also simple street vendors that sat on a blanket along the street.
Or some that simply sat on the ground without as much comfort.
My favorite street vendor of all was this woman who sat at the busy bright corner of our street. It was so incredibly colorful that it made me smile.
I could have spent days simply wandering the streets in search of color and light. After a wintery month at home in Minnesota, the streets of La Paz were instant eye candy.
Stay tuned….my next series of photos will be on the beautiful woman of La Paz. I tried to capture their marvelous traditional dress and long-braided hair as much as possible.
Indeed a treat for our color-starved Midwestern eyes!
Wonderful vibrant bursts of colur!
The things the women make and sell are beautiful.
Wow! I really love these pictures. Makes me want to jump in a plane and visit La Paz Right Now! 🙂
Reblogged this on WitchWithaView and commented:
Please take a look at these wonderful pictures! I cannot wait for the next series 🙂
So beautiful…looks like a wonderful place !!
Thanks! It is a very colorful place indeed!
Wonderful colors, wonderful photos. I remember the special smell in the streets of la paz when I look at your beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed! Yes La Paz is very colorful!
Bright and colorful! Hope they sell well… Could they make a living by selling their merchandise?
In La Paz, Mexico, I once surfed a wave that was over a mile long and dropped me off gently right on shore. I thought this was about Mexico at first. But those hats aren’t Mexican. Is this in Peru, or Bolivia? Did I miss that in your post? Or in a previous post (which I didn’t read). You did an excellent job of curating a sense of the place. I bought one of those hats the women wear when I went to Peru. I wanted to paste a photo of it here, but I don’t know how to do that (my blog is 10 days old)!! Is it even possible? Your photos are VERY sharp. And you have a good eye.
When I come to the States, I visit my friend in Winona; she teaches at Winona State. Go WARRIORS!!
Great! Not too far from me! I live in Minneapolis, MN.
This is La Paz Bolivia. The hats the women wear are very typical there. Thanks for the nice comment! I have been doing a series on street photography from La Paz so be sure to check out any posts you missed. 🙂
Very colourful.
Love these photos! 🙂
Que belleza!!! Stunning Show of the ‘micro-economy’ !! Wonderful pictures, wonderful ‘portraits’ and mood and colors!! I reblog your post certainly!! Thank you!!
Thank you so much for the kind words! SO glad you enjoyed the photos and the post!
Reblogged this on Consonancias y Disonancias o el Eco del Murciélago de Abril and commented:
Bellas historias en colores y de humanos sublimes!!
Thanks so much for the reblog! 🙂
Such colourful scenes, Nicole. I think these women really battle to make a living.
Yes they do. 🙂
Lovely photos once again Nicole. I was always amazed at how the babies and toddlers would sit in shawls tied to their mothers’ backs for so long!
Thanks so much Emily!
These little green stalls really solve a problem of continually carrying, setting up, taking down…surely they exist in other parts of the vendor world. I see the ever present graffiti painters have been at work. They also are everywhere.
Yes they do, don’t they. 🙂